Manny Acta became the latest manager to name his Opening Day starter a month before the season begins, saying yesterday that Fausto Carmona will get the Game 1 assignment for the Indians.
It’ll be Carmona’s first Opening Day start, as CC Sabathia (twice), Cliff Lee, and Jake Westbrook got the nod during his first four seasons in the Indians’ rotation. Carmona is an easy call, as he’ll have more career starts than the rest of the rotation combined and bounced back from a pair of disastrous seasons to make the All-Star team last year.
Cleveland has used just four different Opening Day starters since 2000, with Sabathia starting five times followed by Bartolo Colon three times, Westbrook twice, and Lee once.
