Game Countdown – 4/26/10: Indians @ Angels

VS.

Counting down to the Angels’ game against the Indians trying to forget some bad memories from 2009.

Cleveland Indians (8-10) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (10-10)

Game Starters: CLE – David Huff (1-2, 3.00 ERA)  LAA – Jered Weaver (2-0, 2.77 ERA)

Game Info: 7:05 PM PT TV-Fox Sports West; Radio-ESPN Radio, KLAA 830 AM, KWKW 1330 AM

5. Can the Angels stop Shin-Soo Choo?  Not only is Choo off to a fantastic start and putting up some of the best numbers in baseball, but Choo was death on the Angels in 2009, posting a 1.325 OPS in 22 at-bats.  The Indians don’t have a whole lot of offensive threats, so if the Angels wisely avoid letting Choo hurt them, Cleveland is going to have a difficult timing putting any runs on the board.

4. Alright, Brandon Wood finally got an extra-base hit, but does that mean all is well with him finally?  We should find out tonight when he steps into the batter’s box for the first time.  If he is still gritting his teeth and turning his bat into sawdust, he is in deep trouble.

3. This might be a good series to have Brian Fuentes avoid.  For those who don’t remember, it was Cleveland that started Tito’s struggles in the second half of last season when he appeared on consecutive nights, blowing one save and giving up six total runs without retiring a single batter.  One could certainly argue that he hasn’t been the same ever since, so Scioscia should be very careful about running Fuentes out there tonight and the rest of the series.

2. How do I know Jered Weaver is an ace now?  Because he is pitching tonight and I don’t doubt for one second that the Angels won’t win this game.  That’s how good he is now.  Really, I don’t even know why they are going to bother playing the game. (and yes, I realize I probably just jinxed it)

1. When do we get to start worrying about Erick Aybar?  He is hitting just .246 with only two steals and has fanned 18 times in 69 at-bats.  It seems like everyone has been so worried about Brandon Wood this year that Aybar’s failures as a lead-off man have gone largely unnoticed.