Now that's more like it!

To refer to last night's game against the Royals as C.C. Sabathia's best performance of the year would be like calling Alaska the coldest noncontiguous state. Sabathia's six-inning, 11-strikeout, four-hit, scoreless gem in Kansas City was an oasis in the desert that has been his April thus far. You know that when you go six scoreless innings in the early season and it only brings your ERA down to 10.12, you got off to a rough start. But we now know that C.C. didn't leave his left arm in California this offseason. He absolutely dominated the Royals last night.

And the Tribe's dormant offense woke up last night as well, exploding for 15 runs after averaging a little more than 4 over the first 19 games of the season. Lots of hitters who got off to slow starts broke out in that game -- not least of which was Casey Blake, who went 4-for-4 with six RBIs, four of which came on one swing of the bat. His grand slam in the fourth inning turned a 3-0 game into a 7-0 game, and the rout was on. Jhonny Peralta had three hits, including a home run; David Dellucci had two hits, one of which left the yard; and Franklin Gutierrez had three hits, two of which were doubles. Let's hope these guys are all recovering from their early-season struggles.

Unfortunately, they appear to be on their way to getting rained out tonight, in their first opportunity to build on last night's game. But there is reason for optimism.