(My Sportsbook) - The end of an era -- and subsequently the relevance of the hometown ballclub -- has come to an end in Cleveland.
Less than a year removed from an American League Central Division title and a near trip to the World Series, the Indians have fallen completely off the map. The team has been in the midst of perhaps its most critical stretch of the schedule, with eight straight against division foes, followed by a four-game set with the Major League-best Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
And basically, the Tribe has blown it. Big time.
Entering tonight's game in Detroit, the Indians have lost eight straight and 14 of their last 18. They are 14 games below .500, and the same amount of games back in the division standings. Compounding matters, they've got gashes that simply cannot be fixed with a Band-Aid.
On the disabled list are starters Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook, as well as sluggers Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez. Ben Francisco and Jhonny Peralta are batting in the third and fourth spots in the lineup. The bullpen, 8-17 with a major league-worst 5.14 ERA, is now minus closer Joe Borowski, who was designated for assignment over the weekend.
But the move that made every headline, of course, was Monday's trade of reigning Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for four prospects.
And so just like that, the focus in Cleveland has shifted from another deep playoff push, to the future.
The Sabathia deal even prompted a letter from team President Paul Dolan, explaining the team's desire to "add talent that can impact the short-term and long-term success of the organization."
"After keeping the strong nucleus from our 2007 playoff team intact," Dolan wrote, "we all had high expectations entering the '08 season. Unfortunately, the team did not play up to our expectations and we sustained injuries to key players within our starting lineup and rotation."
From management's standpoint, the trade does appear to make sense. While it can be argued the team could have played the waiting game and possibly received better prospects from other suitors, they at least got something in return. In the offseason, Sabathia turned down a four-year extension that would've netted him $18 million a year. Rather than lose their ace to free agency at the end of the season and be forced to settle for two draft picks, the Indians were proactive.
In exchange for arguably the top hurler in the game today, Cleveland gets outfielder Matt LaPorta, pitchers Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson, and a player to be named later.
LaPorta, taken with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, led the Double-A Southern League with 20 homers and ranked second with 66 RBI. Since being drafted, he's averaged a home run every 13 at-bats.
Jackson was a first-rounder (32nd overall) in 2004, and sprung all the way up to Triple-A after just one season, having gone a combined 16-8 with a 3.92 ERA. The very next year he got a taste of the big leagues, but was sent back down after struggling and has not fared well ever since.
Bryson, drafted in the 31st round in 2006, is a power pitcher who induces lots of strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting just .209 against him this year in the South Atlantic League.
Each could very well prove to be an integral part of the Indians' future. Unfortunately for Indians fans, the distant future wasn't exactly at the forefront of their minds at the outset of the season.
IN CASE YOU HADN'T NOTICED...
Pitcher Jeff Weaver will have to forgive Indians fans if he didn't get the red- carpet welcome -- or any welcome at all -- when he was signed over the weekend to a Minor League Contract.
Weaver, who was released June 12 after compiling a 2-4 record and a 6.22 ERA in a shade over five weeks pitching for Milwaukee's Triple-A affiliate, will head to Triple-A Buffalo.
"We signed him for depth," Indians manager Eric Wedge said on the team's Web site. "We are short on starting depth. He's an experienced guy, willing to go to Triple-A, so that's why we signed him."
Last season with the Seattle Mariners, Weaver, 31, went 7-13 with a 6.20 ERA in 27 starts.
WHO'S HOT
Hats off to All-Stars Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore.
Lee (11-2, 2.43) went from battling for the fifth slot in the rotation during Spring Training, to perhaps being the AL starter in the Mid-Summer Classic. This will be his first All-Star appearance.
Sizemore (.269, 22 HR, 18 doubles, 50 RBI, 20 steals, 56 runs) is making the trip for a third straight year and may participate in the Home Run Derby. He has blasted 14 homers in his last 34 games.
Both were part of the Bartolo Colon trade in 2002. Tribe fans can only cross their fingers and wait to see if General Manager Mark Shapiro has struck gold again with the Sabathia deal.
WHO'S NOT
In hindsight, Shapiro's decision to sign Borowski (1-3, 7.56 ERA prior to his release), has to feel similar to when you reach for a grape only to find out it was an olive.
A LOOK AHEAD
The Indians play a two-game set in Detroit tonight and tomorrow, followed by a four-game homestand with Tampa Bay leading up to the All-Star break. Jeremy Sowers (0-4, 7.53) gets the nod tonight against Justin Verlander (5-9, 4.34). On Wednesday it will be Paul Byrd (3-10, 5.53) against Eddie Bonine (2-1, 4.30).
