Indians All Star Break Analysis – The Infield

In the first of a four-part series, WFNY will take a look at your last place Cleveland Indians. You will have to forgive my minutia, but the Indians are a passion of mine. Like Rock with the Cavs, we stick with this team no matter what, last place of first, and dissect it as if they were at the top of the AL Central heap. At 34-54, 15.5 games out of first, you’d think there aren’t a ton of things to get excited about; but there are. Today, it’s the infielders that go under the microscope.

The season started with zero expectations for the first time since the surprising 2005 season. The opening day lineup was filled with a combination of veterans and rookies. Guys who were looking to rebound (Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner) and guys looking to make names for themselves (Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, Lou Marson). By the break, Injuries and on the field failures have caused a changeover from the beginning of April.

Catcher: Opening Day Starter – Lou Marson (.191 BA/1 HR/12 RBI). Today: Carlos Santana (.284 BA/5 HR/16 RBI)

Well, if you didn’t see this one coming a mile away, then you must be blind. The hope at the beginning of the year was that Marson, a defensive specialist, would hit enough and play solid defense to where the jewel of the Indians system, Santana, could develop more behind the plate in Columbus. Everyone knew he was major league ready at the plate.

Ah, the best laid plans.

To say Marson struggled mightily with his bat is an understatement. Not to mention, the first month of the season, his trademark defense left a lot to be desired. That said, Lou showed off a cannon for an arm, the likes we haven’t seen here before. Marson threw out 16 of 42 would be base stealers; an impressive 38%. But on a team that lacked offensive spunk, Marson was a black hole at the bottom of the order.

Meanwhile, Santana was absolutely dominating AAA pitching. With Grady Sizemore and Asdrubal Cabrera hurt, Travis Hafner not taking the next step back to the Pronk mold, and others failing to step up, GM Mark Shapiro had no choice but to bring Santana up. Right away, he stepped into the three spot in Manny Acta’s lineup and he hasn’t stopped hitting.

The Big Smooth has shown that he is a natural at the plate and that major league pitching doesn’t faze him in the least bit. The plate discipline is what is so impressive for the rookie. In 29 games, he has 23 walks. By contrast, Jhonny Peralta has 29 walks in 82 games. The natural power is there too. 17 of his 27 hits are for extra bases. I’ve said this before, but we have Albert Pujols-lite on our hands here.

As a defender, he had a few early problems – most notably in his first start with Mitch Talbot – but seems to be working out the kinks. As long as he keeps hitting this way, nobody is going to complain about his defense.

First Base: Opening Day Starter – Russell Branyan (.263 BA/10 HR/24 RBI). Today: Matt LaPorta (.255 BA/5HR/18RBI)

Over the winter, the Indians talked up LaPorta as the future of the position. However, they decided to hedge their bets with the signing of Branyan. Shapiro said the team needed another power bat and Manny Acta was quoted as saying “Branyan’s not here to sit, he’s here to play every day.” That chapped me to no end.

When the season began, Branyan was on the DL still working out his back problems and LaPorta, still not 100% from his offseason hip and toe surgeries, got the first week under his belt. However, LaPorta struggled right out of the gate and after a week, Branyan was activated. Russ could only handle about four games a week and began a strange platoon with LaPorta and Andy Marte. The healthier Russ got, the less LaPorta played.

To make matters worse for LaPorta, he was told once Branyan was healthy, he’d be playing left field. Except, Austin Kearns took a strangle-hold on that position, leaving The Gator searching for regular time. While this was going on, Branyan continued to tease us with his occasional home run on a team that had almost no power, so Acta continued to play him.

LaPorta never seemed to recover from his benching, and was sent to the minors to get regular at bats. At the time, I thought it was a huge mistake, but it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to him. While Matty was killing it in Columbus (.362 BA/5 HR/16 RBI in 18 games), Branyan’s defense kept getting worse and worse. It was so bad, Tom Hamilton said on the air in a loss to Philadelphia “folks, Russell Branyan’s defense is absolutely killing the Tribe.”

A short time later, Shapiro found the one sucker who wanted to actually trade for Branyan. The team he has rooked may times before; the Seattle Mariners. Once Branyan was dealt, LaPorta no longer had to look over his shoulder. First base was his and his only.

The Gator has taken the job and run with it.

Since his return for Columbus, LaPorta is hitting .357 (15-42) with four homers and 11 RBI. He has really seemed to turn the corner and should be a fixture at first base for years to come.

As for Branyan, 3.0 – good riddance.

Second Base: Opening Day Starter – Luis Valbuena (.166 BA/2 HR/14 RBI)). Today: Jayson Nix (.237 BA/6 HR/9 RBI w/Indians)

Oh Sweet Luis. How I had a man-crush on you. Nobody was in the tank for Valbuena more than me when the season started. I loved how he stung the ball to the gaps last season and showed some line-drive pop. Sure, his defense was average at best, but I thought he could more than make up for it at the plate. Not to mention, the times he played short last year, he showed a rocket arm.

In Spring Training, he was brutal at the plate, but the Indians literally had no other realistic option at second, so Sweet Luis played everyday. With Valbuena and Marson hitting 8-9 on a nightly basis, it was almost like being a National League team. Other than a grand slam on a Sunday in Detroit in April, Valbuena turned “sour.” Throw in a serious lack of range at second and shoddy defense at short when he played there, and all of a sudden 40 year old Mark “singles only” Grudzielanek looked like a better option.

Valbuena was on the verge of being sent down, but then Asdrubal Cabrera got hurt, as did Grudzielanek. With a serious lack of high minors depth at the position and Jason Donald already up playing short, the Indians had to keep going with Valbuena. Thing got so bad that Luis was finally put out of his mercy and sent to the minors. Anderson Hernandez was recalled and Jayson Nix was claimed off of waivers. The two were told that the job was open until “someone takes the bull by the horns.

That man was Nix, who in just 16 games with the Tribe has six homers and nine RBIs. By comparison (I hate to do this to you again, Jhon), Peralta has six homers in 82 games. Nix is just a temporary solution for 2010 and maybe into 2011 as Cord Phelps (AAA) and Jason Kipnis (AA) battle to become the future of the position.

Shortstop: Opening Day Starter – Asdrubal Cabrera (.287 BA/1 HR/7 RBI). Today: Jason Donald (.274 BA/2 HR/12 RBI)

No doubt about it, Asdrubal Cabrera is the man. He is a star in the making, a stud with the bat and the glove, and a clutch hitter as the Tribe’s new leadoff man. The problem for 2010 is that on a strange play in Tampa in early May, AC and Peralta collided, breaking Cabrera’s forearm.

This pressed Jason Donald into service. The gritty, David Eckstein-type player came up and singled in his first two major league at bats. He has shown he can be decent at the plate. He is a battler, a scrapper. As a shortstop, his defense seems to have regressed from when he first arrived. Put it this way, he isn’t exactly making anyone forget Omar Vizquel. Part of it could be from the fact that he was trying to convert to a second baseman in Columbus before the AC injury. That said, I like his game and he could be a real solid utility man for years to come.

What should be interesting is what happens when Cabrera returns to the lineup shortly after the All Star break. He has started a rehab assignment at Mahoning Valley and the position now and in the future is his. Meanwhile, Donald is going to have to play some second base and battle with Nix for at-bats. Should be interesting to see how Acta juggles this.

Third Base: Opening Day Starter – Jhonny Peralta (.252/6 HR/39 RBI): Today: Peralta

Jhon. Jhon. Jhon. For years, I have wanted to love him. In 2005, he was a 23 year old on the come future star who was hitting third on a 93 win team. That year, he his .292 with 24 homers and 78 RBIs. Fast forward five years, and he is a free agent to be on a bad team that not one contender is interested in acquiring.

He no longer hits for average, has lost most of his power, and is a below average defender (still). Nobody cared in 2005 that he was statuesque at short. Three years later, it became a problem. The hope was that now that Jhon was free from the claws of his nemesis, Eric Wedge, he would prosper. Instead, its just more of the same. Jhonny’s truly a nice, nice guy. But watch him while you can, because his days as an Indians are numbered.

You may see Jared Goedert (.326 BA/15 HR/32 RBI in Columbus) at some point in the second half. The hope is that former first round pick Lonnie Chisenhaul continues his rapid rise and becomes the everyday third baseman in 2011.