27-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Masterson looked really good for the Indians in 2011.  He pitched in 34 games (33 starts) for the Indians in 2011 and he was 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.  The Indians thought that Masterson turned the corner and would be the ace of the starting rotation in 2012, but things have not turned out that way.  Masterson has pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Indians so far this year and he is 11-15 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.  Rumors are going around that the Indians will be receptive to dealing Masterson over the winter.

The Indians have fired 43-year old manager Manny Acta.  Acta led the Tribe to a pathetic 65-91 (41.7%) record this year.  The Indians were only 214-266 (44.6%) under Acta in his three years in charge.  He now has a 372-518 record (41.8%) in his first six years as a major league manager (three with Washington and three with Cleveland).  The Indians have replaced Acta with 46-year old Sandy Alomar Jr.  Alomar was a coach for the Indians for four years before this promotion.  He was the bench coach this year.  Alomar has deep ties to the Indians as he was a catcher for them for 11 years.  He played in 985 games for the Indians in which he was 944 of 3,409 (.277 avg, .734 OPS) with 416 runs scored, 92 homers, 453 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.  Alomar burst onto the scene with the Tribe back in 1990, when he played in 132 games in which he was 129 of 445 (.290 avg, .744 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 9 homers, 66 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  Alomar was the A.L. Rookie of the Year for the Indians in 1990.  This is a well deserved promotion, as Alomar can’t help but be a big improvement over Manny Acta.

UPDATE:  (10/8/2012) – Sandy Alomar went 3-3 as the Indians’ manager.  He has been replaced by 53-year old Terry Francona.

The Indians have shut down 28-year old righty starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez due to a sprained right ankle.  They have done Indians’ fans a favor as Jimenez has been brutal to watch.  He pitched in 31 games (all starts) for the Indians this year and he was 9-17 with a 5.55 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.  Jimenez gave up 190 hits (25 homers), walked 95 batters and he threw 16 wild pitches this year while whiffing 143 batters in 176 2/3 innings pitched…which is pathetic.  Jimenez has now pitched in 42 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Tribe and he is a brutal 13-21 with a 5.43 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.  Jimenez has now pitched in 180 games (179 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 69-66 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.  I’m begging the Indians’ front office not to pick up Jimenez’ option for the 2013 season.

It looks as if 24-year old righty starting pitcher Zach McAllister has hit a wall lately.  Since August 1st, McAllister has started 10 games in which he is 1-6 with a 5.72 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 20 games (all starts) for the Indians overall this year and he is 5-8 with a 4.31 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  McAllister has blown his shot the last couple of months to secure a spot in the Indians’ 2013 starting rotation.

The Indians have removed 24-year old righty Jeanmar Gomez from the starting rotation.  He has pitched in 18 games (16 starts) for the Tribe this year and he was 5-8 with a 5.61 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.  Gomez has been especially horrible in September, starting 3 games in which he is 1-1 with a 8.53 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.  Gomez continues to disappoint for the Cleveland Indians.  He has pitched in 40 games (37 starts) in his first three years with the Indians and he is 14-16 with a 5.02 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.  28-year old lefty David Huff will replace Gomez in the rotation the rest of the 2012 season.  Huff has pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Indians so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 51 games (48 starts) in his first four years with the Indians and he is 16-25 with a 5.37 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP.  Huff is pitching for his future with the Cleveland Indians’ organization the rest of this year.