Looking for a sign: Martinez still not sure if it's time to leave

CHICAGO — A check of the top 10 in hitting from both leagues hints at the conundrum that still faces Edgar Martinez.

He is in that elite group of hitters — what's new, right? — but he has only 80 at-bats. While a few of the others in the top group have been dinged up or rested some, the 10 best in each league average about 110 at-bats.

In other words, hitting well as usual but having lost games to injury again, Seattle's venerable designated hitter got no read in April on whether he should stay or go now, retire or not.

"What I need to find out is if I will feel OK to leave, if I will be happy not playing," Martinez said last weekend.

"I figured I would know more later in the year, have a better idea which direction to go ... but the first month gave me no early indication."

Thus far, by his own estimate, Martinez is swinging the bat "good, if not quite as good as early in my career."

He was probably referring to his power numbers, but overall it's difficult to detect any difference between old Edgar and older Edgar.

His .363 average was fourth-best in baseball entering last night. He's hitting .444 in day games, .375 in road games, .375 against right-handers and .435 with runners in scoring position — as well as leading the American League with a .480 on-base percentage.

But as so often is the case with him, he is moving in slo-mo out of necessity.

"Oh, yes, my left leg," he said, making it sound like a movie title. "With this problem, I finally realize that even if I feel good overall, I'm not sure my leg is going to take it. When they removed the tendon last year, it left me with only two muscles in my left leg, and I don't know if that supports it enough to go full speed."

He means even at Edgar Full Speed, which does not put him in a dash finals heat with Ichiro, Mike Cameron and Mark McLemore.

"I have to be careful all the time, and at times it is very difficult for me," he said, "because sometimes I feel as though I can run very well."

When it comes to difficulty, however, Martinez's decision is no worse than that of his manager, Bob Melvin, who is often faced with sending in a pinch-runner for Martinez — a choice he doesn't want to make.

"I can see that he is in a tough situation, and I feel bad," Martinez said. "You're not sure if I'm going to get another at-bat, but at times you're thinking, 'We need this run.' "

For his part, Martinez revealed that when he reaches base in the late innings he never looks toward the Seattle dugout.

"I don't want Bob or anyone to think I'm sending a message, 'Come and get me,' " he said.

Melvin said he appreciates that from his offensive and team leader, and has a stated policy of inserting a pinch-runner for Edgar after the seventh inning.

"I did go against that once in the Detroit series," Melvin said. "We didn't have anyone to run who is distinctly faster than Edgar, but then I got burned. Their outfielder (Bobby Higginson) dove for a ball hit by John Olerud, the only kind of play anyone else might have scored on, but not Edgar."

Melvin goes solidly on the record, saying he hopes Martinez chooses not to retire.

"I'm looking for him to be here again, no question," he said. "I will gladly deal with the running situation any day just to have him here, in the lineup and in the clubhouse."

This dovetails perfectly with Mike Cameron's near-poetic description of the beloved veteran.

"Edgar is that tree stump in the middle of our lineup," the Mariners' center fielder said Friday after Martinez achieved his 2,000th career hit. "He's just there all the time. He's going to beat you. No matter how tough a pitcher you are, he's going to battle you."

"His consistency is amazing," Melvin said. "You play the game and you have to struggle, but when Edgar does, it just never looks it. His approach is something you want to teach if you can."

The decision is, bottom-line, a family one. He and Holli, his wife, have talked about it a number of times.

"She has never pushed me in one direction or the other," Edgar said. "She is totally supportive either way. She only tells me that I have to be happy with my decision."

The Mariners can do something about influencing that decision, by playing well and contending, and continuing to make it fun to come to the clubhouse.

"The club is another issue beyond just me," Martinez said. "It gets tougher and tougher to come if you don't have a chance. But this is a good team, we are really all on the same page, everyone is out to win.

"Sometimes you have a year where you have a player who is going through the motions, but not with us now."

While his direction may be largely based on how he feels, both emotionally and physically, there is the standard of performance he has long established for himself.

"I have to feel I am helping the team," he said. "That's the best satisfaction for me."

Bob Finnigan: 206-464-8276 or bfinnigan@seattletimes.com