CLEVELAND — Indians starter Justin Masterson has undergone surgery on his left, non-pitching shoulder.

The team said Masterson had a torn labral repaired arthroscopically by Dr. Craig Morgan on Wednesday in Wilmington, Del. Masterson is expected to recover and be ready for training camp in February.

Masterson was the Indians’ most consistent starter this season. The right-hander went 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA in 33 starts.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There are numerous ways to look at the Cleveland Indians’ 2011 season.

The overall finish — an 80-82 record and second place in the American League Central Division — rates in the somewhat-of-a-nice-surprise category.

The first 45 games, a mere 28 percent of the season, were stunning. Picked by some pundits to finish last in the Central, and coming off a combined 134-190 record in the 2009-10 seasons, the Indians stormed to a 30-15 start.

The next 18 games, a mere 11 percent of a 162-game season, saw the Indians go 4-14, and began to expose the team’s lack of balance and versatility among its position players.

The next 95 games, the bulk of the season, 59 percent of it, in fact, was baffling. How did this already under-manned team go 46-49, while besieged by injuries, and overly-dependent on rookies and journeyman veterans?

The last four games, all losses, meant little but some tweaks in the final individual stats (though rookie pitcher Zach McAllister couldn’t have hurt his prospects with his performance on Wednesday night in Detroit). Plain Dealer Indians beat writer Paul Hoynes wrote about the Tribe’s season finale, the 5-4 loss to the Tigers in Detroit on Wednesday night. 

The Indians’ uneven season’s journey makes for an interesting offseason, one which will be chronicled in The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com’s Indians coverage. That began today, Thursday, with Paul Hoynes’ report that the Indians have exercised the 2013 option on Manny Acta’s contract, and also some Indians’ observations from Acta and general manager Chris Antonetti; Hoynes’ story that pitching coach Tim Belcher has stepped down from the position; Terry Pluto’s column on the 2011 Indians; a Starting Blocks TV interview with Hoynes; a Starting Blocks poll, grading the 2011 Indians; and, much more.

Rounding the bases

A season’s-end interview with Indians vice-president of player development Ross Atkins. By Tony Lastoria of Indians Prospect Insider.

The Indians emerged as a surprise contender this season, writes Jordan Bastian for MLB.com.

And, by Jordan Bastian for MLB.com: The Indians intend to build on this season, with a snappy position-by-position breakdown.

Despite being swept by the Tigers in Detroit — including Wednesday night’s season-ending 5-4 loss — the Indians still finished second in the AL Central. By Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal.

The Indians’ wild 2011 ride, by Tom Withers of the Associated Press, carried by the Houston Chronicle.

Tim Belcher steps down as the Indians pitching coach, by Jordan Bastian for MLB.com.

A top 10 memorable moments for the 2011 Detroit Tigers, as they caught and passed the Indians and won the AL Central. Indians vs. Tigers moments at Nos. 3 and 7. By Tom Gage of the Detroit News.

How the Indians season ended. On WaitingForNextYear.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Travis Hafner was not at his locker before Wednesday night’s game against Oakland at Progressive Field. In his place, was a large gray and white plastic walking boot.

If you’re into signs, this doesn’t seem like a good one regarding the chances of Pronk returning to the lineup sometime in the season’s final month. Hafner was placed on the disabled list after injuring his right foot trying to leg out a double against Detroit on Aug. 21. There was talk the foot, which has hampered Hafner since late April, would need surgery.

So much for signs and talk.

Hafner and head trainer Lonnie Soloff returned Wednesday from visiting an out-of-state doctor who treats NFL players. The news was good.

“We got some encouraging news,” said manager Manny Acta. “It looks like he’ll be able to join our club and play again this year. There’s no timetable, but that’s encouraging news.”

The Indians acquired Jim Thome in a waiver deal with the Twins on Thursday. He has taken over Hafner’s DH spot. Depending on when Hafner returns, Acta would seem to have a juggling act on his hands.

But he doesn’t see it that way.

“Returning from this kind of injury, Hafner is not going to be able to play every day,” said Acta. “It’s the same situation with Jim. They’ll share [the DH].

“It’s an advantage in September [with expanded rosters]. I’ll be able to pinch run for one of them in the seventh and then I’ll have whoever didn’t play bat in the ninth. You can only do that in September.”

Surgery: Outfielder Michael Brantley underwent surgery on Wednesday to remove his hamate bone from his right hand. Dr. Thomas Graham did the operation at Cleveland Clinic.

Brantley will miss the rest of the season, but should be fine for spring training.

As the Crowe flies: Outfielder Trevor Crowe was promoted to Class AAA Columbus as he rehabs from right shoulder surgery. Crowe has missed the entire season, but it’s possible he could be a September call-up.

Reinforcements: Teams can expand their rosters to 40 players starting Thursday. Don’t look for the Indians to make that kind of cattle call, but they could add a reliever or two in the next several days.

Josh Judy and Nick Hagadone are candidates. Judy was optioned to Columbus on Aug. 23 to make room for Shelley Duncan. Hagadone was optioned on Sunday to make room for Jerad Head. Judy and Hagadone must stay in Columbus at least 10 days before being recalled.

Relievers Zach Putnam and Chen Lee are also possibilities. Most of the position players considered prospects are already with the Indians or on the disabled list.

“I’m not so sure if we’ll call anybody up for Thursday,” said Acta. “It depends how [Wednesday's] game goes. It depends how our bullpen shapes up. We could bring a reliever up.

“There are some arms that are coming up, but there’s no rule that says a guy has to be up here Sept. 1.”

With the Indians scheduled to play two doubleheaders in September, Mitch Talbot might even get a call. But he would have to be put on the 40-man roster.

New role: Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall is used to playing every day, but he’s found himself in a new role as the Indians try to run down Detroit and Chicago in the AL Central.

Jack Hannahan has reclaimed the third-base job, entering Wednesday’s game hitting .419 (18-for-43) with 10 RBI in August. In his first at-bat, he hit a 432-foot homer to center field.

“They haven’t really spoke to me about what’s going on,” said Chisenhall. “All I know is Jack is raking. He’s raking, he’s in the lineup and he’s playing well.”

Chisenhall has been working on his swing in the batting cage during games. He’s also been used several times as a pinch-hitter.

“I’m trying to learn all I can from this,” he said.

Finally: The Indians will send pitching prospects Austin Adams, T.J. McFarland, Matt Packer and Tyler Sturdevant to the Arizona Fall League in October. They’ll play for the Phoenix Devil Dogs. Mickey Callaway, Class A Kinston’s pitching coach, will be Phoenix’s pitching coach.

On Twitter: @hoynsie

CLEVELAND –

Manager Manny Acta and several of the Cleveland Indians spent part of a much-needed day off bowling for charity.

They could use a helping hand – or two.

And they got a big one.

With injuries taking their toll and their pitching staff dragging, the Indians are quickly fading from contention in the AL Central. Their unexpected season has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. They’ve lost six of seven games and entered Thursday trailing first-place Detroit by six games. In less than a week, the Indians slipped 4 1-2 games in the standings, a plunge they may never recover from.

“This week is not going to make or break us – hopefully,” said Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin, who failed to pitch five innings for the first time in his career in a loss on Wednesday to Seattle. “What happened to us, it can happen to anybody.”

On Thursday night, the team filled a gaping hole in its lineup when slugger Jim Thome agreed to a trade from Minnesota. Thome is back with Cleveland, the team he broke in with and one that needs his help. Thome will replace designated hitter Travis Hafner, who is on the disabled list and possibly out for the season with a foot injury.

The Indians are hoping Thome, the team’s career home run leader who left as a free agent in 2002, can push them closer to the Tigers.

“He’s a Hall of Fame caliber player and person and we are thrilled to have Jim back in Cleveland for the next month and a half,” general manager Chris Antonetti said. “We had preliminary conversations with the Twins before Travis Hafner got hurt. Once Travis got hurt, that made it a more clear fit for Jim.”

There may not be a team in the majors that has suffered as many costly injuries as Cleveland. For Thursday’s series finale with the Mariners, Acta had only three players – Carlos Santana, Matt LaPorta and Jack Hannahan – who were in his lineup on opening day. The Indians are a shell of what they were early this season, when they got off to a 30-15 start as baseball’s biggest surprise.

They’re not the same.

Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo joined a long list of injured players on Wednesday, when he was scratched with a sore back. Choo got hurt checking his swing in Tuesday’s game and said it bothered him while warming up in the indoor cages. The loss of Choo, who homered twice the previous day, was another blow to a batting order missing s Hafner, Grady Sizemore (knee), Michael Brantley (wrist) and Jason Kipnis (hamstring).

On top of that, Santana was pulled in the ninth inning after taking a foul tip off his catcher’s mask. Santana was knocked onto his backside by the hard wallop, a visual that sums up Cleveland’s current state – groggy.

Still, the Indians are hanging on to the hope they can make another run.

“It’s just one more thing to overcome,” reliever Joe Smith said. “That’s what this team has done all year, and I can promise you this team will still fight. I expect nothing except this team will find a way to turn it around.”

Choo and Santana expect to play Friday, when the Indians open a three-game series with Kansas City. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera will be back, too, after sitting out on Wednesday.

Thome should have an immediate impact. Without a legitimate threat in the heart of their order – Shelley Duncan batted fourth on Wednesday – the Indians have trouble scoring. And with the way their starting pitchers have suddenly fallen on hard times, that’s a major problem.

In the past seven games, Cleveland’s starters have gone 0-5 with a 9.61 ERA. With the exception of Justin Masterson, all of the Indians have been roughed up lately. Pitching has been the Indians’ strength all season, the single biggest reason they’re still in the postseason discussion with September looming. If it doesn’t improve, it may be the reason October is just another month on the calendar.

“I don’t think I’ve seen that the whole year,” Acta said after Wednesday’s 9-2 loss, when Tomlin had his streak of consecutive starts of at least five innings stopped at 37. “I don’t think I’ve seen four out of the five guys not have a quality start. I don’t think we had four non-quality starts in a week. I don’t think we even did it last year when the guys weren’t as good. It’s the wrong time. “

Time may be running out on the Indians. Still, they believe it’s not too late.

“We’re still going,” Choo said. “It’s tough. But we’re still going.”

And they got a big one.

With injuries taking their toll and their pitching staff dragging, the Indians are quickly fading from contention in the AL Central. Their unexpected season has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. They’ve lost six of seven games and entered Thursday trailing first-place Detroit by six games. In less than a week, the Indians slipped 4 1-2 games in the standings, a plunge they may never recover from.

“This week is not going to make or break us — hopefully,” said Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin, who failed to pitch five innings for the first time in his career in a loss on Wednesday to Seattle. “What happened to us, it can happen to anybody.”

On Thursday night, the team filled a gaping hole in its lineup when slugger Jim Thome agreed to a trade from Minnesota. Thome is back with Cleveland, the team he broke in with and one that needs his help. Thome will replace designated hitter Travis Hafner, who is on the disabled list and possibly out for the season with a foot injury.

The Indians are hoping Thome, the team’s career home run leader who left as a free agent in 2002, can push them closer to the Tigers.

“He’s a Hall of Fame caliber player and person and we are thrilled to have Jim back in Cleveland for the next month and a half,” general manager Chris Antonetti said. “We had preliminary conversations with the Twins before Travis Hafner got hurt. Once Travis got hurt, that made it a more clear fit for Jim.”

There may not be a team in the majors that has suffered as many costly injuries as Cleveland. For Thursday’s series finale with the Mariners, Acta had only three players — Carlos Santana, Matt LaPorta and Jack Hannahan — who were in his lineup on opening day. The Indians are a shell of what they were early this season, when they got off to a 30-15 start as baseball’s biggest surprise.

They’re not the same.

Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo joined a long list of injured players on Wednesday, when he was scratched with a sore back. Choo got hurt checking his swing in Tuesday’s game and said it bothered him while warming up in the indoor cages. The loss of Choo, who homered twice the previous day, was another blow to a batting order missing s Hafner, Grady Sizemore (knee), Michael Brantley (wrist) and Jason Kipnis (hamstring).

On top of that, Santana was pulled in the ninth inning after taking a foul tip off his catcher’s mask. Santana was knocked onto his backside by the hard wallop, a visual that sums up Cleveland’s current state — groggy.

Still, the Indians are hanging on to the hope they can make another run.

“It’s just one more thing to overcome,” reliever Joe Smith said. “That’s what this team has done all year, and I can promise you this team will still fight. I expect nothing except this team will find a way to turn it around.”

Choo and Santana expect to play Friday, when the Indians open a three-game series with Kansas City. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera will be back, too, after sitting out on Wednesday.

Thome should have an immediate impact. Without a legitimate threat in the heart of their order — Shelley Duncan batted fourth on Wednesday — the Indians have trouble scoring. And with the way their starting pitchers have suddenly fallen on hard times, that’s a major problem.

In the past seven games, Cleveland’s starters have gone 0-5 with a 9.61 ERA. With the exception of Justin Masterson, all of the Indians have been roughed up lately. Pitching has been the Indians’ strength all season, the single biggest reason they’re still in the postseason discussion with September looming. If it doesn’t improve, it may be the reason October is just another month on the calendar.

“I don’t think I’ve seen that the whole year,” Acta said after Wednesday’s 9-2 loss, when Tomlin had his streak of consecutive starts of at least five innings stopped at 37. “I don’t think I’ve seen four out of the five guys not have a quality start. I don’t think we had four non-quality starts in a week. I don’t think we even did it last year when the guys weren’t as good. It’s the wrong time. “

Time may be running out on the Indians. Still, they believe it’s not too late.

“We’re still going,” Choo said. “It’s tough. But we’re still going.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CLEVELAND (AP)—Manager Manny Acta and several of the Cleveland Indians
spent part of a much-needed day off bowling for charity.

They could use a helping hand—or two.

And they got a big one.

With injuries taking their toll and their pitching staff dragging, the
Indians are quickly fading from contention in the AL Central. Their unexpected
season has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. They’ve lost six of seven games
and entered Thursday trailing first-place Detroit by six games. In less than a
week, the Indians slipped 4 1-2 games in the standings, a plunge they may never
recover from.

“This week is not going to make or break us—hopefully,” said Indians
pitcher Josh Tomlin(notes), who failed to pitch five innings for the first time in his
career in a loss on Wednesday to Seattle. “What happened to us, it can happen to
anybody.”

On Thursday night, the team filled a gaping hole in its lineup when slugger
Jim Thome(notes) agreed to a trade from Minnesota. Thome is back with Cleveland, the
team he broke in with and one that needs his help. Thome will replace designated
hitter Travis Hafner(notes), who is on the disabled list and possibly out for the
season with a foot injury.

The Indians are hoping Thome, the team’s career home run leader who left as
a free agent in 2002, can push them closer to the Tigers.

“He’s a Hall of Fame caliber player and person and we are thrilled to have
Jim back in Cleveland for the next month and a half,” general manager Chris
Antonetti said. “We had preliminary conversations with the Twins before Travis
Hafner got hurt. Once Travis got hurt, that made it a more clear fit for Jim.”

There may not be a team in the majors that has suffered as many costly
injuries as Cleveland. For Thursday’s series finale with the Mariners, Acta had
only three players—Carlos Santana(notes), Matt LaPorta(notes) and Jack Hannahan(notes)—who were
in his lineup on opening day. The Indians are a shell of what they were early
this season, when they got off to a 30-15 start as baseball’s biggest surprise.

They’re not the same.

Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo(notes) joined a long list of injured players on Wednesday,
when he was scratched with a sore back. Choo got hurt checking his swing in
Tuesday’s game and said it bothered him while warming up in the indoor cages.
The loss of Choo, who homered twice the previous day, was another blow to a
batting order missing s Hafner, Grady Sizemore(notes) (knee), Michael Brantley(notes) (wrist)
and Jason Kipnis(notes) (hamstring).

On top of that, Santana was pulled in the ninth inning after taking a foul
tip off his catcher’s mask. Santana was knocked onto his backside by the hard
wallop, a visual that sums up Cleveland’s current state—groggy.

Still, the Indians are hanging on to the hope they can make another run.

“It’s just one more thing to overcome,” reliever Joe Smith(notes) said. “That’s
what this team has done all year, and I can promise you this team will still
fight. I expect nothing except this team will find a way to turn it around.”

Choo and Santana expect to play Friday, when the Indians open a three-game
series with Kansas City. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera(notes) will be back, too, after
sitting out on Wednesday.

Thome should have an immediate impact. Without a legitimate threat in the
heart of their order—Shelley Duncan(notes) batted fourth on Wednesday—the Indians
have trouble scoring. And with the way their starting pitchers have suddenly
fallen on hard times, that’s a major problem.

In the past seven games, Cleveland’s starters have gone 0-5 with a 9.61 ERA.
With the exception of Justin Masterson(notes), all of the Indians have been roughed up
lately. Pitching has been the Indians’ strength all season, the single biggest
reason they’re still in the postseason discussion with September looming. If it
doesn’t improve, it may be the reason October is just another month on the
calendar.

“I don’t think I’ve seen that the whole year,” Acta said after Wednesday’s
9-2 loss, when Tomlin had his streak of consecutive starts of at least five
innings stopped at 37. “I don’t think I’ve seen four out of the five guys not
have a quality start. I don’t think we had four non-quality starts in a week. I
don’t think we even did it last year when the guys weren’t as good. It’s the
wrong time. “

Time may be running out on the Indians. Still, they believe it’s not too
late.

“We’re still going,” Choo said. “It’s tough. But we’re still going.”