Game 135: Twins 4, Indians 1

As we wind down the 2009 season, it seems to me that the Indians are in pretty good shape as far as position players are concerned. And the rebuilt rebuilt bullpen has been tremendous. But I'm still scared about the rotation going forward.There's some talent among the starting group, but also a lot of risk.

Today's outing by Justin Masterson looks pretty good if you look at it superficially; he allowed just one earned one on 5 hits. But the five walks to me are a red flag. He's given up 20 walks in his past five starts, so this game's wildness isn't a fluke. Wildness eventually will catch up to a pitcher, no matter how good his stuff, and shorten his outing. Short outings by a starter place more pressure on a bullpen, which will have negative effects on the relief staff as the season goes along.

Scott Baker may have a pedestrian 4.44 ERA, but he might as well be Roy Halladay when he faces the Indians. In his three starts prior to today, the Indians are hitting just .138/.169/.225 (MLB as a whole is hitting .246/.284/.417). His line today (6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 4 BB) mirrored Masterson's  but usually a high walk count isn't a problem for him (31 walks in 160 innings pitched).

The only offense the Indians managed came on one swing of the bat. Andy Marte went deep off Baker in the third, his fifth of the season.

Next Up: Blackburn vs. Huff, 1:05 PM

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