That little piece of square real estate behind home plate is sacred territory for a player in a Dodgers uniform. Sacred as in Roy Campanella, John Roseboro, Mike Scioscia and Mike Piazza.

They are legends. The new kid in town is, well, the new kid in town.

But oh, my, how quickly Russell Martin is convincing Dodgers fans that their catcher's box is well manned now and for the future.

Martin came out of nowhere last year, caught the most games of any National Leaguer with 118, just one shy of Jason Kendall's major league lead for the Oakland A's, and squatted behind home plate Monday night for the 58th time in 64 games this season. Going in, he was hitting .299, with seven homers and 40 runs batted in. Currently, he is batting third in the lineup.