FERNANDO MARTINEZ - A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Do not be discouraged grasshoppers!

Adam Rubin post on F-Mart: Fernando Martinez's winter ball season is over. After hitting .314 with six homers and 26 RBI in 153 at-bats for Escogido in the Dominican Republic, the Mets' top prospect moved to Venezuela for Caracas' postseason. However, Martinez hit just 4-for-25 with seven strikeouts and was replaced on the roster by Armando Rios.

Adam Rubin does a fine job in giving a balanced look at F-Mart's body of work for the entire winter. I'll take a sampling size of 153 at-bats over 25 at-bats any day.

Meanwhile, Matt Cerrone takes a more direct approach that ends with praise being heaped on F-Mart by Leones President:

According to El Universal, Fernando Martinez has been let go from Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan Winter League.

“Martinez is a great player,” Leones President Luis Avila told the newspaper, “but unfortunately he couldn't hit as we hoped. We informed him of our decision yesterday and he took it in a very professional way.”