Indians infielder Drew Sutton has family coming and going so they can share his big-league experience.
Drew Sutton hasn't always gotten the best of the play (Bobby Abreu stole second on this play last week), but he's making sure to enjoy his time in the big leagues.INDIANS CHATTER
Clubhouse confidential: Mitch Talbot came through Monday’s bullpen session in good health and will start Thursday against Kansas City. There was no problem with the right shoulder that knocked him out of his last start Sept. 12, but he was upset with his control.
Said pitching coach Tim Belcher, “I told him, “You haven’t been on the mound in seven or eight days. You can’t expect to hit a gnat in the butt on your first day back. Mitch said he’d be happy to hit a elephant in the butt.”
Don’t fear the K: Shin-Soo Choo smiled after finding out he won the AL Player of the Week on Monday.
“I was only hot for three games last week ... all against Kansas City,” said Choo. “I did nothing against the Twins and Angels. I was afraid of the strikeout. Then I just went back to keeping it simple. I’m not a contact hitter. I drive the ball. If I strike out, I strike out.”
Choo entered Monday’s game with 104 strikeouts and 75 walks. He finished last year with 151 strikeouts and 78 walks and went into this season with the goal of striking out less.
Stat of the day: The opposition is hitting .277 against the Indians rotation and .251 against the bullpen.
— Paul Hoynes
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Drew Sutton is trying to make time for everyone. He knows a chance to play in the big leagues is rare and should be shared with those close to him.
Over the weekend, Steve Sutton made the seven-hour drive from Arkansas to Kansas City to watch his son play against the Royals. Drew responded with a big-league high three hits Sunday.
His wife, Staci, is in Minneapolis for the Twins series. His mother, Pam, and brother, Tyler, will be in Cleveland when the Indians return home Thursday.
"I'm trying to fit everyone in," said Sutton, who started at second base Monday for the Indians in his 48th big-league game.
If Jason Donald hadn't injured his right thumb Sept. 11, Sutton would still be with Class AAA Columbus preparing to play Tacoma on Tuesday in a one-game showdown to decide the Class AAA championship.
"I figured I'd be down there until the end," said Sutton. "Getting called up makes a big difference, especially in your pay. It's the difference between thinking about playing winter ball or having to play winter ball or getting a job at the Y to make ends meet."
Improvement: The Indians' ERA since the All-Star break is 3.83 (235 earned runs in 555 1/3 innings) entering Monday game. It's a big improvement over the first half when Tribe pitchers came in at 4.64 (398 in 771 1/3 ).
Pitching coach Tim Belcher explained it this way, "Most of the guys going out there are half a year older ... a half a season older, essentially. When you're sending young guys out there, you can't really expect stellar results.
"I think the bullpen has been much better. They've been great, much more consistent. CP [Chris Perez] has solidified that closing role that Kerry [Wood] seemingly never had a handle on. That settles everything down ... it puts everyone in their proper role."
The bullpen has lowered its ERA to 3.92, seventh lowest in the American League. The pen had a 4.69 ERA (127 in 243 2/3) at the break. They have a 3.00 ERA (68 earned runs in 204) since.
Belcher pointed to Jake Westbrook's early season inconsistencies as he came back from nearly a two-year absence because of Tommy John surgery on his right elbow as a factor in the staff's performance in the first half.
"Jake wasn't himself the first two months," said Belcher. "He was up and down and walking too many people. David Huff walked a lot of people. Take those numbers out and add guys who have been better at throwing strikes like [Jeanmar] Gomez and [Josh] Tomlin and that will improve things."
Player of the Week: Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo was named American League Player of the Week today. It's the second time this season Choo has won the award.
Choo hit .500 (10-for-20) last week. Over the weekend, he went 8-for-12 with four homers and 10 RBI in a three-game series against the Royals. He hit three homers and drove in seven runs in Friday's 11-4 victory.
"He should have been player of the week for that one game," said manager Manny Acta. "He drove in seven runs in one game. That's an RBI for every day of the week."
He homered and stole a base Sunday to reach 20-20 for the second straight season.
Streaking: Michael Brantley's 19-game hitting streak has drawn the attention of the Society for American Baseball Research. SABR points out that the streak would be at 27 games entering Monday if not for an 0-for-1 Brantley took Aug. 29 as a defensive replacement.
Brantley hit .286 (29-for-91) during the streak, which ended with an 0-for-5 Monday against the Twins. SABR's Trent McCotter says there have only been four streaks of 20 or more games in which the batter hit below .300: Tommie Agee, 20 games, Mets, .288, 1970; Eddie Foster, 21 games, Washington, .295, 1918; Jimmy Wolf, 31 games, Louisville (American Association), .299, 1885-1886 and George Case, 20 games, Washington, .299, 1941.
Finally: Jordan Taylor will succeed Dave Smith as general manager of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the Indians' Class A team.