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Blue Jays got a ‘special player’ in Russell Martin, Pirates manager says

Blue Jays got a ‘special player’ in Russell Martin, Pirates manager says

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Clint Hurdle knows exactly what the Toronto Blue Jays are getting in new catcher Russell Martin. Hurdle managed Martin the last two seasons when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates and helped them end a long playoff drought.

“He’s a special player. As good a defender as there is in the game,” Hurdle said Tuesday. “Offensively, coming off his finest season. I think he’s worked his way into a very confident hitter. He was very productive with runners in scoring position, two-strike approach… He made a lot of adjustments last year.”

The Blue Jays are hoping Martin will be an integral part of ending their own playoff drought that dates back to 1993. The cerebral Martin is expected to contribute offensively and defensively, of course, but will also be looked to as a clubhouse leader. Martin has been to the postseason in seven of his nine big-league seasons.

Hurdle, himself a former major-league catcher, is well aware of the intangibles Martin brings to a team.

“He’s a difference maker, handles the staff extremely well. He makes each man feel significant out on the mound, like he’s the best guy there,” Hurdle said. “He brings an edge every day to the team that he’s gonna find a way to beat the other team. Bat, glove, legs, mind, whatever it takes.”

[Blue Jays position primer: the shoo-ins, hopefuls, and long shots]

Martin started Tuesday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Pirates behind the plate and went 1-for-3 in an 8-7 loss. He hit a hard, loud single to left that bounced off the wall and kept him to a single. He also made a great defensive play in the first inning to track down a ball hit softly between him and pitcher Aaron Sanchez. He called off Sanchez, grabbed the ball, spun and threw out the runner at first on a close call.

Sanchez, slated to pitch two innings, only made it through 1.1 after giving up five runs (two earned) on four hits. He was lifted when his pitch count exceeded 30. A fielding error by new third baseman Josh Donaldson in the first put two runners on for Pedro Alvarez who smashed a three-run home run.

The Blue Jays trailed the entire game but twice came close to tying it, first thanks to a Kevin Pillar two-run homer in the third. Then late in the game, trailing 8-4 the Blue Jays scored two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth. They left the bases loaded in the ninth to end the game.

The new pace-of-play initiatives didn’t have an impact in the first game of the spring: 4,593 fans at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium watched a three hour, seventeen minute game. The players are obviously still trying to figure out the rules. (The new rules don’t actually come in to play until May, giving the players the spring and start of season to learn the nuances.) In the second inning Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion wandered out of the batters box between pitches. He realized his mistake, hastily reached to put a toe back in, then shared a laugh with the umpire.

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Ian Denomme is an editor and writer for Yahoo Sports. Email him at denomme@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter.