FanHouse Jhonny Peralta

NEW YORK – Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.

In the most remarkable turnaround of the season, Texas' pitching staff is actually pretty good, with a 4.46 ERA after shutouts Thursday and Friday and allowing three runs Saturday. If the Rangers can keep it there all year, it would mark the first time since 1993 the franchise had an ERA better than 4.50.

Not coincidentally, Texas leads the AL West at 35-26, the second-best record in the league.

"This is my third year here," right-hander Brandon McCarthy said, "but in two years I got sick to death of hearing, 'Texas pitchers stink. Texas pitchers stink.'

"Now we can turn those tables a little bit, be the group that maybe changes that whole mindset. It would be an awesome accomplishment."

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

When Luke Hochevar was summoned to the majors last season, he had started only 13 games at the triple-A level. He had compiled a 2-4 record with a 4.54 ERA in those starts. Translation: It appears the former number one overall draft pick had been rushed -- especially when you consider his ensuing major league numbers. In his rookie year, Hochevar went 6-12 with a 5.51 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. His strikeout rate was well below his capabilities as well.

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the...
Team that should have more doctors on staff. Lofty expectations turned sour when major keys to the Indians lineup went down with injury in 2008. Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, Fausto Carmona, and Jake Westbrook all lost significant time to various maladies. The health and or hasty return of these guys, and the continued health of Kerry Wood are crucial to the Indians having any success in 2009.

FanHouse breaks down the who's who and the what's what of the baseball world each week with our MLB Power Rankings.

Spring Training is always a time of year when false hopes or false assumptions are built based on performance. It might Jeff Francoeur lacing the ball, for instance. Or Yovani Gallardo stinking the joint up. But it is also a time of year when season-altering injuries are revealed. For instance, Alex Rodriguez will miss the first 10 weeks of the season because of surgery. Chipper Jones is dealing with an oblique injury. Oh, and this Manny Ramirez guy signed with the Dodgers. So even though it might seem premature to react in a knee-jerk fashion, it's not.

Hence, we have our second installment of preseason MLB Power Rankings, just to keep your jones going for America's pastime.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

After falling just short of the World Series in 2007, the Indians entered 2008 with lofty expectations. Thanks to a combination of down years from and injuries to players who made significant contributions to the 96-win team of 2007, Cleveland fell well short of those expectations, needing a late-season surge just to finish at .500.

There is some reason for optimism, however. Despite the injuries and trades, the Indians outscored their opponents by 44 runs, not far behind division leaders Chicago (plus-81) and Minnesota (plus-85). If some of the guys that struggled in '08 bounce back and the front office plugs some of the holes one the roster, there's no reason to think the Tribe couldn't compete in the Central in '09.

Who may leave?
C Sal Fasano (free agent)

What do they need?
Cleveland's free agent list would've been a lot longer if you compiled it back in April, but the Indians got rid of nearly all of their impending free agents after falling out of contention. CC Sabathia, Casey Blake, and Paul Byrd were all traded away to contenders, and Joe Borowski was released in July. So although they can bring back almost everyone who was on the roster after the deadline, there is work to do.

Aside from Cliff Lee, there are a lot of question marks in the rotation. After a great 2007, Fausto Carmona had serious control problems both before and after going on the DL, with 70 walks in 120.2 innings. After that, they really just have a collection of No. 5 starters, with Jeremy Sowers, Anthony Reyes, and Scott Lewis leading the way. Jake Westbrook is expected to return from Tommy John surgery around midseason, but relying on a big contribution from him in 2009 would probably be a mistake.

With the Indians in full 2009 mode after trading CC Sabathia to the Brewers, there's a lot of speculation going around Cleveland about changes that will be made with the team. Some guys may have new addresses come August 1st, and players that are still on the team may have new roles.

One of the rumors going around is that shortstop Jhonny Peralta's days at shortstop may be numbered, and that the team is planning on moving him to third base in the future. It's a rumor Jhonny's manager Eric Wedge denies.

"He's our shortstop. I don't see us making any change anytime soon," Wedge said. "I see a guy who is doing everything he can to be the best he can be."

"As [first base coach]Luis [Rivera] has continued to get a better feel for the league and different players he's helped Jhonny better position himself. He's doing a better job of being in the right place at the right time. There is always going to be that ball that is just off the glove. But he's as good as anybody in the game, if not the best, at the routine play."

So Peralta is good defensively, but only if the ball is hit right at him? I understand Wedge wants to support his player (especially considering that player is hitting .341 with 5 homers and 20 RBI since moving to the cleanup spot), but a move to third base would make a lot of sense.

So now that the Cleveland Indians have shipped C.C. Sabathia off to Milwaukee, we can officially say that the Indians are done trying to win in 2008. The focus has now been moved to preparing this team for the 2009 season and trying to figure out which pieces fit into that picture, and which ones don't.

While none of us can see the future, there is something about this Indians team that most of us have known for quite a while, and that is the fact that Grady Sizemore will not be a lead-off hitter his entire career. When Grady first came up with the Indians, everybody knew he was destined to be a middle of the order type guy, but with the Indians monster lineup the last few seasons, there was no need to do it.

Well, it's time now. Grady has grown up and he's ready to be the guy the Indians build their lineup around. Travis Hafner's power and ability to make contact with the ball have magically* disappeared and there's no guarantee they'll ever come back, so there is an opening.

Eric Wedge is currently batting Ben Francisco third, and Jhonny Peralta in the clean-up spot (where Jhonny's been raking). Meanwhile, Sizemore has an OPS of .914 and leads the American League with 22 home runs, yet he only has 50 RBI. How can that be? Well, since Grady hits lead-off, 16 of his 22 taters have come with nobody on base.

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Scott Proctor hasn't had a very good season out in LALA land. In 33 appearances Proctor has a 6.82 ERA and a WHIP of 1.89, which isn't exactly dealing to say the least. Well, after giving up the go ahead run against Jhonny Peralta on Saturday in a six run 11th inning, Proctor didn't hold his feelings back in the post game chat with reporters.

He wants all the Dodger fans out there to know that contrary to the rumors, he's not injured. No, he just sucks (his words, Todd, not mine).

"I'm not talking about that. There is nothing (wrong), and I'm tired of people making excuses and saying I'm hurt. My job is to get outs, and I'm (expletive) pathetic. It's embarrassing to know this team battled like that all day and I pitched like that. It's (expletive) stupid.

"I'm embarrassed for myself in front of my teammates."

Now, now, Scott, don't be so hard on yourself. Sure, you're having a craptastic season and you've been easier to score on than Lindsay Lohan on ecstasy, but that's no reason to rip yourself in public. That's the media's job, and trust me, they'll do it for you.

Everybody goes through rough stretches in this game, and you're just going through one of them right now. Take a few days off, go to the beach, spend time with the family. Whatever you have to do. I promise*, things will get better.

*By promise I mean I'm just saying anything to help make you feel better because you really do suck right now.

No one inspires more absolutely horrible, extemporaneous-letter, fantasy writing jokes than Jhonny Peralta. This makes zero sense, because the "H" is the only bizarre letter in his name, and there are only one of them. Yet, somehow I am able to fight through that fact and persevere with my putrid humor. Point being that Peralta tops the list of players you should consider adding this week.

Jhonny Peralta
7 day stats -- .333/.385/.708, 2HR, 3RBI, 2BB, 0SB
Peralta is the eternal fantasy tease after his monster season a few years back. He is streak, just like most free agent options, but he's white hot now and the Indians get four games at Texas followed by three games at Detroit, so you should expect to see him continue raking.

Mark Reynolds
7 day stats -- .359/.450/.941, 3HR, 3RBI, 3BB, 0SB
You may remember Reynolds from such hits as "Early April Fraud" and "Chris Shelton, Part Deux". Reynolds appears to have gotten sloppy with all the attention he got and fell off the radar. Then Chad Tracy came back and the dood started raking again. Snatch him up this week and start him while he's hot.

Jerry Hairston
7 day stats -- .458/.464/.652, 0HR, 4RBI, 4BB, 3SB
Guy just won't go away will he? Hairston continues to start, steal bases and have MI eligibility. That makes him start worthy in a large number of fantasy leagues. He's not a great player but you can't kill speed.

Cliff Floyd
7 day starts -- .357/.500/1.00, 3HR, 5RBI, 4BB, 0SB
You know what you're getting with ole' Cliff -- some taterjacks, some strikeouts and possibly limited AB's, in this case. Still, he's certainly a nice deeper end pickup and he's streaking now so that makes him a pretty nice option.

You saw a glimpse of it earlier, thanks to Will's posting of Asdrubal Cabrera's unassisted triple-play on Monday, but that's not the only play Cabrera has made for the Indians in the field this season. His defense, be it at second base or at shortstop, has been hard not to notice. Particularly the last few days when Asdrubal filled in for the struggling Jhonny Peralta at short.

The difference between Cabrera and Peralta in the field is hard to miss. Asdrubal has more range to his left and right, and this was evident on quite a few plays over the weekend, and he's also garnered comparisons to former Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel. As a result, some people are wondering how much longer Jhonny has as the Indians shortstop.

"Asdrubal has a knack for getting big hits late in games, and his defense at short was outstanding," manager Eric Wedge said.

Wedge said the decision to play Cabrera a second consecutive game at short was due more to the Indians playing a doubleheader than to anything else.

Of course, when Wedge was flat out asked if Cabrera would be getting more time at shortstop, he only said that he'll continue to "mix him in."

Peralta's defense isn't the only thing hurting him, because it wasn't exactly his defense that the Indians originally fell in love with, it was his bat. A bat that has been hitting .208/.267/.383 this season, and just .130 in May. Peralta is also failing to drive in runs, as he's only hitting .143 with runners in scoring posiiton.

I don't expect Peralta to lose his job yet, as I'm not sure the Indians are ready to make Jamey Carroll their everyday second baseman. Still, after this season, who knows?