The Indians lead the American League with 103 errors. They are especially porous at shortstop and third base.
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- This is a daily briefing of the Indians 2010 regular season. The Indians play the Angels tonight in the first game of a three-game series at Angel Stadium.
Angel Stadium dimensions: Left field line 333 feet, left field bullpen 362, left field 370, left center 386, center field 404, right center 386, right field 370, right field bullpen 362, right field line 333. Outfield fence, 8 feet high.
Pre-game notes:
Game 138: The Indians defense long ago abandoned ship. It's in the lifeboats and the sharks are circling.
The Tribe leads the American League in errors with 103. They rank fifth in the big leagues.
They've taken on the most water from the left side of the infield where they lead the league in errors at shortstop and third base. They've made 23 combined errors at short and 24 at third.
Asdrubal Cabrera, who may have played his worst game of the year defensively Sunday in a 3-0 loss to Seattle, leads with the way with 10 errors at short in 76 games. Jason Donald, in his brief stay at short when Cabrera was injured, made nine in 46 games.
Then there is the two-headed monster at third -- Jayson Nix and Andy Marte. Nix has made nine errors, including two Sunday, in 23 games, while Marte has made nine
in 29 games at the hot corner. Departed Jhonny Peralta, in comparison, looks like a Gold Glover with five errors in 91 games.
Indians center fielders are tied for first in the league with seven errors. Trevor Crowe has made four in 64 games, Michael Brantley two in 43 and injured Grady Sizemore one in 32 games.
The pitching staff is second with 13 errors, including five by Justin Masterson.
Here's how the other positions breakdown, including the main offenders:
-First base: 10 errors, fourth in AL. Matt LaPorta has three, Marte two and departed Russell Branyan five.
-Catcher: nine errors, 6th in AL. Lou Marson has four and Carlos Santana three.
-Second base: eight errors, 12th in AL. Donald has three.
-Left field: five errors, 6th in AL. Departed Austin Kearns made four.
-Right field: eight errors, 4th in AL. Shin-Soo Choo has made four.
Quick hits:
-Choo is hitting .335 (78-for-233) at home as opposed to .253 (58-for-229) on the road. His power numbers are similar -- seven homers and 37 RBI at home and nine homers and 32 RBI on the road.
"A lot of people have asked me about that, but I don't think about it too much," said Choo. "Maybe next year, I'll have a better average on the road."
Choo said he feels comfortable at Progressive Field.
"When you're on the road sometimes it's tough to see early in the game when you're not used to the stadium," he said.
-The Angels have spent four days in first place this season in the AL West. They spent 100 days in first place last years in winning the division.
-Masterson, who missed Sunday's start because of a family matter, rejoined the team today. He'll make his scheduled start Tuesday.
Lineups:
Indians (55-82): CF Michael Brantley (L), SS Asdrubal Cabrera (S), RF Shin-Soo Choo (L), DH Travis Hafner (L), 3B Jayson Nix (R), LF Shelley Duncan (R), 1B Matt LaPorta (R), 2B Luis Valbuena (L), C Lou Marson (R) and RHP Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 3.68).
Angels (66-71): 3B Alberto Callaspo (S), 2B Howie Kendrick (R), LF Bobby Abreu (L), RF Torii Hunter (R), DH Hideki Matsui (L), 1B Mike Napoli (R), SS Erick Aybar (S), C Jeff Mathis (R), CF Peter Bourjos (R) and RHP Dan Haren (2-4, 3.50 with the Angels and 7-8, 4.60 with Arizona)
Umpires: H Dan Bellino, 1B Rob Drake, 2B Joe West, 3B Angel Hernandez.
Quote of the day: "Any time you think you have the game conquered the game will turn around and punch you right in the nose," Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt.
Next: RHP Justin Masterson (5-12, 5.14) vs. RHP Trevor Bell (2-4, 4.85) Tuesday at 10:05 p.m.