St. Louis Cardinals fans are very upset that Carlos Martinez remains in the rotation. ‘El Tsunami’ Martinez went from a former ace to a borderline bullpen threat in a rather impressive fall from grace, but he’s not alone.
The entire St. Louis rotation, minus one injured Jack Flaherty, has been unsatisfactory, to say the least, and is part of the reason the Cardinals find only one bottom feeder from the Pittsburgh Pirates removed from last place in the Central Division of the National League:
The St. Louis Cardinals have been in the exchange market for a starting pitcher before the market developed. When Flaherty fell, all eyes turned to a possible deal with Max Scherzer. The veteran ace of the Washington Nationals is a native of St. Louis. Everything makes sense.
However, as famous FanSided journalist Robert Murray reports, the Nationals are not necessarily as keen on selling as the rest of the baseball pundits would have them believe. A recent run (streak) left them just four games in the NL East behind the New York Mets.
With Martinez starting again next Tuesday, Cardinals fans are legitimately upset with manager Mike Shildt.
Tuesday’s start could well prove decisive for right-hander Martinez, who has a 6.78 ERA on the season. The Dominican Martinez has mainly struggled with control and is losing control at the moment.
He has allowed 13 runs in his last two starts, including five against the lowly Pirates and eight against the Atlanta Braves. In that span, its effectiveness has skyrocketed.
It may interest you: Tsunami ‘MartÃnez wins again as a starter; spent more than a decade
Shildt gave Martinez another chance and instead demoted Wade LeBlanc, it’s a bold move based primarily on Martinez’s track record. There won’t be a third chance if he blows it against the underdog, Arizona D-backs, the worst team in MLB to have nearly three times as many losses as their wins (22-57).
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