Disappointment of the year: Jhonny?

by odradek on Jun 4, 2009 8:27 PM EDT Comment 86 comments

In this season of discontent, with many mysterious disappointments, it's easy to overlook particular failure. In classic Cleveland fashion, we are not looking at one or two crashes in 2009—or even three or four—but an entire cascade of underperformances that would boggle the mind of a probabilistically inclined fan. My nominee for most disappointing is Jhonny Peralta.

Jhonny was regarded by many as a potential breakout figure this year, based on an impressive 2008. Last season he was tenth in the league in slugging percentage and extra base hits (with an impressive 69). He had 42 doubles last season (only nine so far this year) and 23 homers (versus two in 2009). Going into his age 27 season, Jhonny appeared poised for greatness. And then, he turned into Julio Lugo.

Peralta's eqA is .255. His VORP is 4.5, right behind Erick Aybar and Old Omar V. His OPS+ is a robust 84. Although his slugging percentage is no longer lower than his OBP (though just barely), he is slugging 80 points lower than his career average. In short, he sucks.

So, the question is: why? He's a warm-weather hitter, so we can expect improvement. But he doesn't seem to be hitting to right center, which is where he gets his doubles. I suspect he's an intense guy who took exception with being moved out of shortstop, but even that can't begin to explain the extent of his offensive collapse. He's "benefited" from a .353 BABIP this season. His line-drive rate is a little off (16.3% in 2009, as opposed to 19.6% career), but he has a significantly higher ground-ball rate (54.1% in 2009 against 46.5% career). Another interesting aberration: Jhonny is OPsing .567 against lefthanded pitchers.

In a normal season (for a normal team), this sort of decline would not necessarily be so deflating. But for the Indians—in the midst of a teamwide disintegration—Jhonny's lack of performance has been devastating.

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I’d vote Carmona as disappointment of the year. Although Peralta is right there behind him so far, thing is I still think Peralta can turn in around, while Carmona is all messed up mechanically.

by hans on Jun 4, 2009 9:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Where did you get those pitch sequence plots for Fausto? I have been arguing with my brother about this and would love to show them to him.

I become an expert simply by doing something.

by fwembt on Jun 4, 2009 10:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

here is where I got the pitch fx data. The pitch fx tool on that site is here

by hans on Jun 5, 2009 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

use the b-ref game logs to identify when he pitched (the dates) and then you can look up the data.

by hans on Jun 5, 2009 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fausto being considered as a "disappointment" is propably one of the significant understatements of the year.

by jayme on Jun 4, 2009 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

probably

by jayme on Jun 4, 2009 10:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t consider FC as much of a disappointment because there was always an element of doubt about his performance this year, based on how he pitched after his injury last year. Maybe we don’t want to admit it, but most of us had some concern about whether he could return to 2007 form.

by odradek on Jun 4, 2009 11:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

While there was definitely a lot of doubt surrounding Carmona coming in, I’d still think Fausto is the disappointment of the year by a landslide. Peralta’s struggles, Grady’s struggles (I don’t know that I buy the injury excuse), Hafner’s lack of health, all pale in my mind to the loss of a potential #1 for no discernible reason other than Fausto’s just screwed up.

Il faut d'abord durer.

by CU Adam on Jun 5, 2009 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Between this and the Rondon FanShot, I’m close to breaking site rules and swearing all the time til I get banned, just so I’ll be out of my misery.

Jay and Ryan can ban me from being an Indians fan, right?

by NickFantana on Jun 4, 2009 9:46 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

If only it were that easy. You’ll find you just can’t quit this team.

-Erik

by drerikbrady on Jun 4, 2009 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

How can you possibly choose one disappoint that stands out from them all? The outcome of this season is the disappointment, everything else is just noise.

-Erik

by drerikbrady on Jun 4, 2009 10:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Probably because Jhonny is one of my favorite players, and I don’t want him to be overlooked. I’m also surprised by the extent of his failure. As we try to come to terms with this failure of a season (and it’s still cold out), it is helpful to understand the components of that failure.

by odradek on Jun 4, 2009 10:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s gotta be Fausto.

Sounds like a horrible, horrible commercial tagline.

Steel Nick

by nickjs21 on Jun 4, 2009 11:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Or a very good one from two years ago.

I become an expert simply by doing something.

by fwembt on Jun 4, 2009 11:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

For what? I’m trying to think of something that could use Fausto as a spokesman. Ideas?

Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?

by ClemsonGirl on Jun 4, 2009 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gas cans.

by NickFantana on Jun 4, 2009 11:37 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

haha What about Pedometers? They count your steps. So basically how much you walk.

Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?

by ClemsonGirl on Jun 4, 2009 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Walking shoes.

by odradek on Jun 4, 2009 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Chalk for the worn out first base line.

FE WEE

by westbrook on Jun 4, 2009 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Steve Blass Disease Foundation

by jayme on Jun 4, 2009 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

maybe he could be the victim of White Castle’s version of the Hamburglar:

Hey! Somebody took my sliders! I swear I put them right on the plate two years ago!

by AllenSmith on Jun 5, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Man does Fausto upset me. Because he still probably has the best single pitch, outside of Wood’s stuff, of anyone on the team. Am I the only one who feels like his motion looks out of whack these days? He just seems to be really out of control in his motion – much more so than he was in the past.

by APV on Jun 4, 2009 11:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I especially detest that “wheeeee” 90 mph not-sinker that veers into the right-handed batter’s box like a wounded duck.

by fleerdon on Jun 4, 2009 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I asked my brother (himself a pretty good pitcher in college) about this. I was mostly curious as to the drop and slight lateral move of his release point, his increased reliance on the sinker instead of the slider, and his loss in velocity (down nearly two miles an hour) and here is what he said:

“1. A later release point is usually a good thing; it’s a sign that a pitcher is firing his front side later, enabling him to keep his weight back and be more explosive through his release. For an extreme sinkerballer, movement on the pitches comes from having a slight amount of arm drag, which comes from having the front side open a little earlier. This results in more strain on the arm and side (just ask Jake Westbrook and his elbow) and is also the reason you never see a sinkerballer with a high leg follow through. The tighter, lower release point would indicate to me not that Fausto is releasing later, but that his front side is clearing sooner. This increases arm drag, which leads us right to…

2. His velo is down, probably because having his front side open sooner lengthens the process of delivering the ball, particularly weight transfer. This makes him less explosive to the plate and slows his arm down, which in turn slows the ball down. Speaking of which…

3. Fausto can’t find the zone because his ball is going everywhere. These are really the same problem. Because he is open earlier, his arm comes in and down in an effort to catch up to his body. The increased lateral motion of his arm at the moment of release gives him more and increasingly horizontal spin on the baseball. Because both his release point and movement are radically different than they have been in the past, he effectively has no idea what is going to happen when he lets go of the ball.

4. I would speculate that Fausto’s decreased arsenal stems from his command issues in two ways: first, he has less confidence in everything he throws, so he goes back to the pitch he trusts the most. Second, his new release point would kill both a slider and a cutter. Since he is effectively releasing from inside the plane of his torso now, he would have to “push” either pitch against the momentum of his arm to put it anywhere outside of the left-handed batter’s box. This results more hangers, which results in more home runs and less confidence.

I again hesitate to say the whole deal is fatigue. If his hip has been bothering him for longer than he has let on, i.e., since he started sucking (again), I think he has probably adjusted his mechanics to take the pressure off of that. That puts the arm farther behind the body, brings the plane of the arm in and down, lowers and brings the release point in, and gives us our current Fausto. Might as well shut him down or carve on him; he’s not doing us any good trying to fight through it.

I’m not totally giving up on him, but he needs some serious work. He’s gotta have enough confidence in his hip to plant his front foot back inside where it used to be, bringing his arm slot back up and giving him the assortment of pitches he’s had since he started throwing. Shut him down, then let him finish the year in AAA. Clifton P. Lee is back from the dead, if Fausto has the makeup to do the same thing, might as well let him give it a go."

Would this merit a Fanshot?

I become an expert simply by doing something.

by fwembt on Jun 4, 2009 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions 6 recs

I question the 2007 data on the slider. I do think he’s throwing more sinkers, but as your brother says, it’s probably because he’s behind in the count more now and is throwing the pitch that he (and Victor) trusts.

Good stuff, thanks for sharing.

by TribeJay on Jun 5, 2009 12:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So, this has 4 recs total, spread over two posts. What color should that make it?

by NickFantana on Jun 5, 2009 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fantastic. I’d say yes to a fanshot.

by hans on Jun 5, 2009 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Eh, Jhonny really isn’t cracking top five for right now, though I commiserate with the frustration.

My number one is Scott Lewis. Drives Laffey out of the rotation, blows a start, contributes nothing, gets hurt until 2011 or whatever. Basically a walking worst-case scenario for that rotation slot.

by fleerdon on Jun 4, 2009 11:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My problem with this is that Laffey did his own part in ST, and carried into his Columbus start, of working himself out of the rotation at the beginning of the year. He had the inside track, and blew it.

by dgcambridge on Jun 5, 2009 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t really disagree that Laffey pitched his way out of the job. I only reference it to show how disappointing Lewis’s injury was in light of the expectations.

by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2009 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t really see it that way. I think they saw an opportunity to roll the dice on Lewis and possibly come up with a decent starter. The only cost was burning an option on Laffey — which they had to spare — and they got to suppress his service time while they were at it. I think it was opportunistic and little reflection on Laffey at all.

Accordingly, I have trouble seeing SLewis as a real disappointment. He had an injury history, and we were not counting on him.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Jun 5, 2009 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That’s a very rational way of looking at the decision when it was made. I’m in pure hindsight mode with common sense switched off, and I would like to know what kind of starts Scott Lewis could have put up if he had been healthy, and how much better off we could be for it. He’s like my prime example right now of “having depth doesn’t matter if your depth also gets hurt.”

by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2009 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don’t know if I’d have him as #1, but Rafael Perez deserves consideration. That bullpen blew a lot of games early.

by TribeJay on Jun 5, 2009 12:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Peralta doesn’t have a consistent, line-drive swing. I just think he’s prone to stretches like these. When he gets his timing down, he squares up many more balls and that’s where the extra-base hits come from.

He was this way in the minors. In 2004, he hit 15 homers in AAA. Ten of those came in an 11-game stretch. Everyone is streaky, but he just seems to live in between (late on the fasball, out in front of the offspeed stuff) more than others.

by TribeJay on Jun 5, 2009 12:49 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yea, I agree. Jhonny doesn’t feel much different than other years. Compared to where he was at in April, I am actually rather pleased with his performance of late

by Roger Dorn on Jun 5, 2009 12:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He’s on a pace to hit fewer than half as many extra base hits as he did last year. He’s on a pace to hit six home runs—in a year where I thought he could hit 30. He is a streaky hitter, but a third of the way into the season he has yet to get hot.

by odradek on Jun 5, 2009 1:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hear what you’re saying. His average has come up over the past month, so I just think he’s working into getting back to what we thought he’d be. That said, he’s going to have to get some kind of hot to reach the numbers we were hoping for.

by TribeJay on Jun 5, 2009 8:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Grady Sizemore for me. Granted, his struggles could be attributed to a bum elbow all year … but many felt this was going to be his first year as a potential MVP.

by Toxicadam on Jun 5, 2009 12:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It"s funny. Grady would be the winner hands down, but he gets a break because he obviously has been hurt. But if Scott Lewis can be a disappointment because of injury, why not Sizemore? Grady gets treated more nicely than others, perhaps because of past performances. I’d have to say, if injury is no excuse, Grady is by far the greatest disappointment.

by odradek on Jun 6, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Would it be possible to imagine a season where Fausto, Peralta, Sizemore, Perez and Lewis all exceeded expectations?

by odradek on Jun 5, 2009 1:18 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

2007?

I become an expert simply by doing something.

by fwembt on Jun 5, 2009 2:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s becoming apparent that may be right.

by odradek on Jun 5, 2009 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Biggest disappointment of the season is anyone pitching a baseball. I am calling it “The Curse of Luis Isaac”.

by elsandito on Jun 5, 2009 10:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Which reminds me, Paul Hoynes is on this list somewhere.

Steel Nick

by nickjs21 on Jun 5, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There’s no reason to limit the disappointment we feel in Hoynes to one calendar year. That guy is the disappointment of the epoch.

by NickFantana on Jun 5, 2009 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If we define disappointment as the negative delta between value and expectations, we can never be disappointed in Hoynes.

by FredOx on Jun 5, 2009 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

The Dark Cleveland Indians Epoch? I’d have to go with Monte Carmelo Castillo.

by odradek on Jun 5, 2009 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rich (n)Yett? I think they were teammates.

by kennesawmountainwahoo on Jun 8, 2009 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Really? I’m not disappointed by Lee or Pavano. I’m disappointed by Laffey only because he got hurt. I’m not disappointed by Raffy R because he’s better than last year. I’m also not disappointed by Herges, Vizcaino or Aquino, but the expectations for those three were either very low or non-existent.

And Luis Isaac was around for the construction of the Wheel of Fail, if not for all the spins.

by FredOx on Jun 5, 2009 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

anyone pitching a baseball

Which raises the question: Could our defense be terrible? Is that possible, and could we even recognize it if it was? Does the success of Lee and Pavano mean that defense can’t be a significant part of the problem?

by dgcambridge on Jun 5, 2009 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

oh, it’s bad. But not bad enough to explain Fausto and the early bullpen.

FE WEE

by westbrook on Jun 5, 2009 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

True. It’s hard to blame the defense for walk, walk, bomb.

by dgcambridge on Jun 5, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

suddenly i miss stomp, stomp, hiss. and also stomp.

by Brick. on Jun 5, 2009 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think our defense has been weak, and that has aggravated our bullpen issues, too.

Pavano and Carmona are near the top of the HMYDISY rankings.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Jun 5, 2009 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This suggests that, to a degree, the front office’s offseason moves regarding the rotation were right on target. But the pitching staff clearly was designed around the presumption of a fundamentally sound defense, perhaps even an excellent defense. And for whatever reasons, that design has collapsed.

Hey, it’s 2006 all over again, when the top of the rankings in HMYDISY included Jason Johnson (1), Jake Westbrook (14), Paul Byrd (17) and Cliff Lee (24).

by FredOx on Jun 5, 2009 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So Fausto is getting more screwed than any other pitcher on an absolute level, but don’t you have to look at it as a percentage of his ERA? In other words, his 1.28 absolute gap in FIP/ERA is less meaningful than Verlander’s .9 gap, for example. For Verlander to be, in this FIP reality, .9 runs better, on average, than his ERA would suggest is a lot more impressive than Fausto’s being 1.28 better than his own ERA would suggest. In yet other words, Fausto may be getting screwed by his defense, but he still sucks.

by jakesinger777 on Jun 6, 2009 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well that, plus when a guy is pitching this horribly, his baBIP is .300 (i.e. normal range) but his ISO against is .176, and his LD% is up from the low teens (14% in 2007) to the high teens (18% now) you can see that he’s leaving some balls over the heart of the plate. He’s also been unlucky in LOB% to be sure.

by hans on Jun 6, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed with both you and jake. He has been terrible regardless of defense, and the crude approach that FIP takes to BIP variance is too kind to Fausto.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Jun 6, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jhonny hasn’t been great, but he hasn’t been really horrible. His OBP is actually up slightly, due to his drawing a few more walks than last year. I don’t think he’s really that far off where he was this time last year, except in the power department. He was pretty poor at the plate for the first part of last year as well. His power numbers HAVE been a disappointment.

I’d nominate Jensen Lewis as the biggest disappointment – last year’s closer who appeared to have established himself as a late inning guy is now virtually un-usable and richly deserves a trip to Columbus. After that, I’d say Raffie Perez (who may be back, however) and Grady (who has injury as an “excuse”) or Fausto (who is a disappointment only because I, like a lot of people, thought last year was injury-related and would pass). Kelly Shoppach also deserves a few votes.

by peter m on Jun 5, 2009 12:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Jhonny has been horrible. He has nine doubles through 55 games. Not to say that these others aren’t disappointing, but did you really believe Jensen Lewis was as good as he seemed? I was always nervous about him.

by odradek on Jun 5, 2009 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Horrible in power numbers, yes. But, I’ll stick to my guns on his OBP and on the fact that he’s started slowly before (in different ways, to be sure, since his power numbers were better in previous slow starts). He’s also adjusted pretty well to playing third. And, I was never that high on PERALTA, to be honest, so I’m less disappointed than I would have been had I thought he was going to develop into a really good hitter.

I wasn’t sold on Lewis either (or Shoppach). But, I think the team was expecting Lewis to be a useful 7th or 8th inning guy — not a great pitcher or a closer (hence Kerry Wood). But a useful pitcher. He has been awful by any measure, far worse than I would have imagined. Peralta’s been disappointing thus far, but one doesn’t look at him and say: “there’s a guy we thought would contribute and instead he should be in the minors.” I don’t, anyway.

by peter m on Jun 5, 2009 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Take your pick of bullpen choices…and while we’re at it…How about Kerry Wood with a 6.00 ERA? Granted he hasn’t gotten consistent appearances. but he’s gotten knocked around plenty….Shoppach barely over the Mendoza line with 4 HR is pretty bad too.

by RD74 on Jun 5, 2009 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

His OBP has been good, but I don’t think we were hoping for walks from Jhonny.

Lewis, you’re right. The guy has given up an insane amount of home runs. Shoppach, I wasn’t expecting him to repeat last year’s numbers.

by odradek on Jun 5, 2009 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jhonny’s power numbers are down from where we’d want them to be, but it’s lack of HR, not doubles, that differentiates this from previous seasons. Performance through the team’s 56th game:

Year	G	2B	HR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2005	43	8	6	0.277	0.336	0.508	0.843
2006	56	10	5	0.236	0.323	0.350	0.673
2007	53	9	11	0.297	0.374	0.515	0.889
2008	49	8	11	0.234	0.292	0.457	0.749
2009	48	9	2	0.263	0.341	0.344	0.685

by FredOx on Jun 5, 2009 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That’s good stuff, Fred. Shows there is still hope for him to hit a mess of doubles.

by odradek on Jun 5, 2009 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

that’s more than a minor variance in line drive %, isn’t it?

by emil minty on Jun 8, 2009 9:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I noticed that. It is significant, isn’t it? Lots more grounders in lieu of line drives/

by odradek on Jun 8, 2009 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

•Eric Wedge had strong words for Jhonny Peralta today. Peralta is batting .249 with a .336 slugging percentage and .340 on-base percentage. He simply has not been driving the ball, as evidenced by his 14 total extra-base hits. Wedge has already benched Peralta for consecutive games twice this season, and he’s contemplating doing so a third time. “He’s got to get his head straight,” Wedge said. “Jhonny’s not a baby anymore. He’s been up here five or six years. He’s going to have to figure it out. I don’t want to keep seeing the same thing day after day.”

Castrovince

by JenniferMarie on Jun 16, 2009 8:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Valbuena has 11 extra base hits. Jhonny looked terrible at the plate last night.

by odradek on Jun 16, 2009 10:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jhonny keeps making me sad. I really like Jhonny but he is disappointing me this year.

Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?

by ClemsonGirl on Jun 16, 2009 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This will definitely work.

by afh4 on Jun 17, 2009 10:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

From the comments section over at cleveland.com:

Today word is that Peralta has about had it, adn wants out. Now THAT’s funny! When Johnny Peralta is fed up with your team, then you’re surley on the bottom.

Has anyone heard of this? Is Jhonny unhappy? Does he want out?

by odradek on Jun 17, 2009 12:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

They always say this. Ever since they started playing him at third. They’ve been saying Jhonny is going to want to leave. I have no idea where they get it from. They must be close personal friends with Jhonny or something.

Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?

by ClemsonGirl on Jun 17, 2009 2:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I though Jhonny didn’t care and never tried hard. Which is it? Or is he apathetically desperate to leave?

by FredOx on Jun 17, 2009 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I never thought he didn’t care but yeah that is pretty inconsistent.

Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?

by ClemsonGirl on Jun 17, 2009 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You didn’t think that, but we weren’t talking about you. We were talking about them. Unless you’re one of them. But then you’d be there, not here, because you’re one of us.

by FredOx on Jun 17, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs

Totally lost … rec.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Jun 17, 2009 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He should consider having better at bats. It would increase his trade value.

by peter m on Jun 17, 2009 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

FAT THIRD BASEMAN SUCKS.

Juan Salas: Smartest man in baseball?

by emd2k3 on Jun 17, 2009 10:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cabrera plays 1B now.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Jun 17, 2009 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’ve always hated Jhonny, ever since he was a lard-ass ten-year-old in the DR eating ice cream cones and big trays of sweets while the other kids ran hard around the bases. He doesn’t care, and he doesn’t try. Now that he’s signed a big contract, he cares even less. It doesn’t bother him when he strikes out with a runner on third and less than two outs. He doesn’t even bother to bend over most times when a grounder is hit to him. Now that he’s at third, he’s playing that bullfighter move—ole!—as the ball goes down the line. Jhonny is fat and stupid and worst of all doesn’t even care enough to make an effort because he knows he has enough money to take care of him and his family for the next 100 years. So instead of trying, he sits at home watching the telenovelas and eating arroz con chicken and lasagna and more ice cream, laughing all the time at the fast one he’s pulled on the gringos. He can’t even tie his own shoes—he has to have his wife do it for him. Maybe he’s a nice guy, because he sounds friendly in those Lasik ads, but he is just an insult to the Indians. Why play him when there are better players just sitting on the bench? Players who care and would give all their effort to be given a chance to play? Jhonny doesn’t care about winning. He doesn’t even care about trying—it’s too much of an effort for him. Jhonny Peralta must go. I can’t stand him. Trade him for John McDonald!

by odradek on Jun 17, 2009 10:50 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs