I loved what I watched from the Indians yesterday. Especially from the 7th inning on, they demonstrated a new style of play that we never saw in 7 years with Eric Wedge.
Acta made a defensive substitution in the 7th (LaPorta was on base, and he pinch ran Marte, a better defensive 1st baseman) that came back to help Chris Perez save the game. Marte made an awesome stop on a hard hit ball with a man on base in the 9th inning.
Earlier in the 9th inning, Choo stole 2 bases and the Indians were able to secure an insurance run that probably made Perez breathe easier in his first closing attempt of the year. In the 8th inning, Acta wisely left Laffey in to get one left handed batter out, then brought Smith in to face the two righties to follow.
Most of this stuff we never saw from Wedge. Smart and aggressive base running, pitching match-ups that work, and a defensive substitution near the end of a close game. The young players will respond to this kind of intelligent managing.
I'm not saying the Indians will win the world series; but that was really nice to see yesterday.
Please watch the video below...I love those Old Spice commercials.
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I must concur with your wise analysis. Granted I may watch quite a lot fewer Indians games than I would like.... like 6 all last year... but was most enjoyable to see them play well and win yesterday and the enemy tv broadcast. Gosh I hate "homer" announcers.
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