26-year old switch-hitting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians finished 20th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award.  He played in 151 games for the Indians in 2011 and he was 165 of 604 (.273 avg, .792 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 25 homers, 92 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.  Cabrera has now played in 538 games in his first five years with the Indians and he is 567 of 2,019 (.281 avg, .756 OPS) with 285 runs scored, 43 homers, 258 RBIs and 44 stolen bases.  The Indians hope that Cabrera’s power he showed in 2011 wasn’t a mirage.

42-year old Manny Acta finished fourth in the voting for the A.L. Manager of the Year Award in 2011.  Acta led the Indians to a 80-82 (49.4%) record last season despite no one expecting much out of his team.  Acta now has a 307-427 (41.8%) record in his first five years as a manager in the major leagues.  He did a solid job for the Indians last year and I think his team will continue to improve in 2012.

28-year old lefty swinging Shin-Soo Choo finished 14th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Choo played in 144 games for the Indians last season and he was 165 of 550 (.300 avg, .885 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 22 homers, 90 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. He has now played in six years in his major league career appearing in 459 games in which he is 488 of 1,642 (.297 avg, .880 OPS) with 265 runs scored, 59 homers, 270 RBIs and 52 stolen bases. Choo is the best player on the Indians right now and he has earned his exemption from military service in South Korea which has to bring a smile to the faces of the Tribe’s front office & fans.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Fausto Carmona will make his first All-Star appearance for the Indians. He is likely making the team because of Shin-Soo Choo’s recent injury. Carmona has started 16 games for the Tribe this season and he is 7-7 with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has tightened up his control and batters are only hitting .248 against him this season. Incidentally, in 2007 batters also hit only .248 against Carmona. In 2007, Carmona started 32 games for the Tribe and he was 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. It’s quite a shock that Carmona is pitching this well based on how poorly he pitched in 2008 and 2009. In those two years, Carmoma pitched in 46 games (all starts) in which he was 13-19 with a 5.89 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. Give manager Manny Acta and pitching coach Tim Belcher a lot of credit for getting Carmona back on the right track.