26-year old righty swinging 1B Matt LaPorta was the key player in the C.C. Sabathia deal with the Brewers 2.5 years ago, so it’s time for him to step up or sit down.  LaPorta has played in 16 games so far in July and he is 11 for 53 (.208 avg, .549 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs.  He has now played in 75 games for the Tribe so far this year and he is 59 for 251 (.235 avg, .694 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 9 homers, 35 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Those numbers are awful for a starting 1B in the major leagues.  LaPorta has now played in 237 games in his first three years with the Indians and he is 188 for 808 (.233 avg, .694 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 28 homers, 97 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  The Indians aren’t going to wait around forever for LaPorta to start hitting the ball like the minor league scouting reports said he could when they dealt for him.

The Indians have lost starting RF Shin-Soo Choo for at least a month after be broke his left thumb last night when he was hit by a pitch. Choo has played in 72 games for the Indians this year and he is 65 for 266 (.244 avg, .687 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 5 homers, 28 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Righty swinging Austin Kearns and lefty swinging Travis Buck will likely platoon in RF until Choo is ready to return to action. The Indians really need those two guys to step up as neither of them have played too well so far this year. Kearns has played in 31 games for the Tribe so far this year and he is 18 for 91 (.198 avg, .559 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. Travis Buck has played in 32 games for the Indians this year and he is 23 for 101 (.228 avg, .624 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Indians hope that Choo is ready to rock when he gets healthy as this has been a lost season for him right now.

UPDATE: (6/26/2011) – The new timeline is that Choo will miss at least the next six weeks as he will likely need surgery to repair his broken thumb. This is a big blow to the Tribe.

The Indians have called up 27-year old lefty swinging Travis Buck from AAA to platoon in LF with Austin Kearns. Buck played in 10 games for the Indians earlier this year and he was 7 for 29 (.241 avg, .611 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He also has played in 18 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 20 for 60 (.333 avg, 1.016 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 3 homers, 21 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Indians need Austin Kearns to pick it up with the bat. He has played in 16 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 8 for 50 (.160 avg, .450 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 16 whiffs.

The Indians have placed starting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured left forearm which will likely require surgery. Cabrera has played in 33 games for the Indians this season and he is 39 of 136 (.287 avg, .689 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Indians have recalled 25-year old righty swinging Jason Donald to replace Cabrera as the starting shortstop. He made his major league debut against the Rays yesterday and he was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Donald came into this season as the Indians’ #15 rated prospect as he came over from the Phillies in the Cliff Lee trade last summer. Donald played in 37 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 38 of 137 (.277 avg, .820 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Indians are depending on Donald to do a good job while Cabrera is out of action.

UPDATE: Cabrera has had surgery to repair his broken left forearm which will cause him to miss the next 8-10 weeks.

32-year old righty reliever Kerry Wood will miss the next 6-8 weeks due to a strained back muscle. Wood pitched in 58 games (0 starts) for the Indians last season and he was 3-3 with 20 saves, a 4.25 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He still has good stuff when healthy as he only gave up 48 hits in 55 innings for the Tribe last season while whiffing 63 batters. The Indians will be depending on 24-year old righty reliever Chris Perez as the closer until Wood is ready to return to action. Perez pitched in 32 games (0 starts) for the Indians last season and he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 4.32 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. In 61 games (0 starts) overall for the Indians & Cardinals, Perez was 1-2 with 2 saves, a 4.26 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Perez has the stuff to excel as a closer as he only gave up 41 hits while whiffing 68 batters in only 57 innings last season. The Indians really need Perez to step up while Kerry Wood is out of action.