Indian Fever: Shin-Soo Choo, Self-Made Hitter!

Last night, Cleveland Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo led the offensive attack that drove the Cleveland Indians to a 15-3 win over the Oakland A's at Progressive Field. Choo went 4 for 5 with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs. Choo is his own biggest critic. Despite being the most productive hitter for the 2009 Indians, Choo believes he is capable of much more and has promised so recently. Perhaps that is what drove him to his "Extra Credit" work on Thursday's "off" day. While being interviewed in the post-game last night, Choo revealed the following. He said that he watched 3 hours of hitting DVDs on Thursday. "I tried a wider stance so I could see the ball better and see it longer," he said. "I didn't swing at bad pitches."

So, during the interview, I posed an even deeper question in my mind that I was hoping would be asked of Choo, or Wedge, or Shapiro, or even the grounds crew..."Where was Derek Shelton on Thursday and why do you have to come up with this "self-coaching" on your own?!"

It has been apparent to me and to anyone else that pays even the slightest bit of attention to this team that they have been under-coached for years. Here's a guy that is leading his team offensively, knows he can do even better, promises the fans that he will, and then he develops his own coaching techniques.

Over the last 7 days, Choo has put on a masterful defensive display, cutting down Cincinnati and Chicago base runners with laser throws from right field. Perhaps if he was asked what he attributes his strong throwing arm to, he may refer that to live grenade training in his South Korean homeland. Choo still has a military obligation that he will be required to serve soon unless he receives a "pass" from South Korea for his baseball career.

Now that I think of it, this team reminds me more and more of the Bill Murray platoon in the movie Stripes. You remember, their drill Sergeant Hulka was blown up during basic training and the platoon was left to train themselves.