Indians promote, start Chisenhall; Choo faces surgery Golf Tips

Indians promote, start Chisenhall; Choo faces surgery

June 25, 2011, 4:49 am

Associated Press file Lonnie Chisenhall was promoted from Class AAA Columbus to the Indians on Monday.

After a disastrous weekend in San Francisco, when the team was swept in a three-game series and had more errors (six) than runs scored (four), the Indians on Monday recalled third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall from Class AAA Columbus.

“I’m excited,” Chisenhall told reporters in Arizona. “Everything happened so fast. I’m trying to take it all in. I know most of the guys, so I feel pretty comfortable. I didn’t anticipate this. When I got the phone call, I was pretty shocked. Shocked and excited.”

Tribe officials undoubtedly hope Chisenhall’s arrival will have a positive impact on the Tribe’s offense and defense.

Offensively, the bar isn’t real high at third base. Jack Hannahan, who has been terrific defensively at third, hasn’t given the Tribe much more than pitchers’ numbers as a hitter.

Hannahan went into Monday night’s game at Arizona hitting .180 with one home run and six RBI since May 1.

Chisenhall’s numbers at Columbus aren’t great, but they are better than Hannahan’s in Cleveland.

The left-handed hitting Chisenhall, the Tribe’s first pick in the 2008 June draft, was hitting .265 with seven home runs and 44 RBI in 253 at-bats at Columbus. He has been on a tear in the last week, however. In his last five games at Columbus, his first action since spending a week on the disabled list with a concussion, Chisenhall was hitting .429 (9-for-21) with two home runs and 14 RBI. For that outburst, Chisenhall on Monday was named the International League’s Player of the Week.

For the season, Chisenhall is hitting .360 with runners in scoring position, an area in which the Indians have struggled for most of the last six weeks.

Chisenhall was in the starting lineup at third base Monday, batting seventh. In the Tribe’s 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks, he was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Defensively, Chisenhall is considered still a work in progress. He had seven errors at Columbus. His arrival in Cleveland, however, allows Manager Manny Acta to move the defensive specialist Hannahan to first base and keep Carlos Santana at catcher.

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