Indians Confidential

Below is a quick look at all the news around the Indians Tuesday:

* Miguel Cabrera went 4-for-4, clubbing two homers and plating three, as Detroit crushed the Indians, 9-2, on Tuesday night. Marcus Thames and Curtis Granderson had three RBI apiece, with two of Thames’ RBI coming off his 17th long ball of the season. Ivan Rodriguez added a solo shot in the win. Justin Verlander tossed seven solid innings, allowing two runs and fanning seven to improve to 6-and-9 for Detroit, which has won two in-a-row to move to 45-and-44 on the season. Jeremy Sowers absorbed the loss for the Indians after yielding seven runs, six earned, over 5.2 innings of work. Jhonny Peralta clubbed a two-run homer for the Tribe, which has dropped a season-high nine straight games. The Indians will conclude their series with the Tigers tonight. Paul Byrd, who’s 3-and-10 with a 5.53 ERA, will start for the Indians. The Tigers will send out Eddie Bonine, who’s 2-and-1 with a 4.30 ERA. First pitch at Comerica Park is set for 7:05 p.m.

* The Akron debut of outfielder Matt LaPorta was delayed as the Aeros had their game against the Bowie Baysox rained out on Tuesday night. LaPorta is the main piece the Indians received from Milwaukee as they sent pitcher C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader tonight. The first pitch of the first game at Canal Park is set for 6:05 p.m.

* The Indians are expected to call up from Triple-A Buffalo today relief pitcher Juan Rincon. He will take the roster spot left vacant by the trading of Sabathia to the Brewers on Monday. The Indians will need a starter to take Sabathia’s turn on Saturday and could call up Matt Ginter from the minors.

* The Indians placed pitcher Scott Elarton on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday for a non-baseball medical condition. Elarton had been on the restricted list because of personal issues. Manager Eric Wedge said that Elarton is out indefinitely. Elarton was 0-and-1 with a 3.52 ERA out of the bullpen.

* As for the debut of Sabathia in a Brewers uniform – he picked up the win as Milwaukee edged Colorado 7-3 at Miller Park. Sabathia allowed two earned runs while fanning five and walking five over six innings to pick up the victory. Ryan Braun smashed his 22nd homer of the year, and Bill Hall plated two for Milwaukee, which has won seven-of-nine. Prince Fielder and Corey Hart had an RBI apiece in the win. Yorvit Torrealba doubled in two runs in defeat for Colorado. Mark Redman gave up four runs over five frames to fall to 2-and-4.

The wait, the anticipation and the speculation is over, and the Milwaukee Brewers have won the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes. As the Indians continued to slip out of contention in the American League Central, Mark Shapiro and Larry Dolan decided this was the time and the deal to make. On WKNR 850AM in an interview with Mark “Munch” Bishop, Larry Dolan stated that there were 7 teams vying for C.C.’s services and the Brewers offered up the best package.

So who was the deal maker in this trade? His name is Matt LaPorta, a power hitting outfielder and the top prospect in the Brewers’ organization. When drafted in 2007 with the 7th pick in the first round many speculated that he could be the next Ryan Braun. If the scouts are correct and LaPorta does become the next Ryan Braun, this will go down as one of the best trades that they Indians organization has ever made. His stats currently demonstrate that he has a lot of power combined with a good eye at the plate. We must take into consideration that he has been hitting Double A pitching, but the fact that he shows patience at the plate this early in his development is a very good sign.

While college statistics can be very misleading, it’s hard to misinterpret LaPorta’s line from his senior season. Playing against top-notch collegiate competition in the SEC, LaPorta hit .402/.582/.817 with 20 homers and an astounding 55/16 walk/strikeout ratio in 52 games. After a mere seven games in rookie ball, LaPorta was assigned to the Double-A Huntsville Stars. When the trade was made on Sunday LaPorta was hitting .288 with 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 84 games for Huntsville. When asked about the trade Matt LaPorta said, “It’s kind of flattering to have your name brought up for one of the best pitchers in the game,” LaPorta told the Huntsville Times.

Many will say that the Indians should have waited for a better deal, or that they rushed to make this deal. Others will say that there were other needs that needed to be addressed on this team with the trade of C.C.. I for one think a trade needed to be done sooner rather than later. Right now you have many more teams contending for a playoff spot that you may not have in a month from now. If 7 teams were interested in C.C. than we have to cross our fingers, hope and trust that the Indians got the best deal available amongst those 7.

The Following is the official Press Release from the Indians on the C.C. Sabathia trade:

CLEVELAND, OH — The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has acquired OF MATT LaPORTA, RHP ROB BRYSON, LHP ZACH JACKSON & a player to be named from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for LHP CC SABATHIA.

LaPorta, 23, has spent the entire season at Class AA Huntsville in the Southern League where he has hit .288 (87-302) with 23 doubles, 2 triples, 20 home runs & 66 RBI in 84 games. He currently leads the Southern League in homers, is 2nd in RBI and extra base hits (41), 3rd in slugging % (.576), 6th in on-base % (.402) and tied for 5th with 56 runs scored. The right-handed hitting outfielder is hitting .301 (68-225) this season off right-handed pitching and .307 (31-101) with RISP. The Double A All-Star has also been selected to play in the Futures Game on July 13 for Team USA and is one of 60 players currently being considered for the 24-man United States Olympic Team roster.

LaPorta is in his second year of professional baseball after being selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round (7th overall) of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida where he was two-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. Last season after signing with the Brewers he hit .304 (35-115) with 12 HR & 31 RBI in 30 games between rookie Helena and A West Virginia. Prior to the 2008 season the Pt. Charlotte, FL native was named the top prospect and best power hitting prospect in the Brewers organization by Baseball America. He was also named by Baseball America as the 23rd best prospect in all of baseball entering the 2008. He will report to AA Akron in the coming days.

Bryson, 20, has spent the entire season at Class A West Virginia of the South Atlantic League where he has gone 3-2 w/5 saves and a 4.25 ERA in 22 games/5 starts (55.0IP, 43H, 26ER, 20BB, 73K), limiting SAL hitters to a .209 (43-206, 3HR) average against. In relief this year he has compiled an ERA of 3.96 (35.1IP, 24H, 16ER, 11BB, 53K) and has allowed 1ER in his last 7 outings (9.2IP, 4H, 2BB, 16K). He is averaging 11.9 strikeouts per 9.0IP. Entering 2008 he was named 11th best overall prospect in the Brewers organization by Baseball America.

He was signed in 2007 as a draft and follow pick from the 2006 draft by Milwaukee (31st round) out of Penn High School in New Castle, Delaware. He posted a 2.67 ERA in 18 games/4 starts at Rookie Helena last year (54.0IP, 49H, 16ER, 12BB, 70K). Bryson was named the 8th best prospect in the Pioneer League following the 2007 season as he ranked 3rd in the league in saves (8) and 4th in strikeouts (70). He will be assigned to A Lake County.

Jackson, 25, has spent much of the season at AAA Nashville (1-5, 7.85ERA, 22G/6GS) and appeared in 2 games with the Brewers in May (0-0, 4.91ERA, 3.2IP, 5H, 2R/ER). He was acquired by the Brewers in December of 2005 from Toronto in a trade that sent 1B Lyle Overbay to the Blue Jays. He owns a Major League career record of 2-2 w/a 5.36 ERA in 10 games (7GS, 42.0IP, 53H, 25ER) with the Brewers and last year at AAA Nashville went 11-10 w/a 4.46 ERA in 28 starts (169.2IP, 184H, 84ER, 123K). He finished 2nd in the Pacific Coast League in innings pitched & games started and 3rd in strikeouts. Jackson, who has pitched professionally since 2004, will have his option transferred from Nashville to Buffalo.

Sabathia posted a career record of 106-71 with a 3.83 ERA (1528.2IP, 1435H, 650ER, 1265SO) with the Indians from 2001-08. The 2007 American League Cy Young winner owns the 7th highest winning % (.599) and 5th most strikeouts (1265) in Indians club history. He is 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA in 18 starts this season with Cleveland (122.1IP, 117H, 52ER, AL-high 123SO).

Said Cleveland Indians Executive Vice President and General Manager MARK SHAPIRO –

“While we are disappointed to have reached this juncture, we are focused on positioning the organization for success in 2009 and beyond. No player has impacted this team and community more in the last eight years than CC Sabathia. However, by trading CC, we have infused several promising players into our organization – including Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson, and a Player to be Named Later. ”

The 40-man roster still stands at 37 players.

The following letter was posted on the Indians website about the deal to move C.C. Sabathia:

Dear fans,

Thank you for your many years of loyalty to and support of the Cleveland Indians. Because you are vitally important to the success of the Indians, I want to communicate the thinking behind our recent player personnel decisions, including our decision to trade C.C. Sabathia, directly to you.

After keeping the strong nucleus from our 2007 playoff team intact, 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. Due to our team’s performance, as well as the significant opportunity to add talent that can impact the short-term and long-term success of the organization, we decided to trade C.C.

We did not take our decision to trade C.C. lightly. He has been an integral member of the Indians organization and the Cleveland community for the past eight years. We all shared the pleasure of watching C.C. develop from a young Draft pick into a mature team leader — and one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. After re-signing C.C. in 2005 to a contract that extended into what would have been his first two free agent years, we were able to share in and enjoy his ‘07 Cy Young Award winning season as a Cleveland Indian, a performance that propelled our club to the AL Central Division Championship.

We made extensive attempts to secure C.C.’s future in Cleveland by signing him to a contract extension. In fact, we offered C.C. a top of the market contract that included the highest annual salary in the history of the Indians’ organization. Unfortunately, due to C.C.’s desire to test the free agent market, we determined that trading C.C. provided the best outcome for the long-term success of the organization. By trading C.C., we capitalized on an opportunity to infuse upper level talent into our organization that can contribute to our on-field success for many years, rather than risk losing C.C. for only two Draft picks with a distant and uncertain future.

We remain enthusiastic about the steps we have taken towards fulfilling our organizational mission to build and sustain a championship-caliber team. Our Minor League system served as the catalyst for our 2007 playoff run and continues to develop exciting, young players. We look forward to the opportunity of watching many more young players blossom into Major League stars as Cleveland Indians.

We have confidence that the tremendously difficult decision to trade C.C. will enhance our ability to put a winning club on the field to make our loyal fans and the entire Cleveland community proud. On behalf of my family and the entire Cleveland Indians organization, I appreciate your continued support and look forward to seeing you at a game in the near future. Go Tribe!

Sincerely,

Paul Dolan

The move that has been rumored about for the past few days is finally ready to go down, as reports have Tribe ace C.C. Sabathia about to change cities, moving from Cleveland to Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as well as Yahoo! Sports is reporting the deal, and that it came down Sunday afternoon.

The deal is Sabathia to Milwaukee for for four minor leaguers, including top prospect Matt LaPorta and third baseman Taylor Green. LaPorta is the ace of the deal for the Indians, as he has 20 home runs and 66 RBIs for Class AA Huntsville. He is a right-handed slugger who is below-average defensively. He was the Brewers’ first-round pick in 2007, and played first base at the University of Florida, but the Brewers converted him to left field.

“It’s kind of flattering to have your name brought up for one of the best pitchers in the game,” LaPorta told the Huntsville Times. “There would be no hard feelings one way or another. This is a business, and I understand that.” Green is a third baseman, and was being scouted by the Indians at Class A Brevard County back on July 3rd. This season he was batting .297 with 10 homers and 50 RBI. Last season at A ball he hit .327 with 14 homers and 86 RBI.

What could have been for Sabathia really died out when he declined a $72 million, four-year extension from the Indains back in spring training, and said that he would not talk to the team till after the season. With the Indians having the second to worst record in the Majors, time was now to trade their ace.

As the Indians attempts to turnover their bullpen continues, their losing streak Saturday night at the HHH Metrodome continued. After taking a 5-2 lead after the second inning, and getting five ho-hum innings from Aaron Laffey, the bullpen imploded again, allowing five runs in three innings in the teams 7th straight loss, 9-6 to the Twins.

The bullpens culprits on this Saturday night included Tom Mastny, who allowed four runs on two hits in just 0.1, and Rafael Perez, who gave up one run on one hit in 1.1. The Twins moved to 5-4 after five innings, and then put the game away with a five run 6th to move to 49-38 on the season.

The Indians fall to 37-50, 13 games under .500 and 13 games back of the White Sox in the AL Central. The offense was highlighted by Grady Sizemore, who went 2-for-5 with his 22nd homer and RBI. Andy Marte showed signs of life at the plate, going 2-for-4 with his first RBI of the year, he’s batting .150.

The loss means that the Tribe, who were one game away from being the AL reps in the World Series just 8 months ago, now have the second worst record in baseball. “You can’t think about that now, ‘cause we’re here,” Grady Sizemore said. “You can’t be frustrated with the way things started because of the success last year. You have to move forward and find a way to make this year positive.”

It’s not getting easier to watch this team, and with C.C. Sabathia and probably at least 1-2 other players, like Casey Blake heading out the door to other teams in the next three weeks, it’s probably not going to get much better.

Steve Henson from Yahoo Sports has put out his mid-term grades for MLB teams, and the Tribe has earned a D+.  Here is the report from Henson about the Indians thus far.

Cleveland Indians: The biggest disappointment in the AL save that rainy outpost in the Pacific Northwest has trading deadline decisions like no other. It’s got to be gut wrenching to all but quit by dealing starters C.C. Sabathia, Paul Byrd and perhaps a position player. Especially so soon after finishing one game short of the World Series. But the time is drawing near.