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 (????)