Will Carroll's team-by-team look at potential injury risk turns today to our Indians courtesy of Baseball Prospectus. (We contributed lineups, rotations and questions on behalf of LGT and SBN.) What jumps right out: our green-light-starved rotation, which includes two yellow-light ratings and three reds.
Just two months ago, Carroll and BP presented the Indians with the Dick Martin Award, given annually to the organization with the most effective medical staff. The article confirms the Indians' status as the best team in this area over the past three seasons, and Carroll lauds the overall state of the Indians roster. When it comes to the rotation, however, while he doesn't exactly use the word "minefield," still and all, there it is:
- A jolting red light for Fausto, based on last year's jump in workload. Carroll doesn't predict a disastrous season, just a high chance of an injury disrupting it at some point.
- Another red light for Byrd, which seems a little harsh for a guy who basically hasn't missed a start in three entire seasons.
- A red light for Cliff, more disappointing than surprising.
- Totally unsurprising yellow lights for Sabathia and Westbrook.
As an aside, I submitted a bunch of "medical questions" to Will so he could choose one for this article. Just for fun, here are the other questions I submitted (after the jump):
- Westbrook was terrific after coming off the DL, should we assume that his injury is as behind him, as much a pitching injury can be?
- Does anything Paul Byrd has said about his pituitary something or whatever make any sense?
- Gut feeling -- is J.D. Martin going to have that second-year-after-TJ bounce?
- Gut feeling -- Scott Lewis' future health and effectiveness?
- Franklin Gutierrez -- more like a gazelle or a cheetah?
- Any hope for a career-ending injury for Brandon Phillips, so we can stop torturing ourselves?
- Can we get the staff's lips surgically removed from Casey Blake's butt?