Indians pitcher Justin Masterson would like to remain a starter, but manager Manny Acta is sending him to the bullpen to make sure he's not overworked.
View full sizeJustin Masterson has pitched a career-high 166 innings this season for the Indians.CLEVELAND, Ohio — If he were making the decision, Justin Masterson would have done it differently. Since he's not, he'll spend the Indians' last 21 games of the season in the bullpen after making 28 starts and going 6-12 with a 4.88 ERA.
The Indians are limiting Masterson's workload. He's pitched a career-high 166 innings this season after pitching 129 1/3 last year.
Masterson, if left to his own designs, wanted to start, take a week off, start, and take a week off.
Manager Manny Acta felt differently.
"We didn't want him making one start and then sitting around the rest of the season," Acta said.
Acta said Masterson will pitch "eight to 10 innings" in relief. He said he'll use him in "high-leverage" situations.
"We want to take advantage of that arm," Acta said. "He could pitch setup. He could pitch in the seventh inning."
Headed into next year, Acta sees Masterson as a starter.
"He'll condition during the off-season as a starter and go into spring training as a starter unless we sign five Bob Fellers," said Acta. "Then we'll move him to the bullpen."
Masterson bounced between the bullpen and the rotation with Boston before the Indians acquired him in a trade last year.
"In retrospect, we saw [the move] coming," Masterson said. "That's where we're at. The guys in the bullpen said I got a promotion."
Masterson wants to start and feels he's done enough to start next season.
"I think starting is my role," Masterson said. "The second half, overall, has been pretty good. You're going to have a few [bad ones] thrown in there now and then. That's life, that's baseball that's the imperfect human being that I am."
Masterson leads the team with 126 strikeouts. He's walked 73 and allowed 185 hits. His WHIP is 1.56.
"I think I've shown enough in the second half, especially in the last three starts," Masterson said. "There's been a few checkpoints that have helped me to stay consistent in my delivery."
Masterson's 12 losses tie him for sixth in the league. He's learned that a starter often doesn't have a lot to say if he wins or loses.
View full sizeIndians fan Amy Tubbs of Lakewood patiently waits out a long rain delay Saturday night at Progressive Field."I'll wear my numbers. I'm not going to throw anybody under the bus. I'll let people talk as much as they want about me, good or bad."
Delayed: Rain delayed the start of Saturday's game 1 hour and 50 minutes.
See ya next year: This isn't exactly shocking news, but the Indians were eliminated from the AL Central race Tuesday.
Said Acta: "We're just going to go home with another 21 ballclubs. Only eight stay. That's the name of the game."
Welcome: Minor-league coordinators Dave Hudgens and Bruce Fields have joined the big-league staff for this homestand. Columbus manager Mike Sarbaugh will join the staff when the Clippers' playoff run is done. Class AAA Columbus advanced to the finals of the International League playoffs with a victory over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) on Saturday.
Acta said unless an emergency arises, no players will be called up from Columbus before its playoff fate is decided.
In honor of: The Indians and Twins wore special-edition hats Saturday to commemorate 9/11. There was a video and a moment of silence before the game.
"God Bless America" was sung during the seventh-inning stretch.
Rapid fire: Fausto Carmona has four complete games this year and he's done them quickly.
On June 2, he lost to Detroit and Armando Galarraga in the perfect game that wasn't in 1 hour, 44 minutes. On June 12, he beat the Nationals in 2:03. On Sept. 3, he lost to Seattle's Luke French in 2:09 and Friday he beat the Twins and Carlos Pavano in 1:57.