The Indians are rolling, but manager Manny Acta still sees room for improvement.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Not much has gone wrong for the Indians through the first 45 games of the season, but Manny Acta is a manager -- and managers are rarely satisfied.
Acta said he'd like to be able to use reliever Chad Durbin more now that he's pitching better. Offensively, he's still waiting on Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana, his third and fourth hitters, to start producing.
Victory, however, covers flaws big and small. When a team is 30-15, there's not a whole lot to complain about.
Acta says the reason for the Indians' emergence from a 93-loss season last year has been starting pitching.
"Our starters are going right at people," said catcher Lou Marson. "We walked a lot of people last year. We're getting timely hitting, but we're giving ourselves a chance to stay in the game right now with our pitching and defense."
The Indians walked 572 batters last year, fifth most in the big leagues. Through 45 games this year they're tied for the second-fewest at 133.
The rotation is 19-10 with a 3.60 ERA. In 45 games, they've thrown 30 quality starts. The bullpen is 11-5 with a 2.89 ERA and 13 saves. It leads the AL in winning percentage and ERA and is tied for second in saves.
Durbin spent the last three years in the Phillies' bullpen, so he knows what it takes to win big games in the late innings.
"In 2008, when [Phillies manager] Charlie Manuel had to stop any leaks or maintain a lead, he was able to throw out righty, lefty, righty, lefty, Brad Lidge in any situation," Durbin said. "It's kind of the same situation here.
"If the game is tight in the sixth, I go out and get an out. Then Raffie Perez or Tony Sipp start the seventh. Then you've got Vinnie Pestano or Joe Smith in the eighth [leading to closer Chris Perez]. It's just a good mix.
"It's a good situation for a manager because he might be able to force the other manager to pinch-hit earlier in the game because the back end is doing so well. That means the back end isn't going to have to face that big pinch-hitter. It just puts pressure on the other team."
He's ready: The last time Mitch Talbot pitched for the Indians was April 11 against Los Angeles at Angel Stadium. He worked eight scoreless innings, combining with Pestano on a five-hitter in a 4-0 victory. Talbot's right elbow started aching after the game and he's been on the rehab merry-go-round ever since.
The carousel stops Wednesday, when the Indians play Boston in a 12:05 p.m. game at Progressive Field. He's scheduled to face Boston lefty Jon Lester.
"I'm ready," said Talbot. "It's been so long that it feels like I'm making my first start of the season."
To make room for Talbot, the Indians told right-hander Josh Judy that he was being optioned to Class AAA Columbus after their 4-2 loss to Boston on Tuesday night.
Testing, testing: Grady Sizemore (right knee) went through agility drills in the outfield before Tuesday's game with head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff. He's expected to run the bases before Wednesday's game in anticipation of being activated when the Indians open a six-game trip Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Sizemore hasn't played since May 10.
A Clipper once more: Justin Germano cleared waivers and was outrighted to Class AAA Columbus on Tuesday. He could have refused the outright and become a free agent, but accepted the assignment.
Germano was designated for assignment on Thursday in Chicago.
Finally: Left-hander Drew Pomeranz, the Indians' No.1 pick last year, skipped his last start at Class A Kinston. It doesn't mean he's getting promoted to Class AA Akron or that he's injured. Ross Atkins, director of player development, said the Indians are just trying to manage the amount of innings he throws this year. ... Nick Johnson, signed in spring training as a backup plan in case anything went wrong with Travis Hafner or Matt LaPorta, is playing games in extended spring training in Goodyear, Ariz., but hasn't gone nine innings yet. Johnson is recovering from surgery on his right wrist.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2011/05/mitch_talbot_is_ready_to_pitch.html
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