Shin-Soo Choo is putting the finishing touches on a season where he's often been the Indians' only ray of hope on offense. His off-season should be interesting as well.
Shin-Soo Choo has been the one consistent part of the Indians' batting order this season. "He's been our only legit threat our whole year due to some of the injuries we've had," said manager Manny Acta.ON DECK: INDIANS VS. LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Where: Progressive Field.
When: Tuesday through Thursday.
TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio; WTAM AM/1100.
Pitching matchups: LHP Scott Kazmir (8-13, 5.98) vs. RHP Josh Tomlin (3-3, 4.18) Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.; RHP Jered Weaver (11-11, 3.14) vs. RHP Jeanmar Gomez (3-3, 3.07), Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. and 3.14) and RHP Ervin Santana (15-9, 4.02) vs. RHP Fausto Carmona (12-14, 3.86) Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
Season series: The Indians are 3-3 against the Angels. The Angels lead, 304-282, overall.
Indians update: They lost two of three to the Twins and their offense is still stagnant. They’ve scored seven runs in 45 innings in their last four games. They took two out of three from the Angels last week at Angel Stadium. Tomlin and Carrasco had no-decisions.
Angels update: They’ve won four straight, including 4-3 victory in 16 innings over the Tribe on Wednesday. Coming off three-game sweep of Seattle. Kazmir held the Indians to one run over six innings in Wednesday’s marathon.
Injuries: Indians — C Carlos Santana (left knee), RHP Anthony Reyes (right elbow) and CF Grady Sizemore (left knee) are on the disabled list. 2B Jason Donald (right hand) and RHP Mitch Talbot (right shoulder) are day to day. Angels — RHP Joel Pineiro (left oblique), 3B Maicer Izturis (right shoulder), 1B Kendry Morales (left leg), CF Chris Pettit (right shoulder) are on the disabled list. RHP Scot Shields (right elbow) is day to day.
Next: Indians open three-game series Friday against Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium.
— Paul Hoynes
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- No man is an island, but there are times when Shin-Soo Choo has looked like one this season in the Indians' lineup.
Choo has spent this year hitting second or third for manager Manny Acta. He's spent 87 games in the No.3 spot and 39 in the No. 2 spot. The hitters the Indians have used to protect him have not exactly kept their end of the bargain.
Indians hitters have combined to hit .236 in the fourth spot (13th in the American League), .256 in the fifth spot (10th) and .267 in the No.6 spot (10th). Choo received better support when he batted No.2. The hitters in the No.3 spot -- minus Choo's stats as the No.3 hitter -- hit .282, but the dreariness of the fourth, fifth and sixth spots did not change.
"He's been our only legit threat our whole year due to some of the injuries we've had," said Acta. "He deserves a lot of credit. I know sometimes teams pitch around him.
"But sometimes they just get into a position where they have to pitch to him ... and he's been very good for us. He's won a ton of games for us."
Choo started the year hitting third behind Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore. A combination of Travis Hafner, Austin Kearns, Jhonny Peralta and Matt LaPorta hit fourth, fifth and sixth.
Two days in May ruined the top of the lineup as Sizemore suffered a season-ending injury to his left knee on May 16 in Baltimore and Cabrera fractured his left forearm on May 17 at Tropicana Field. The injury kept Cabrera out of the lineup for over 50 games.
Choo moved into the No.2 spot until he injured his right thumb diving for a ball July 2. Since he came off the disabled list on July 22, he's been hitting third.
Regardless of lineup position, Choo has hit. In the two hole, he's hitting .284 (44-for-155) with 27 runs, six doubles, nine homers and 22 RBI. In the No.3 spot, he's at .288 (96-for-333) with 39 runs, 22 doubles, seven homers and 49 RBI.
Overall, he's hitting .287 (140-for-488) with 66 runs, 28 doubles, 16 homers and 71 RBI. He's countered his 100 strikeouts with 70 walks. His on-base percentage is .385 and slugging percentage .451.
Acta and hitting coach Jon Nunnally say Choo's willingness to take walks have made a difference in his season.
"The key when the pitchers aren't giving you anything is to take your walks," said Nunnally. "He's done that. That's what makes him the talent that he is. The guy has a .390 on-base percentage. It's been .390 to .400 all year long."
Choo doesn't appear to be overly concerned if he's getting protection or not. He's seen two cleanup hitters, Carlos Santana and Hafner, go down with injuries. Hafner is back, but Santana is done for the season. Peralta and Kearns, two more bodyguards, were traded in July.
His game is with the pitcher.
"If I'm facing someone like Justin Verlander, I'm going to be more aggressive because he can throw a strike with any pitch," said Choo. "If a pitcher has a lot of walks, if he's struggling to throw strikes, I might take a few more pitches."
Said Acta, "A lot of times players just play. They don't analyze the situation around them. That's our job to see who is a threat and who isn't.
"He knows that once those other ingredients [Sizemore, Santana] are in our lineup next year, everything is going to be easier for him."
Despite getting pitched around, Choo has been good when it counts. He's hitting .291 (34-for-117) with runners in scoring position and .321 (18-for-56) with two outs and runners on second or third.
"I like hitting third," he said. "Whenever you come up, somebody seems to be on base."
The off-season should be interesting. Choo is 28 and owes his country, South Korea, two years of military service before he's 30. He will play for South Korea in the Asian games. If they win the gold, he could be released from his military obligation.
Choo is also eligible for arbitration for the first time. If he goes through the process with agent Scott Boras, his salary could jump from $461,000 to between $2.5 million and $3 million. A multiyear deal is a possibility as well.
"We're going to look at those options at the end of the year," said Chris Antonetti, the Indians' incoming general manager. "We see Choo being here for a very long time."
Choo can be a free agent after the 2013 season.