Baseball notes: Marlins coach Martinez is out under fire

Martinez resigns as Marlins coach

Tino Martinez stepped down as the Miami Marlins? hitting coach hours after complaints by players that he verbally abused them became public. In one instance, Martinez acknowledged he angrily grabbed a player. Martinez, who was a first baseman for the Cardinals in 2002, was in his first year as a professional coach this year. He sat in the dugout during Sunday?s 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, then met with Marlins officials and resigned.

?I want to apologize to the Marlins organization for my behavior,? Martinez said. ?I have made some comments to certain players at certain times that I thought was more constructive criticism. Obviously, they didn?t feel that way, and it kind of backfired on me.?

Martinez said he touched a player in anger, grabbing rookie Derek Dietrich by the jersey in the batting cage early this season. Dietrich, demoted last Monday to Double-A Jacksonville, was among the players to complain.

Martinez said he offered to resign earlier, but team owner Jeffrey Loria wanted him to stay on the job. When the complaints by players became public in a story Sunday by the Miami Herald, Martinez became certain he should resign.

?It has been building for a few days,? he said. ?I didn?t know this was going to come out publicly. When this came out, I thought it was the right thing to do.?

Nationals pitching coach hospitalized ? Washington pitching coach Steve McCatty was taken to a hospital and treated for an irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure. The Nationals said McCatty would be kept overnight for observation. He missed the club?s game Sunday.

Mauer set to return ? Minnesota All-Star catcher Joe Mauer is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday. He has spent the maximum three days on the paternity list following the birth of his twin daughters Wednesday, then was moved to the restricted list for two days.

Gonzalez still ailing ? Colorado outfielder Carlos Gonzalez (sprained finger) was out of the lineup for the third straight day and remains sidelined indefinitely.

Pirates? Snider placed on DL ? Pittsburgh put outfielder Travis Snider on the 15-day disabled list because of discomfort in his left big toe.

Associated Press

Source: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/baseball-notes-marlins-coach-martinez-is-out-under-fire/article_b2360635-2fb1-5d60-a115-3307b67e22e6.html

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