NewsChoo looks to increase celebrity status
Cleveland (51-67) vs. Los Angeles (72-45), 7:05 p.m. ET
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
08/18/09 11:14 PM ET
CLEVELAND -- When Y.E. Yang toppled Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club over the weekend, his fellow South Korean, Shin-Soo Choo, was rooting him on about 30 minutes away in the visitors' clubhouse at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. "I don't play golf, and I'm not a golf fan," Choo said. "But I wanted him to beat Tiger. When he did, I was jumping around the clubhouse like, 'Oh yeah!'" But Choo's Indians teammates, who continue their three-game set against the Angels on Wednesday night at Progressive Field, didn't wait long to turn this into an opportunity to razz their buddy Choo. "They said [Yang] is the most famous Korean athlete now," Choo said with a smile. "They said I'm No. 2 now." Hey, there's no shame in that standing, as Choo is still pretty popular. Evidence of that fact was on display Tuesday, when a South Korean television crew followed Choo's every move around the ballpark. Choo explained that they are filming a documentary about him for MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) in Korea. It's scheduled to air some time in November. "They're following me all week, for five days," Choo said. "They came to my house [on Monday's off-day] and were there for seven hours. They interviewed me and filmed me washing the dishes and doing laundry." The 27-year-old Choo is a major celebrity in his native land because of his ascension to the Majors and his insertion into the heart of the Indians' order. But Choo himself still sees plenty of room to improve on his performance this year. Entering the series against the Angels, Choo was batting .291 with 14 homers, 27 doubles, four triples and 65 RBIs. He was pleased with the consistency of the batting average but admitted he got caught up in a recent power drought in which he didn't homer from July 8-Aug. 14. He also wasn't happy with his 34 strikeouts with runners in scoring position. Batting in the cleanup spot has played a part in that. "I'm not a home run hitter, but when you're in the cleanup spot, you want to hit more home runs and doubles," Choo said. "I talked to [hitting coach] Derek Shelton about it, and he said, 'Choo, don't worry. You're not hitting home runs, but you're hitting doubles and triples.'" Pitching matchupCLE: LHP Jeremy Sowers (4-8, 4.88 ERA)
Sowers lasted 5 1/3 innings against the Rangers on Thursday, giving up four runs on eight hits with a walk and no strikeouts. It was an inefficient outing, as he threw 101 pitches in that span. Sowers had been much more effective in the three starts that preceded this one and followed his latest callup from Triple-A Columbus. This time around, Sowers got into some trouble with two outs. He is 1-1 with a 4.21 ERA in four career starts against the Angels. LAA: RHP Jered Weaver (12-4, 4.12 ERA)
Weaver endured his worst start of the season in his last start. The right-hander lasted just 3 1/3 innings, giving up eight earned runs on nine hits. Weaver issued four walks and gave up a solo home run to Baltimore's Felix Pie in the loss. Weaver is 1-1 in seven career starts against the Indians with a 5.20 ERA, and he's 1-0 in three outings in Cleveland with a 4.15 ERA. Tidbits
Trevor Crowe remained out of the lineup Tuesday with right oblique soreness, but he took four rounds of batting practice from the left side and handled it well. If he reports to the park feeling fine Wednesday, he should be back in the lineup, manager Eric Wedge said. ... The Indians are discussing options for September callups, and right-hander Carlos Carrasco, who was acquired in the Cliff Lee trade with the Phillies, is a candidate to join the rotation. He could take the spot of David Huff, as the Indians are still keeping a close eye on Huff's innings total after he missed much of 2007 in the Minors with a left elbow injury and had biceps tenderness in Spring Training this year. ... Asdrubal Cabrera extended his hitting streak to 12 games Tuesday. ... Right-hander Tomo Ohka is hosting the ninth annual Dream Tour, in which four children from orphanages in Japan are visiting Cleveland this week. Ohka will encourage the tour's participants to never give up on their dreams, even under adverse conditions. ... Massillon's Austin Patterson threw out the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday. Austin was the 2009 Pitch, Hit & Run national champion for the 9- and 10-year-olds group at the All-Star Game in St. Louis, Mo. ... The Solon High School marching band performed the National Anthem on Tuesday and also entertained the crowd with between-innings music from the left-field upper deck. Tickets
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• Thursday: Indians (Justin Masterson, 3-4, 4.70) vs. Angels (John Lackey, 8-5, 3.73), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Indians (David Huff, 7-6, 6.55) vs. Mariners (Lucas French, 2-3, 3.74), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Indians (Aaron Laffey, 7-3, 3.38) vs. Mariners (Doug Fister, 1-0, 1.93), 7:05 p.m. ET
Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
