Why Do We Think This Way?

 

The Cleveland sports fan makes me want to shake my head.  Phil Savage has talked about the "woe is us" mentality we have regarding our sports teams, and yet another example has come up in the last week or so.  It involves the trading of C.C. Sabathia, who will not be a free agent until after next season.   

 

Apparently, fans think the Tribe can afford to deal the big lefty since Fausto Carmona has pitched well in his last three starts.  Setting aside the fact that three starts is a very small sample size, the Indians are currently in first place!  Why in the world would they trade their best pitcher, one of the top five starting pitchers in the American League?  He’s not a free agent at the end of this season, he will wear a Cleveland uniform next year as well.

 

At some point, you have to try to win.  We may look back if Sabathia leaves as a free agent following next season, and wish we got something in return for him.  However, if you think this team can make the playoffs this year and next year, you have to keep C.C.  He is a #1 starter, and those guys are very important in the playoffs.  He is our Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, and Roy Oswalt.  A legitimate ace of the staff.  The only way you deal him is if the Tribe falls out of the race next year, and the front office is convinced they can’t retain the big lefty.

 

Fans compare the situation with Bartolo Colon in 2003.  First, Mark Shapiro didn’t think that team could get to the post season and he didn’t think he could ink Colon.  Secondly, it is highly unlikely any team will deal the Indians the same types of players Shapiro obtained from the Expos that year:  Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Brandon Phillips.  In fact, no major league club has made a trade like that since.  Shapiro’s grand theft has ruined it for everybody.

 

The current edition of the Tribe is poised to contend.  This year’s good start reinforces that sentiment.  Championship teams need depth, particularly in starting pitching.  The Indians have already had injuries to Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook, and Jeremy Sowers has been hammered in two starts out of five.  They can’t trade a commodity like Sabathia, or Carmona for that matter.

 

Some of this talk comes from New York, where the papers are reporting the Indians might deal Sabathia if the Tribe falls out of the race.  However, as the DiaTribe has pointed out, this has more to do with the arrogence of Yankee followers thinking that all other major league teams are their farm team, than fact.  The 2007 Indians don’t need prospects.  They need players who can help them win this season.  C.C. Sabathia is one of those players.

 

KM