Let's Make A Deal

No Clevelanders, I will not be assuming the role of the game show host Monty Hall (for you younger readers click the wkipedia link and learn a thing or two). In this baseball version of the game show we will examine the "prizes" that the Indians could win by trading Cy Young Award winning pitcher CC Sabathia. When you finish reading this post you will be able to choose for yourself which option the Tribe should take. Will it be Door #1, Door #2 or Door #3.

Before we examine the trade options for the Indians we must first draw a few conclusions. A few assumptions must be made in order for this scenario to take place. First is that the Indians are sellers and not going after a World Series Title. I think this is an easy conclusion to draw. You might be asking yourself, but Mike you said in your previous article that the Indians needed to win their series with the Minnesota Twins and they would be in good shape? Well concerned Tribe fan you are right I did say that. But I did not for see the Indians getting swept by one of the worst teams in the league and slipping into 4th place in the AL Central behind the hated Detroit Tigers. That's right fans, the Tigers have passed us in the standings (6/20) and we are officially 8.5 games back. Let's face it people, this season is not going to yield the results we all expected. I am not saying we should give up all together, but we should start to face reality so that when October roles around, we are not shocked that our boys are sitting at home and hitting the links. It is time to realize we are now sellers at the trade deadline. The other assumption tat needs to be made is that we can not sign CC Sabathia before the season is over. Before we go after any trades for the big lefty, we need to make one final offer to him and see if he wants to stay with the team that has groomed him into the pitcher he is today. Give him one last opportunity to show his loyalty or see if this is about business. Either way, it makes no difference to me, just give it one last shot.

With those things in mind, what options do the Indians and Mark Shapiro's staff have? I propose three possible outcomes for the Indians in this scenario. The first option seems to me to be the most viable but least digestible. Door #1 has the image of a young, fiery, loud mouth son who thinks he is his father but is clearly not. Stumped? It's Hank Steinbrenner of course and his underachieving New York Yankees. As I said, this make me and you cringe. It hurts to think that a player who we have watched grow up and love would be playing for the very vein of our baseball existence. But this may be the best deal we have. The Indians would be looking to get as many good prospects as they could. The Yankees are sporting one of the best minor league systems in the Majors and history may prove they would be willing to make a deal. Last year the Yankees did not make a splash at the trade deadline and they were bounced in the first round of the playoffs (by the Tribe, hold you applause). They have usually made the necessary deals to make a deep playoff run and not making a deal last year may have left a bad taste for the Yanks. Plus, Baby Boss- Hank, wants to make a splash in the Bigs. His mouth has been flapping all year and he would be more then happy to pull the blockbuster of the year to bring attention to New York. The Bronx Bombers also have incentive to trade for a pitcher because their Ace Chien-Ming Wang is out till September and they need pitching. For the Indians you would expect them to be chasing two major pitching prospects in Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy who are both super prospects and have pitched in the Bigs. That might be an either or scenario but if the Tribe could land both they would have to buy Hank a new sports car. Along with a pitching prospect, the Indians would be looking to get 2B Robinson Cano to fill their infield weakness. Cano brings a very good bat, which is struggling right now but is legit and he also fills a HUGE hole for the Indians. With the acquisition of Cano, Droobs could move to SS his natural position and they would have a good 2B to complete their infield. They have tons of depth then and could move Peralta to 3B and Blake back to the OF. Peralta would be a better fit at 3B anyway because he has no range but has a cannon arm. Another possible name that could come up is OF Melky Cabrera. He is a quality fielder and a good hitter who will put up quality numbers at the dish. There are other prospects in the Yankees minor league system that the Tribe might try to score. I would expect a 3-for-1 deal in which the Indians get three players.

Door #2 involves two NL teams. This could include the Chicago Cubs or the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both teams need pitching and have the money for a CC Sabathia and with health questions surrounding Carlos Zambrano, the Cubs might be looking to help their pitching, especially since they have had such an impressive first half so far. With ideas of breaking the curse looming, the Cubs might want a power pitcher to give them the extra boost to get over the hump. The Dodgers sport a good minor league system with big names like SP Clayton Kershaw, SS Chin-Lung Hu, 3B Blake DeWitt and 3B Andy LaRoche. These three names would fit into the Indians line-up in very unique ways. The Cubs have a mediocre minor league system and would only pose as a potential suitor because of monetary interest. I have not heard many potential player deals and they might not have a good enough system to lure the Tribe to trade.

Door #3 is an option many fans don't want to hear. This option involves the Tribe making no deal and playing their luck in either trying to make it back in the picture of try their luck in signing CC at the end of the season. I am highly afraid of Door #3, but i realize that it is a great possibility. This is the realest scenario we have. But it is not all about doom and gloom.

I trust Mark Shapiro with any and every deal the organization makes. This doesn't mean Mark doesn't make mistakes. It just mean that he will use all the knowledge available to make the best decision for the team. This is the guy who brought Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Travis Hafner into our system for pieces and parts we couldn't use. I say he has done a pretty good job with a very little about of money and support from the higher ups. Even though the Tribe might not be playing for a Title in 2008, they are OK. This team is just experiencing an abnormality. There is no way that the players on this team are this bad. Everyone is hitting bad times at the exact same time. The team is in a long funk and will rebound. They greatly over achieved last year and now they are just getting the reverse in '08. This team will play all season long and will make for a fun baseball season, even if it is frustrating at times. Keep going to games fans and watch what happens. This division is still for the taking. All the teams are really shaky. If the Tribe hits a hot streak it could be a different story in a month. That's wishful thinking and is not likely to happen. The best part about sports though is that the unlikely happens more times then it ought to.

Stay Strong Cleveland. The Browns will be here before you know it


Mike Castellano