Fun and Games

You know, a few weeks ago this team was damn near unwatchable.

And it's not just the fact that they're actually winning more often than they lose lately. It's the fact that we now have reasons to watch, reasons like Ben Francisco, Shin Soo Choo, and the unreal Jamey Carroll.

I can't imagine that any or all of them will continue to hit like they have, but it's still entertaining to watch. There's just something about seeing young guys take advantage of getting the call, or seeing a lifelong utility guy get the shot at a starting gig that makes you want to watch every at bat of every game.

So thank god for those guys.

In other news, the worlds "Yankees" and "Indians" have been in the news a lot lately following the injury to Chien-Ming Wang. The Yankees are clearly desperate for starting pitching now, having lost their ace until September. The whole world is wondering if New York will make an offer for C.C. Sabathia, as if they could just ask and get him.

This puts Shapiro in something of a rough spot. If he trades Sabathia, it's a pretty clear sign that we're not going to complete this year, no matter how good Carmona, Lee, and Laffey might be at any given moment. C.C. is our ace and has pitched like it for the last month plus. Considering the fact that the Indians are going to have to something like over .600 the rest of the season to come anywhere close to the record they had last year means we need every quality start we can get.

On the other hand, I don't think anyone has much faith in Sabathia returning to the Tribe after this year. So the idea of getting guys who are further along than two draft picks would be nice -- but would the Yankees even have anything like that to offer?

In the end, I have to believe it's going to come down to a few factors:

1) How does the Tribe do in the next week? If we can pick up another game in the next week, you have to think we'll stay pat, considering we have Fausto coming up at the end of the month, Pronk a few weeks off, and Victor in August, hopefully.

2) What does New York have to offer? Most sports journalists seem to think that there's no way the Tribe will take any deal that doesn't include Philip Hughes (and others, of course), a guy most sports journalists also think the Yankees won't move. While I have my reservations about Hughes, I think the Indians could help him reach is potential, particularly if he goes to Buffalo first (which he would, I imagine, if Jeremy Sowers manages to hold on to the open spot in Cleveland after C.C. leaves).

3) What does C.C. want? You have to figure that, at some point, Shapiro is just going to have to sit down with Sabathia and his agent and say "look, I have to do what's best for the organization. Keeping you would be ideal, but if we can't afford to re-sign you, then I need to get something back in return to keep this team afloat."

I can't see the Yankees parting with much major league ready talent just for a possible half season rental in the form of Sabathia.

I'm torn, honestly. Every time I see the big man pitch, I think "we HAVE to re-sign him -- he means to much to this team." But when I think about it logically, I just don't see how we can tie up that much money in one player, particularly one who only plays every fifth game.

This would all be a lot easier if Adam Miller could stay healthy.