Game 81: Indians 15, Athletics 3

by Ryan on Jul 4, 2009 12:06 AM EDT in Game Recaps Comment 23 comments

CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Just when all is lost, count on the Indians to give you an entertaining game to keep you hooked. Tonight the Tribe lineup (sans Victor Martinez) put on a July 3rd fireworks display, collecting 15 hits, 8 of them extra-base hits. Oakland starter Trevor Cahill got ripped for 8 runs (5 of them earned), and was out after 3.2 innings. After Cahill left, four more Athletics pitchers would make appearances, and the Indians scored runs of three off them.

Asdrúbal Cabrera had his first good offensive game since returning from the Disabled List, smacking two doubles. Ben Francisco, perhaps knowing that Matt LaPorta is a phone call away, collected three hits, and Travis Hafner hit another home run. But the night belonged to Shin-Soo Choo, who hit two home runs and a double, driving in seven runs in the process. Choo is quietly having a fantastic all-around season, and now that we're a full year into his breakout (with an offseason half-way through for pitching staffs to adjust), you have to consider his production sustainable. He's currently 7th in the AL in Runs Created, and only Jason Bay has a higher RC among outfielders.

Hitters are adjusting to David Huff, but tonight all Huff had to do was to limit the damage, put in 5 or 6 innings, and get the heck out. He did that, defusing a couple innings that could have turned out much worse than they actually did.

A nice sidelight was to see the Perezes have better outings. Perez Right got some generous swings from the A's, including one on a helmet-high fastball, but he was much more composed than in his last appearance. Tonight's a much better example of what you're going to get from Chris Perez.

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via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Shin-Soo Choo	.226	Victor Martinez	-.156
Jhonny Peralta	.197	David Huff	-.070
Travis Hafner	.128	Luis Valbuena	-.042

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Comments

I’m being attacked by O’s!

Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile

by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Jul 4, 2009 12:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My favorite thing about tonight: Choo is now plastered across the top of my browser.

Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?

by ClemsonGirl on Jul 4, 2009 12:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I am nothing short of on cloud 9. I love this. My little bobbly-headed Choo is rockin’ to the beat.

Shin-Soo Choo, future U.S. Citizen.

by USSChoo on Jul 4, 2009 12:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Did you at least see the game tonight?

Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?

by ClemsonGirl on Jul 4, 2009 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just bits and pieces, but between what I saw the highlights I was satisfied.

Shin-Soo Choo, future U.S. Citizen.

by USSChoo on Jul 4, 2009 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Is there a way to turn that CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO green?

"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter

by Denver Tribe Fan on Jul 4, 2009 11:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

hahaha Just noticed Sweet Baboooooooo. Nice.

Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?

by ClemsonGirl on Jul 4, 2009 12:56 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hah! It woulda taken me 3 days to notice that one.

Proud Fan of the Worst Baseball Team I've Ever Seen

by westbrook on Jul 4, 2009 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think I’ve found Ben B. Francisco’s selling point. CLICK THIS SHAPIRO [OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]

Proud Fan of the Worst Baseball Team I've Ever Seen

by westbrook on Jul 4, 2009 1:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

4th outfielder for pinch hit situations? Sign me up.

Shin-Soo Choo, future U.S. Citizen.

by USSChoo on Jul 4, 2009 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ben Zobrist OPSed .391 in 2007.

Proud Fan of the Worst Baseball Team I've Ever Seen

by westbrook on Jul 4, 2009 1:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Isn’t that amazing? Another steal for my offensive laden fantasy team… in fact my fantasy team is a lot like this years Tribe. Perhaps I should quit playing, or just learn to be awesome.

Shin-Soo Choo, future U.S. Citizen.

by USSChoo on Jul 4, 2009 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, my fantasy team was like that too… but Friday really got me back into things. I gained like 7 points and passered brick!

Edwin, Duke, Hudson and Branyan as FAs have heped too.

Proud Fan of the Worst Baseball Team I've Ever Seen

by westbrook on Jul 5, 2009 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Aaron Hill, Aardsma, Freddy Sanchez and Zobrist were all my FAs, but that follows the theme of mostly offense. I just got screwed with Ervin Santana and Justin Duchsherer(sp?).

Shin-Soo Choo, future U.S. Citizen.

by USSChoo on Jul 5, 2009 1:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I got screwed by a lot more guys than that. Aaah, Aardsma (heh I see what I accidentally did there) … that’d be nice. I have like a total of 10 saves.

Proud Fan of the Worst Baseball Team I've Ever Seen

by westbrook on Jul 5, 2009 2:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Getting screwed by Kerry equals out having Aardsma and Nathan.

Shin-Soo Choo, future U.S. Citizen.

by USSChoo on Jul 5, 2009 3:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think it’s obvious that this win is a result of whatever Wedge said to them before the game. Clearly these guys play hard for him.

/flip side of the coin using every game to point out intangible excuses, and also longest post-script action tag ever

Steel Nick

by nickjs21 on Jul 4, 2009 8:27 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

From the pitching side, it was nice to see Chris Perez throwing a 95-mph fastball for a strike (and as you mentioned, hitters swinging when it wasn’t). A mini-highlight of the game outside of the offensive show was Huff getting a grounball that Peralta bobbled, then getting a groundball for the double play that Valbuena and Cabrera failed to turn into a single out, and still not allowing a run with the meat of the order coming up.

Steel Nick

by nickjs21 on Jul 4, 2009 8:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs