Almost a full year later, he’s adjusting well to his new home — even if the last-place Indians haven’t been able to be as competitive as they’d like to be in the AL Central.
“It’s nice,” Masterson told Heidi Watney on Tuesday’s edition of SportsDesk. “There are some times where I think you’d like to win a few more games here, but we have a great group of guys and it’s just been a lot of fun. For me, it’s been some tough luck but a lot of fun just figuring things out and having fun and just trying to figure out ways to win.”
Tough luck is right. Masterson is 1-5 thus far in 2010, his first full season as a starter, and will face his former team on Wednesday.
“It’s been very good character-building,” Masterson said of his rocky road this season. “Mentally, it’s continued to help develop me, as an individual and as a pitcher. It’s been a good time, and hopefully for the longevity of my career it will be a benefit.”
It may not translate to the wins column, but the mentality in Cleveland is the same as it is anywhere else in baseball: Winning is always the first thing on the players’ minds.
“[The objective is] to win ballgames,” Masterson said. “It’s the same if you go anywhere else. It’s to continue to develop and work on the small things — not try and get out of who you are, but to finish games. There’s been times when we go and do well for so long, and then you just kind of get out of the rhythm mentally. … It’s just getting to that consistency factor.”
Perhaps the biggest difference between Cleveland and Boston is the size of the home crowd. Progressive Field boasts the lowest attendance rates in baseball this year.
“It’s been interesting. We haven’t played terribly, but we haven’t played the best,” Masterson said. “The fans here are probably looking for something good. … We’re just playing. The fans will come when they come, and we can only continue to get better.”
For more on Masteron’s thoughts on whether LeBron James will stay in Cleveland or go, check out the video below.
