The other day, I mentioned the possibility that Ezequiel Carrera could be another player the Indians “stole” from Seattle, along with Shin-Soo Choo, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Omar Vizquel (thank you to a commenter for pointing out that last one).  Asdrubal Cabrera made sure to provide some additional evidence today that the 2006 trade with Seattle for Eduardo Perez was quite a steal for the Indians.

            Cabrera is proving that he’s one of the elite shortstops in the Major Leagues, even if he doesn’t get the recognition that others receive.  He currently leads American League shortstops in runs (32), hits (55), home runs (9), and RBI (32); he leads all Major League shortstops in RBI and runs, and is second in home runs to Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki.  Cabrera’s 5 for 5 performance today (two home runs and three singles) was just the fifth time since 1920 that a shortstop had five hits (including two home runs) in a game.  Along with Michael Brantley and Choo, the top three spots in the Indians’ lineup were 10 for 12 today.  I feel almost like a broken record saying this, but this is exactly what the Indians need while they wait for Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore to return to the team from the DL. 

The Reds series marked the eighth series sweep of the season for the Indians (if you count the rain-shortened Mariners series as a sweep)

 

           On the injury front, I’ll share a bit of good news, and a bit of bad news.  The good news: Grady Sizemore has started to resume some baseball activities and could be creeping closer to a return.  The bad news: pitcher Alex White will miss at least two months with a sprained finger; he won’t even be allowed to touch a baseball for three to four weeks.  Disappointing, but at least Mitch Talbot will return from the DL soon.

           Speaking of Asdrubal Cabrera – I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a player that breaks as many belts as he does.  His belt snapped as he slid into second during the bottom of the third, and a new one was passed out to him from the dugout.  I’ve seen this happen a few other times, including spring training 2009, when Sandy Alomar Jr. took off his own belt during a game and handed it to Asdrubal.  I wonder if I’m just noticing this now because I’m looking for it, or if Cabrera happens to break an inordinately high number of belts.

            I also heard that Cabrera’s son Meyer took a little bit of batting practice prior to Sunday afternoon’s game.  Maybe it was a good idea that I got his signature along with his father’s at the Wahoo Club’s Asdrubal Cabrera luncheon…

Asdrubal Cabrera's signature, and his son Meyer's signature from the Wahoo Club luncheon. Asdrubal's signature is on the bottom, if you couldn't tell.

 

Rally Cows are now 6-0 at home.

1 Comment