The future is now!

The word on the various Cleveland sports web sites is that the deal with C.C. is not being held up because of money, but because of length. The Indians have offered a 4 year deal at close to $20 million, while C.C.'s camp would like something longer. I can't imagine the Tribe locking in for that much money for more than four years, though.

Regardless of how it turns out, this move is going to affect the farm system one way or the other. If C.C. resigns, 1/3 of our total payroll will be going to him. If you thought the Indians were thrifty when it came to free agents before, you ain't seen nothin'. That means we'll need guys from AAA to step up into spots where we might look for free agents.

On the flip side, if C.C. goes that means we'll need our younger pitchers to step in and to step in big. They'll have some awfully big shoes to help fill.

In the end, the C.C. deal will tax our farm system one way or the other. The question is whether our pitchers or our hitters can suffer it more easily.

Let's look at our pitchers. Adam Miller could be an ace if he stays healthy, but I can't imagine sticking him in a rotation where he'll be expected to pick up the slack that C.C. has left will do him that much good. You'd have to think we'd want his expectations to be pretty low for his first year. The same can be said for Laffey, Lofgren, Sowers, et al. Stepping in to replace Paul Byrd is one thing; stepping in to replace C.C. would be quite another.

Something else to consider: in the latest issue of Scout magazine, they compare Miller to other pitchers, one of which being Joe Nathan. Evidently, there's some thought that Miller could close. I can't see that happening if C.C. leaves, though.

As for our hitters, if there's a fast track to the majors through the Indians farm system, it's at third. I can't imagine the Indians paying Casey Blake to stick around after this year; they really need to find a guy to stick in there for years to come. Unfortunately, Andy Marte isn't hitting. The top rated third baseman in our farm system is Wes Hodges, but that's mostly for his bat. He had 19 errors in 93 games last year, although he'll start the season in Akron regardless. It will be interesting to see if they move number one prospect Jordan Brown from 1st to 3rd when he moves to Buffalo. Regardless, something's going to have to give over the course of the next year.

In other words, the Tribe might have to pay for a third baseman at some point.

There's left field, too, of course, although the sole outflield position available on the Tribe's bench (with the Michaels, Delucci platoon in left) will most likely go to Shin Soo Choo who is out of options. That's fine with me as I've always liked him and he seems to have real talent, I just hope he's not wasted on the bench all year. Then again, given Wedge's fondness for mixing up the roster, I'm sure he'll see a decent amount of time.

Of our top twenty prospects, eight of them are pitchers, but we all know how fragile pitching talent can be. There's less of a learning curve there. I can only imagine that it's much easier to learn how to hit a curve ball than it is to learn how to throw one (a good one, at least).

Do I think we can weather losing C.C.? Of course. I wouldn't be much of a fan. And, like I said, we have more than a few arms in Buffalo that could bolster a rotation lead by Carmona. But it would tough.

I really don't see us giving Sabathia more than four years, though...