Indians Report Card: Shortstop
Jhonny Peralta
.297 11 33
I bet you thought I had forgotten, or perhaps, stopped caring.
Jhonny Peralta had perhaps the most daunting task in recent Cleveland sports history: He had to replace Omar Vizquel.
Sure, the fair-minded pointed out that Jhonny couldn't replace Omar, and while they were right, they forget the greater point: Jhonny Peralta was Omar's replacement. Every time Peralta made an error, the fan, whether said or not, thinks, perhaps without intention: Omar'd have made that.
Such realities are regrettable. It's why the Doors didn't replace Jim Morrison.
But Peralta has done better than anyone could have hoped offensively. He is better at the plate now than Omar was in his final years.
Defensively, there is of course, no comparison. Unlike in Cincinnati, where the Reds brought up shortstop in waiting Felipe Lopez to replace Barry Larkin, there is some question whether Peralta is a shortstop at all.
With Brandon Phillips now in Cleveland, there might be reason to believe he will soon be at short. Jhonny may be playing third by this time next year.
Grade B+
posted by Zach @ 4:00 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
For what it's worth, Vizquel this year has:
Better batting average (.300 vs .297)
More walks (27 vs. 19)
Fewer strikeouts (28 vs. 50)
More runs (43 vs. 26)
Better fielding percentage (.992 vs .970)
Fewer errors (3 vs. 9)
Better zone rating (.874 vs. .868)
Peralta does have more homers (11 vs. 1) and RBI (33 vs. 30).
Then again, maybe says more about the Indians front office and what they left behind.
Just sayin'.
I can't compete with the research Suss, but I will say this: In three of his final four seasons with the Tribe, Omar failed to hit .280. He hit over .290 last season, yes.
I would agree with you, that overall, Omar is having a better season -- but only if you factor in the defensive end. Offensively, I'd give the edge to Peralta, due to homers and RBIs.
Concerning Sussman's stats:
The batting average is negligable. The walks, runs, and strikeouts would logically follow because Omar is a top-of-the-order contact hitter. The defense goes without saying (it bears mentioning most of Peralta's nine errors occurred in April and May.)
Jhonny will be a middle-of-the-order hitter in the future. He'll strike out more, but he'll also drive in more runs and hit for much more power. He will also be a better clutch hitter than Omar, and that's saying something, because Omar has been a pretty good RISP hitter in his own right.
The Indians got their mileage out of Omar. Jhonny is proving it was time to give him a chance. You can't keep a guy in mothballs just because the guy ahead of him is a fan favorite.
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