Ausmus On Placing Victor Martinez On DL: 'It Wasn't Victor's Choice'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
DETROIT - Designated hitter Victor Martinez wanted to keep playing. Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus overruled him Monday night, and the Tigers placed Martinez on the 15-day disabled list with left knee inflammation. Ausmus explained the decision Tuesday afternoon.
"It wasn't Victor's choice," Ausmus said. "If Victor had his way, trust me, he didn't want to go on the DL. He wanted to play. But at that point last night, it was no longer - despite the fact that he's a veteran, been around a long time, it was really no longer Victor's decision.
"We just reached a point where we weren't seeing it getting better at all," Ausmus added, "and maybe it might have been sliding the other direction."
Martinez has been battling soreness in his knee following offseason surgery. The surgically repaired area of the knee is fine, but the weakness created by the surgery led to an issue in another part of the knee.
"It's the load leg on the left-hand side," Ausmus said. "When a hitter loads, his weight goes back onto the back leg, and [Victor] just can't stay there ... Whether it's the irritation or the weakness, he releases early and he ends up lengthening out his swing as a result.
"At this point, we've got to get him back to the way - we've got to have Victor be capable of playing the way Victor has hit and played in the past," Ausmus continued.
The manager said he had no idea on a timetable for Martinez's return.
"I don't know if it'll be two weeks, I don't know if it'll be four weeks - I'd be just throwing darts blindfolded," Ausmus said.
Typically a prolific hitter, Martinez currently has a batting average of .216.
Martinez had hoped he could simply play through the soreness and eventually get back to form. When he returned in 2013 from the knee injury and subsequent surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2012 season, it took half a season for Martinez to get back to a high level of production.
Hoping the same could happen with his current knee issue - that it would just get better without him having to miss games - Martinez did not react particularly well to going on the disabled list.
"He was upset," Ausmus said. "He wasn't upset in an angry way. He was upset because he didn't want to go on the DL. He's got a warrior mentality. He fully wanted to show his teammates that he could play through pain, but I think it was, it finally came to a realization to him that it was more than just pain. It was an injury that had to be taken care of or he wouldn't be able to perform the way he's used to performing.
"As emotional as it was, Victor, he's a good person, so I think Victor understood it," Ausmus continued. "It was difficult, and it wasn't a short conversation. We spoke for a while. But sometimes you've got to do - I have kids. Sometimes you've got to give them bad news. Victor's obviously not my kid, he's much too old, but he's a great person, and I care a lot about him, so it's hard to give good people bad news, give them news they don't want to hear."
Ausmus noted the Tigers gave Martinez time to see whether he would be able to work through the soreness in his knee. He looked solid at the end of the spring training and has appeared similarly capable at times during the season.
"The last week of spring training, he hit the crud out of the ball, he looked great," Ausmus said. "He looked like he was turning a corner, so we start the season with him. He scuffles a little bit, and then he starts to get better. We see him again, in Kansas City on that road trip, and then back home against Kansas City, and then he takes a step backwards again, so we kept seeing signs that he was getting better and still being able to play, and if you can, why not have Victor Martinez in the lineup if he's getting better?
"But then at this point, by the end of the game last night, we just felt like now we've slid too far backwards and he needs to be off the field," Ausmus concluded.
