Victor Martinez still shaking off rust

There's no question that Victor Martinez has been bad this season -- he's batting .182 with an extra-base hit and four RBI. Yes, he has walked 10 times, but most owners drafting him had probably hoped for much bigger things out of the gate from the 34-year-old. 

Although Martinez is refusing to make excuses for his poor performance, here's a thought -- before this year, Martinez hadn't played in the majors since September 2011. It's now April 2013. That's a huge gap. And Martinez really only jumped into things again this spring, when he hit .253 with a home run in 75 spring training at-bats. 

We often see players struggle to shake off rust when they miss a few weeks of spring training (see Stephen Drew), but Martinez didn't just miss a year of baseball at the highest level -- he hadn't played in 18 months. Then he struggled in spring training. And now we have this slow start. 

I have faith that Martinez has the skill that made him a career .301 hitter. But even with a stacked Tigers lineup taking pressure off him, Martinez may need a month or two to catch up and get his timing back. He should eventually improve his numbers, but it's best to have him on your bench until he shows some signs of life.