It's been too long while since I updated the Blog, and I thought this would be a good subject to start it back up with again.
I have been a pretty harsh critic of Justin Masterson since he arrived with the Indians. At the time of the trade last year, I was pretty pissed that we didn't get Clay Buchholtz. I mean, Victor Martinez was the heart and soul of the Indians team and I thought we should have gotten the maximum value for him. When you look at the numbers I think I was right. This year, Buchholtz is 8-4 with a 2.52 ERA.
Masterson, however, had lost I believe 10 straight decisions until last week when he finally won against the White Sox. Still, even in getting his first win of the season, he didn't pitch all that well. He went 5 2/3 innings, only gave up one run, but surrendered six walks. That's no good. But then he came out against the team that traded him and the person who I thought we should have had and pitched the game of his career.
A complete game shut out against the Red Sox is no easy task considering their line up, but Masterson really stepped up. 9 innings, two hits, two walks and six strikeouts are some damn good numbers; something to write home about. Especially considering the fact that about three weeks ago, there was a lot of speculation that Manny Acta was about to put him back in the bullpen (where I also believed he belonged). Who knows, maybe this will be the start that gives Masterson the confidence boost he needed to be a consistent starter.
On a totally separate note, how about Stephen Strasburg? That number one draft pick from last year lived up to every inch of the hype on Tuesday night going 7 innings only allowing two runs on four hits, and striking out 14! Yes, that's fourteen! I have to say, I wasn't too keen on all the press leading up to that start (see the 4 hour countdown on ESPN), but when someone comes out and performs like that it's definitely something to write home about. So much so that I am going to try my hardest to see him pitch against the Indians this coming Sunday - it has the potential to be a pretty special game to watch.
~MAS
