Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
January 25, 2007
Left Side Improvements

The Cleveland Indians are taking a proactive approach to the left side of their infield:

At the urging of manager Eric Wedge and general manager Mark Shapiro, Marte, shortstop Jhonny Peralta and utility infielder Hector Luna skipped winter ball and have worked out at the Indians' academy in the Dominican Republic. Marte also spent time in Tampa, Fla., with hitting coach Derek Shelton. He and Peralta returned to Cleveland recently to spend more time with the big-league staff, and in the coming weeks infield coach Luis Rivera will join them in the Dominican Republic for more work on their defense.

Marte is expected to start at third base and Peralta at shortstop, and Luna is the leading candidate to be the utility infielder. Team officials have high hopes for all three but first wanted to see a stronger commitment to physical fitness.

"They've been working hard, Jhonny in particular," Wedge said. "Andy still needs to keep going to get into the kind of shape we want him to be in, but Jhonny looks great. He did what we wanted him to do toward the end of last year, and I think he has taken that mentality into the offseason. Hopefully he'll bring it right into spring training and opening day."

Peralta's defense nose-dived last year. It looks like the Indians spent the winter making sure he's in top physical shape, and now they'll drill him on defense. Good to see they're not waiting for the problem to solve itself. And Marte appears to be an important part of this:

It was no coincidence that Peralta's play improved -- however slightly -- when Marte was promoted from triple-A in late July and replaced Aaron Boone at third base. The outgoing, oft-smiling Marte was a good complement to the introverted Peralta. They became fast friends, and they have strengthened the bond this winter as they strengthen their bodies.

Posted by David Pinto at 01:38 PM | Team Evaluation | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Bits like this are exactly the reason I visit so often. Keep it up!
It's good to see the organization emphasize defense in their young talent (while they still have leverage). Props to CLE and the staff. Forward thinking like this helps the team at every level and should keep them competitive.

Posted by: Nate at January 25, 2007 03:45 PM

I second everything that Nate just wrote. I come here first whenever I want baseball news and then move to BP and my favorite team blogs. Thanks David.

Posted by: Kent at January 25, 2007 04:20 PM

Great to hear that Jhonny is taking his conditioning seriously; a lot of us Tribe fans were afraid he was just growing fat and happy after he was assured a paycheck. If his superior fitness leads to better defense along with the return of his offensive prowess, all the better, and the comraderie with Marte is an added bonus.

Posted by: Steve at January 25, 2007 04:34 PM

Not to dump on Aaron Boone, but his limited range added to Peralta's problems. Peralta will never be a gold glover, but he can be a very effective Major League shortstop. However, his chances for long term success are tied to his ability to stay in shape. Can anyone name a good fat shortstop? Didn't think so.

Posted by: largebill at January 25, 2007 11:30 PM

Great work!
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Posted by: Joan at January 28, 2007 10:32 PM
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