Manager Manny Acta says Shin-Soo Choo will be the Tribe's leadoff hitter on Monday and Tuesday.
Chuck Crow, The Plain DealerManny Acta has turned to Shin-Soo Choo in his search for a leadoff hitter. Choo will hit leadoff against the Twins on Monday and Tuesday.
Minneapolis -- Manager Manny Acta is looking for a leadoff hitter who can get on base and give his offense a chance to score more than the seven runs they did in the three-game losing streak they took into Monday night's game against the Twins.
Johnny Damon has a .196 on-base percentage since joining the team on May 1. Regular leadoff man Michael Brantley has a .310 OBP. Besides, he's settled in rather nicely in the No. 7 spot.
So after the Indians lost to Boston, 12-1, Sunday at Fenway Park, Acta's gavel fell upon Shin-Soo Choo and his .361 OBP.
"Manny told me Sunday that I'd be hitting leadoff," said Choo.
History is repeating itself. Choo hasn't hit leadoff since Aug. 12-13 against the Twins. His Aug. 12 start came against right-hander Carl Pavano, who started Monday.
Last year Acta wanted Choo to hit leadoff because he missed almost two months with a broken left thumb and needed the extra at-bats. This time around, Acta is looking for offense to help his team keep its tenuous hold on first place in the AL Central.
"Johnny is scuffling right now," said Acta. "He'll continue to get his at-bats, but right now we feel Choo is the best option."
Acta isn't sure how long Choo will stay at the top of the lineup, but said he'd be hitting No. 1 on Tuesday as well.
"I can promise you that," said Acta.
Choo is the fifth player to hit leadoff for the Tribe this year. The others are Brantley (21 games), Damon (10), Jason Donald (two) and Jason Kipnis (one).
Before the Indians added Damon to the roster on May 1, Brantley was the starting leadoff hitter. When Damon arrived, Brantley went to the No. 7 spot where he's hitting .341 (14-for-41) with five doubles and seven RBI.
"I like Brantley everywhere in the lineup, but I really like him in that spot," said Acta. "He doesn't strike out much. He's one of those guys I love to see at the plate when we have runners at scoring position. Somehow he doesn't panic and gives us good at-bats."
Brantley is hitting .294 (10-for-34) with 13 RBI with runners in scoring position.
Choo hit leadoff in 2006 for Class AAA Tacoma before Seattle traded him to the Indians for Ben Broussard. As a refresher course, here were his numbers at Tacoma: .323 (121-for-375), 21 doubles, three triples, 13 homers and 48 RBI, 73 runs and 20 steals in 115 games.
"I don't change anything no matter if I'm hitting leadoff, third, sixth," said Choo. "I just want to swing at good pitches."
When asked about stealing bases, Choo said: "Why not? But I want to be smart. With (Jason) Kipnis and (Asdrubal) Cabrera hitting behind me, my focus is on-base percentage. I'd have to be 120 percent sure that I could steal a base.
New arm: Right-hander Jeremy Accardo, 30, joined the Indians on Monday to replace Dan Wheeler in the bullpen. Wheeler was designated for assignment Sunday after giving up six runs on five hits in the seventh inning against Boston.
In 13 appearances at Class AAA Columbus, Accardo allowed five earned runs on 12 hits and seven walks. He struck out 16 in 161/3 innings, posted a 2.76 ERA and saved four games. The opposition hit .207 (12-for-58) against him.
"He'll be the sixth or seventh reliever in the bullpen," said Acta. "Why him? He almost made our club out of spring training, he was pitching the best out of all the guys in the bullpen at Columbus and he has big-league experience."
Accardo said a key to Accardo's good showing in spring training and Columbus was the split-finger fastball.
"I'd stopped throwing it the last couple of years because I fell in love with the slider," said Accardo.
Acta asked Accardo about the splitter in a meeting before spring training opened. Accardo has been throwing it ever since.
Take a seat: Third baseman Jack Hannahan didn't start Monday in front of his hometown crowd at Target Field because of a sore back. He injured it against Boston on Sunday.
Hannahan is from St. Paul, Minn. Acta said it's possible he could start Tuesday.
Jose Lopez, with three career homers against Pavano, started at third.
Finally: Travis Hafner, Lou Marson, Justin Masterson and Vinnie Pestano will host 50 children from Cleveland's Boys and Girls Club before Wednesday night's game against Seattle at Progressive Field. It's part of the MLB players association's "Buses for Baseball" program.