Victor Martinez is placing a lot of the blame for the underachieving season of the Detroit Tigers on himself.

"For me, by far this is the worst year of my career," Martinez told Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. "But I keep trying. I'll tell you something - I never quit. I never gave up. I keep going out there all the time and I keep playing. You know, I take it personally.

"This has been a bad season for us and it starts with myself."

Martinez, who's knocked in 980 runs in his career, hasn't recorded an RBI since Aug. 20, while his .234 average and .291 on-base percentage are both career lows.

The 36-year-old veteran underwent left knee surgery in February and has been forced to deal with several bouts of inflammation issues related to the surgery.

"When you are hurt, you definitely try to do stuff so you don't feel the pain here and there," Martinez said. "It can happen to anybody. Your ankle is sore and you start walking different. Then your hip starts to hurt because you are walking different."

Martinez has nine home runs and 53 RBIs for a Tigers squad that holds an AL Central worst 65-78 record.