F-Mart....Is He Nordstrom's Quality or Below K-Mart?

This post was in the Daily News Blogs....Before we begin, there are a lot of exciting young players and they must be brought up with the right seasoning, skill-wise and between the ears...

I hope Fernando Martinez makes it and gets the idea of hustle. When you are a fill-in, this is a good time for showcasing skills. When you think of it, EVERY ball player at one time or another is a fill in...So, good luck FM

Here's the insight from the NYDN:


Mets admit F-Mart needs work
May 31, 2009
The Mets acknowledge that Fernando Martinez is no finished product and that apparently extends to his outfield play, too. The uber-prospect needs some work as a fielder, according to Jerry Manuel, though Manuel said that's normal and that F-Mart has the potential to be a good outfielder. Here are a few of the manager's thoughts on Martinez's outfield play:

"I think as a young player, and I talked with Razor (Shines) about this, I think what we have to work with Fernando is running to a spot and then decelerating. It almost looks like he's kind of cruising and then accelerating. And maybe as he gets comfortable here in the ballpark and knows the intricacies of the ballpark, he might be able to do that. But it almost appears that he's running carefully rather than boom, making a burst to the ball and then kind of relaxing.

"As a 20-year-old guy that has played all the different positions but has not played in this type of setting, in this type of hype to a stadium, it's a little different. The wind plays different tricks on you, and so forth and so forth. But the good thing is as an outfielder, it looks as though he has soft hands. As an outfielder, it looks as though he's rhythmic in running to the ball.

"It appears as though he has a chance to be a good outfielder, but is he that right now? I would say no."

Manuel added that the Mets believe F-Mart will be a good major-league hitter, but there will be growing pains. "But obviously there's going to be a lot of things that he's going to be growing," Manuel said. "And a lot of that growth is going to be painful for us….I believe that he'll continue to get better on a daily basis, so hopefully we see that."