Sabathia's last stand (in Cleveland)

Like any Indians fan, I wish C.C. Sabathia were still an Indian. I also wish Thome and Manny were still here; yes, both are in their late 30s, and both are showing signs of age. But imagine what we could have done with them in the lineup throughout the current decade.

Baseball doesn't work like that, of course. The teams with the deepest pockets get the best established major-leaguers. The Milwaukee Brewers are not one of those teams, but they're in the same position the Indians would be in if they were contending. They know they're not going to sign C.C. after this year, but they feel they can win this year, and so they're giving up future pieces to help them in the present day. The Brewers are Bud Selig's home team, so it's hard to praise them, but I do think they're doing the right thing. When you haven't been in the playoffs since 1982, and you've got a chance of getting there this year, you've got to go for broke.

Of course, these trades have a way of working out for the seller. Did you happen to notice who the Indians' two All-Stars are this year? Anyone remember how we got Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore? Does the name "Bartolo Colon" ring a bell? If the Sabathia trade works out half as well as the Colon trade did, I'll take it.

Let's take a look at the guys we're getting from the Brewers:

* Matt LaPorta: Seen as the linchpin of the deal, LaPorta is the current home run leader in the Class AA Southern League. He's a power-hitting outfielder, which is obviously something we can use in the coming years. LaPorta, 23, is in his second year of professional baseball, after a brilliant four-year career at Florida in which he hit 74 home runs in 195 games. He has 30 minor-league homers in 350 ABs, which is a pretty doggone good clip. I look forward to seeing him in Cleveland in 2009, if not September 2008.

* Zach Jackson: The lone player with major-league experience to come over in the deal, the 25-year-old has had cups of coffee in Milwaukee in 2006 and earlier this year. He had a decent year in 2007 in Triple-A Nashville, but hasn't done well this year. In his minor-league career, he's registered more than twice as many strikeouts as walks, and given up about one home run every 12 innings. In the majors, he's 2-2 with a 5.36 ERA in 10 games, seven starts. In the minors, he's 32-29 with a 4.55 ERA in 93 games, 82 starts. He's a throw-in, but the Indians must think they see something in him that the numbers don't show. That's a risky proposition, but no riskier than trying to sign your best player one year removed from a Cy Young award. Maybe they're taken in by the fact that he wears his glove on his right hand. It sure gave Jesse Orosco a long career. And the way the Indians' bullpen has gone, adding someone who's roughly a replacement-level major-leaguer can't really hurt.

* Robert Bryson: A 20-year-old right-handed pitcher, Bryson has put up some impressive strikeout numbers in the low minors. He fanned 70 in 54 innings in the Rookie League last year, and 57 in 45 1/3 this year. So he doesn't put a lot of stress on the defense. But like many fireballers, he misses the strike zone a lot. That combination helps him more in the low minors, where hitters don't have a great command of the strike zone. It's a lot tougher in the bigs. But the Indians must feel that if they work with him on his command, he can contribute in a few years.

* A player to be named later: Could be the greatest player you've ever seen. More likely, he'll be someone like Jerry DiPoto. (No offense, Jerry DiPoto, and god bless you on your recovery from cancer.)

At first glance, this is no Colon trade. Of course, we have to remember that when Colon was traded, Montreal Expos GM Omar Minaya had absolutely no reason to consider next year. The Expos were moving after that year, and nobody knew where, but everybody knew Minaya wouldn't be following them there.