Peralta vs. Marte

We all knew this was going to happen, Jhonny Peralta starts off slow ever year, it's nothing new. You can put money on that fact, he always hits well in Spring Training but he never carries it over into the cold of the Midwest states in April/May.

And then there's Andy Marte, you either love him or don't care about him. Marte was handed the starting 3rd base job a few years back and didn't take to it (a la 2B Brandon Phillips in '03), but most fans don't realize Marte is only 26 years old. For most position players 27 is their break out career year so he could still be something, if he's given the chance.

With 1B/OF Matt LaPorta on the team and 1B Russell Branyan coming off the DL you can guarantee that Marte is not going to play much, if any 1st base. His only chance at seeing some action is going to be at 3rd base. It's really the only reason he's on the team right now, the fact that he plays 3rd base and that he's right handed. They do have 2nd basemen Luis Valbuena and Mark Grudzielanek, along w/ Branyan that can play 3rd base if need be but none of them should ever play more than a whole game there.

Peralta sat out today and Marte had an interesting day going 2 for 4 with a homerun, 3 RBI, and no strikeouts at the plate but he missed a pop up in foul territory that led to an unearned run (the only run for the Twins), and he also got picked off trying to steal second base on what appeared to be a miscommunication or misunderstanding of signals because he was out by a mile(and Marte is no speedster, so why send him?).

You can't really say much about the errors when comparing Peralta and Marte because Peralta has made 2 costly errors this season and is not swinging the bat well at all to back him up. He's a stiff lump until the weather heats up. Acta has to consider sitting him for awhile and let the Marte project begin and play itself out. Peralta has an option on his contract next year that I really don't think the Indians are interested in unless he goes on a tear this season. Marte is going to be on the cheap side of things for a couple f years, just the way the Indians like it and we need to keep in mind that top 3B prospect Lonnie Chisenhall is at Double A Akron. Plus prospect Wes Hodges has been moved from 3rd base to 1st base indefinitely. Either one of Peralta or Marte could really prove themselves, the opportunity is there for the taking (or we can see if Casey Blake wants to comeback to Cleveland).

2010 Optimism (W/Changes)

Russell Branyan was activated from the DL today and Michael Brantley was optioned to Triple AAA. This is a good thing. Brantley can develop and Branyan can hit homeruns. It will be interesting to see who plays leftfield now, it's a pretyy sure thing that Branyan will only play 1st base and DH even though he can play 3rd, and leftfield and rightfield. Matt LaPorta could be the leftfielder but he isn't ready for everyday starts yet at any position and he hasn't played a day in the outfield yet this year including spring training. I assume Austin Kearns will get more at bats for the time being with Branyan and LaPorta splitting time at 1st and DH(unless Travis Hafner goes on a tear).

Next on the list is Kerry Wood. He should be ready in the next week or 2, I'm guessing he will replace Tony Sipp. This is another move in the right direction, Wood will close and allow everyone else to move down an inning in the bullpen hierarchy.

Bullpen it would be nice to see Justin Masterson swap positions with Aaron Laffey and being used as a set up man along with Chris Perez. I could also see Jeremy Sowers and Jason Grilli jumping into the bullpen when healthy, Sowers would be an awesome reliever for an inning or 2. He has a good track record in 3 innings of work or less. Saul Rivera is a nice veteran option if need be as well. The bottom line is the bullpen needs to shape up quickly because there are a lot of good options on the horizon. Guys like Rafael Perez need to find a groove quickly in stead of coming in and giving up walks and hits without recording outs.

Carlos Carrasco could be in the rotation and Carlos Santana in the lineup (sorry Lou Marson)before the All Star break too. I wouldn't count the Indians out of the American League Central.......but I say that every year.

How about this for a lineup:
1. Asdrubal Cabrera - SS (speed/OBP)
2. Grady Sizemore - CF (speed/power)
3. Shin-Soo Choo - RF (speed/power/OBP)
4. Travis Hafner - DH (power)
5. Russell Branyan - 1B (power)
6. Matt LaPorta - LF (power)
7. Carlos Santana - C (power/OBP)
8. Luis Valbuena - 2B (speed/power)
9. Jhonny Peralta - 3B (????)

10 Things that need to happen for the Indians to have a "decent" season:

1. Veterans Grady Sizemore, Jhonny Peralta, and Travis Hafner all need to bounce back from injuries and sub par seasons.
2. They need to sign 3 free agents: a backup veteran catcher, a veteran utility infielder, and a veteran starter that can eat up innings a la Dave Burba.
3. They need to develop the young staff over the course of the season and can't let guys like Luis Valbuena and Matt Laporta turn into the next Kelly Shoppach.
4. They need put Justin Masterson in the bullpen.
5. They need to make a decision on Fausto Carmona and Jeremy Sowers. Sowers could be a great long inning reliever but his days as a starter are numbered. Carmona is a complete mystery.
6. Play everyone at one position. With Wedge gone this shouldn't be an issue. (Never again will I watch the Indians get swept in a 3 game series in Milwaukee with Eduardo Perez as the starting rightfielder.)
7. Use Kerry Wood as much as possible in relief situations and hope you can trade him during the All-Star break.
8. Give Andy Marte a chance before making a decision on him, I would hate to see him perform well with another team. Again this is something that may already be taken care of with the removal of Wedge.
9. Decide quickly if C Lou Marson, P Carlos Carrasco, and IF Jason Donald are major league ball players. Given all the other question marks on the roster this it not the best environment for unproven talent to "settle in".
10. Put a lineup together in Spring Training and use it once the season starts. No more 162 lineups for 162 games.

October is around the corner, the Indians are not.......

"Highly" touted prospect Chris Gimenez continues to get at-bats over Andy Marte at 1st base. I really can't explain this. Marte has finally been destroying the ball in triple A for a full season. The Indians call him up after trading both Victor Martinez and Ryan Garko, one would think that this clear an apparent path for Marte to play 1st since manager Eric Wedge will not play him at 3rd base. But instead we get to see the likes of Gimenez.

Another blow to Marte:
Matt LaPorta finally got called up because of the injury to OF Trevor Crowe and Wedge stated that LaPorta would get regular playing time and see time at 1st base again pushing Marte to the back of the line.

It would be a shame to see Marte play well for another team, he is still young and has a decent amount of upside but one would never know unless he is given playing time.

What happened to Josh Barfield?????

Roster moves need to be made.

Grady Sizemore can't play centerfield everyday with his nagging elbow injury and surgery is still a very real possibility at this point(and if that's true then he needs to be shut down and operated on now, not at the end of the season). Given Sizemore's status the team needs Ben Francisco to play CF everytime Sizemore is the DH. On these days we get to watch Ryan Garko or Chris Gimenez play the outfield! This is ridiculous that this is still happening. Why is Matt LaPorta still in Columbus when he could be getting regular at-bats. Let Francisco be the fourth outfielder and play only when Sizemore is not in CF. LaPorta can then be the everyday leftfielder.

Bring up Andy Marte as well, Jhonny Peralta is in the same boat as Francisco right now. Given a starting job and doing nothing with it. Time to move on and get some other guys at bats since we are not winning anything.

I also think Josh Barfield should be up here instead of Luis Valbuena. I think it's interesting how much they love Valbuena but hated Brandon Phillips and Marte when they couldn't perform offensively. Why is Valbuena different???

Also, try and trade Carl Pavano. He won't be back next year.

I think Jamey Carroll should be signed for a couple more years instead of dealt. He provides a lot of insurance for a young infield with a lot of question marks. I have a feeling that the Indians are going to have a very weak offseason and pitching will be the main focus. So the position players will be almost what you see now, making Carroll that much more important. Plus he doesn't have an extremely high trade value since he is more of a piece and not an everyday player but one could assume that any National League team would love to have him on their bench.

Luis Valbuena

Luis Valbuena has found himself in the lineup everyday at short and 2nd base. He has never been a regular shortstop, ever. For whatever reason Wedge really likes this kid. The problem is he hasn't hit anything. Wedge says the numbers lie and that Valbuena is putting up good at bats but if your slugging, on base, and batting average are all under .300, along with 30 strikeouts(only 15 hits) in 80 at bats I would like to know how the numbers lie. He doesn't have one good offensive stat. I really think they are doing this just to spite Josh Barfield, who has seen less action than reserve 1st baseman/catcher Chris Gimenez.

Travis Hafner and the Bullpen

Travis Hafner went 3 for 5 last night with a double, a homer, and no strikeouts. The guy looked good, let's hope this continues.

The likes of Greg Aguino, Luis Vizcaino, Matt Herges, and Rafael Perez in 2 and a third innings of relief work last night gave up: 8 earned runs, 6 hits (including 1 homerun), and 6 walks, along with 2 wild pitches. I don't know what else to say about this, the bullpen had been really good lately.......