And so long to the periods that held him together.
After arriving in his new home in Milwaukee, the Brewer’s public relations person announced to all that Sabathia prefers to drop the periods in his initials.
No more C.C.
Hello CC.
In one of the bigger deals in Shaprio’s tenure, he let go of a Cy Young winner; a guy with the potential to win 20 games a year and to lead the league in strikeouts; and a player that was drafted and developed by the Cleveland Indians.
In quite a literal way, Sabathia was large and in charge. There was no question that the 300 pounder with the crooked hat was the leader of the pitching staff. The man with the wide grin on his face was the unquestioned king of the mound.
While his production will be extremely difficult to replace, Shapiro has the unenviable task of finding a new leader for his pitching staff. The Tribe will look for Cliff Lee to continue his breakout year into next season to be the #1 starter. Perhaps they will even look to the hard-sinker throwing Fausto Carmona (although, I doubt the Indians want to move him from his comfortable spot as the #2 starter).
While both are very good pitchers, they are more complimentary to the ace of the staff. It is difficult to imagine walking Cliff Lee out to the rubber to square off against Josh Becket in an October game.
This was a trade that had to be made though; while Shapiro talked about how it was important to have CC in the rotation to contend, most fans were well aware of just how impossible it would be to sign him long term. Most not only expected a trade, but probably preferred to see one bring in more talent to the farm system. It would be better than letting him walk and get nothing in return. They would have gotten some compensation picks in the draft, but as Shapiro said in his press conference, those players would be almost five years away from contributing to the big league club.
For the Brewers, they got a legitimate ace. When they need a win, they can simply give the ball to CC and watch him throw 9 innings, striking out 10 and maybe giving up a solo run. Even when the Indian’s offense was in a slump - which seems to be happening more and more lately – CC would dig down and find a way to give his team a chance to win.
The Tribe’s benefit here is fairly obvious. They finally got a young, power hitting prospect. Whether Matt LaPorta stays in the outfield or becomes the Tribe’s everyday first baseman or DH, the team has finally found a big bat to stick in the middle of the lineup. It would be nice to see a cleanup hitter capable of hitting double-digit homeruns. After Victor Martinez’s 0-ffer for the season, any Tribe fan should be happy with at least one home run from the 4 hole.
For CC, he gets the chance to pitch for a playoff contender in the last year of his contract. If he can lead the Brewers into the playoffs and pitch well, he could throw his way to a record-breaking contract for a starting pitcher. A contract so high in dollars and years that it’ll make Barry Zito and his $126 million dollar contract blush.
CC also gets the added benefit of being able to bat every fifth day. Sabathia was one who always looked forward to interleague play where he could take a couple swings at the plate. Now that will become a regular occurrence.
But maybe most importantly of all, it gave CC an excuse. The next time CC is in town, pitching in a different color uniform against the Cleveland Indians, he can look the media in the eye and say he never left Cleveland; he was merely traded. Sure it’s semantics, but it comes off better than Jim Thome chasing the all-mighty dollar in free agency. It could be the difference between being jeered and heckled or cheered and welcomed back.
The fans will miss watching the big fellow out on the mound, but they knew that the Indians couldn’t sign him. Shapiro repeated in his press conference how “the Indians’ capabilities and CC’s expectations do not align.”
However, maybe there is still a glimmer of hope in the fan’s eye. If he was sent to Boston or New York, they would surely have him signed to a big extension. But he’s not there.
He went to Milwaukee.
And he will be available this winter.
While tossing for the Brewers, maybe CC will miss Cleveland enough to give the Tribe a nice hometown discount. Maybe. Hopefully.
Unlikely.
But we can all hope for better roads ahead. It’s what Cleveland fans have been raised to do.
STAR(R) Struck 