After stumbling through a 2-6 homestand, the Indians now face a daunting upcoming schedule. Eleven of their next 14 games are against three of the top teams in the American League, the Yankees, Tigers, and Red Sox. And seven of those 11 games will be on the road. Not that playing on the road is necessarily a bad thing for the Indians, who have the worst home record (8-14) in the league.

As the Indians begin this stretch of their schedule, there is the potential for a couple major pieces of news. Don't be surprised if Justin Masterson doesn't make his next scheduled start, which is Sunday in New York. Manager Manny Acta danced around the quesiton of Masterson when asked recently if a change is going to be made in the rotation. If Masterson is pulled from the rotation nobody can accuse Acta of being quick with the hook. Masterson is 0-5 this year and 0-11 in 16 starts since his last win, which came on Aug. 20 of last year. The most logical replacement for Masterson would be Aaron Laffey. The Indians may wait to see if they can get through the games Friday and Saturday without needing Laffey as a reliever. If they can, Laffey could be moved into Masterson's spot in the rotation, and would make the start Sunday vs. the Yankees.

The other looming news is the condition of Grady Sizemore, who is on the disabled list with a deep bruise in his left knee. The Indians are being very vague about Sizemore's condition. But Sizemore spent the week flying around the country getting second and third opinions. One of the options, apparently, is micro-fracture surgery. If that's what Sizemore has, his season is over, and the rehab from that surgery might even carry over into next season. He could have another type of surgery, or he could have no surgery at all. It seems like a decision of some sort will be forthcoming at some point during the weekend.