C.C. Sabathia: Traded to Brewers?

BTW, LaPorta WAS the Brewers top prospect. This is pretty impressive considering everything that I've been reading has said that the Brewers have one of the deepest stockpile of minor league talent in the league.

Sabathia will be missed indeed. But in the past few weeks/months, I've come to realization that we wouldn't be competing this year and the we needed to look towards the future.

Another perspective :
Cleveland would get minor league outfielder Matt LaPorta, who is hitting .288 with 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 84 games for Double-A Huntsville, and others.
The other players do not include top prospects Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel, according to the Journal Sentinel.


Jimbo
 
Another perspective :
Cleveland would get minor league outfielder Matt LaPorta, who is hitting .288 with 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 84 games for Double-A Huntsville, and others.
The other players do not include top prospects Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel, according to the Journal Sentinel.


Jimbo

Jimbo,

Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel were two of the Brewers "top prospects", but not "THE" top prospect. Escobar was considered their 3rd best and Gamel was considered their 6th best prospect.

LaPorta was without a doubt the best prospect.

See link here>BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Top 10 Prospects: Milwaukee Brewers
 
Jimbo,

Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel were two of the Brewers "top prospects", but not "THE" top prospect. Escobar was considered their 3rd best and Gamel was considered their 6th best prospect.

LaPorta was without a doubt the best prospect.

See link here>BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Top 10 Prospects: Milwaukee Brewers

There is no doubt that Sabathia was gone at the end of the year and I think Cleveland came out well in this trade, they picked up 3 top prospects...they were not Milwaukee's best(no pun intended there....LOL) but considering that I have a strange feeling Milwaukee will not be able to afford BOTH Sheets AND Sabathia, he just a rental.
 
Au Revoir, Big Fella.... We Will Miss You

The below column is from a well respected local Blog, bidding farewell to #52.

C.C., I'd like to thank you personally for the memories. You will be missed dearly big fella. Now, in words that I could not express better myself..........

Au Revoir, Big Fella…We Will Miss You | WaitingForNextYear

We say goodbye to the Ace, the leader, and one of the core guys who makes up the heart and soul of the Cleveland Indians, as C.C. Sabathia has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Indians have officially shut the door on the C.C. Sabathia era in Cleveland, trading the Cy Young winner, 3 time All-Star, and Ace of the Staff to the Milwaukee Brewers for Matt LaPorta, 2 prospects, and a player to be named later. As a Cleveland sports blogger, there were 2 articles I have dreaded the thought of writing. Today, I am forced to write one of the two, and that is my farewell piece to the last remaining bridge between 2 eras of Indians baseball. As a rookie in 2001, this heralded prospect was given a chance to earn a spot in the rotation in Spring Training of that year. Carsten Charles Sabathia did just that, and on April 8, 2001 against the Baltimore Orioles, the Big Fella began an epic career with the team, and by the end of the season, he would find himself with a 17-5 record, a respectable 4.39 ERA, 171 strikeouts, and a key member of a team that would reclaim their rightful spot as AL Central Champions.

Who could have possibly known that season would slam the door on the “Era Of Champions” at Jacob’s Field? It was an era of 5 straight division titles, 6 out of 7 division crowns overall, and 2 World Series appearances. Many of us thought CC would just be the next torch bearer on an era that seemed like it would never end.

Instead, Sabathia would have to be the gatekeeper for a team going through a brutal rebuilding period. The Indians went from seasons of successes, packed houses, huge national attention, and large personalities and superstars to a time of losing, empty stadiums, media wastelands, and faceless and nameless players. All the while, though, CC Sabathia kept his mouth shut, his head down, and gave the Indians everything he had as he honed and developed his stuff and built himself into the guy who would eventually take home baseball’s highest honor for pitchers, the Cy Young Award. By the time his career as an Indian was over, CC would see the team through the rebuilding phase and into a new team of potential, high hopes, and mixed successes. He would be there in 2004 when the Indians first began to show new signs of life. He would be there in 2005 when the Indians won 93 games and just narrowly missed out on finishing an epic comeback in the AL Central. He would be there in 2007 when the Indians would finally take their spot atop the AL Central once again by winning 96 games and falling just one game short of a return to the World Series.

Even this season, with the cloud of uncertainty hanging over his head and early struggles, CC would never complain or point fingers or place blame on circumstances. Instead, he did what he has always done, which is suck it up and go back to work. By the time he was finished, he would lower his ERA from 13.50 to 3.83, going over a month without losing to close out his time as an Indian.

And so it is, after 7 and a half glorious, fun seasons of watching CC Sabathia do what aces do best, take the ball every 5 days and go out there and give his team a great chance to win, Sabathia is now no longer a Cleveland Indian. It’s going to take a long time for many of us to come to terms with this fact. It sounds cheap and hollow, but it really is true that you never know what you had until it’s gone, and now I fear that will be the case with Sabathia.
You don’t just simply replace a guy who made 237 starts in 7.5 seasons (An average of 31.6 starts per year). You can’t find guys who average 168 strikeouts per year to just 66 walks. CC has meant everything to the Indians’ starting rotations for close to a decade now, and one can’t shake the feeling that things may never be quite the same.

We were definitely on board with the Indians’ decision to trade Sabathia. If CC didn’t want to renegotiate a new deal with Cleveland now, then the Indians had to look out for their own best interests and try to get whatever they could. We can debate if the Indians really got enough in return, and we can debate whether or not the Indians acted a little too soon and didn’t wait for the heavy hitters to get involved and drive up the bargaining price of Sabathia, but those are debates for another day. Today is about remembering an all-time great member of the Cleveland Indians. It’s a day for remembering one of the most active members of the Tribe in local and national charities. It’s a day for remember one of the Indians who was always one of the most visible players in the community. It’s about remembering the Indians career of arguably the first true “ace” the Indians have had since the days of Bob Feller and Bob Lemon.

Sabathia will walk away from the Indians with a career record of 106-71. He made 237 starts and had 19 complete games, 7 of which were shutouts. He had a career ERA of 3.83 and a WHIP of 1.265. He struck out 1265 batters and walked just 498. All of this, and he was in all likelihood just getting warmed up. At just 28 years of age, Sabathia was just entering the peak of his prime.

It truly is hard to believe we will never see Big Number 52 suit up and take the mound for the Indians ever again. I know many of us will cling on to the hope that Sabathia will sign with the Indians in the offseason, but if that’s really what he wanted, he would have accepted the Indians last ditch offer before they traded him to remain an Indian. Instead, he declined, and there’s no reason to think he’ll reconsider after the season is over. Instead, he has moved on, and will now help the Brewers try to catch the Cubs in the NL Central. We wish Sabathia nothing but the best and huge success in all his future endeavors….may they please be with someone outside the AL Central.
 
I think I called this one about a week ago. Great Trade to get CC out of the Central and over to the NL to beat out the Cubbies. Both of my teams will benefit greatly! The Indians will be very happy with LaPorta. There has been some talk about bringing him up, but there wasn't a place for him on their current roster.
 
Laporta was touted the #1 prospect by baseball america but in the brewer organization the most coveted players are easily Escobar and Gamel. Gamel will fill the hole at 3rd base left by Braun in a year or two. His defense is well... worse than Braun's was. Escobar is said to be the next Jose Reyes with his combination of speed, range, and power. I still see the Brewers moving someone for bullpen help perhaps using Weeks as bait. They may also use Hardy while he is hot right now as trade bait to go after relief help.

The problem the Brewers were going to have was with where to put Laporta. He was a first baseman moved to a corner outfield position. He is an average defender with a below average arm. With Braun, Hart, and Fielder being at their respective positions for a few years to come, it is hard to see where there would have been room to put Laporta.
 
Laporta was touted the #1 prospect by baseball america but in the brewer organization the most coveted players are easily Escobar and Gamel. Gamel will fill the hole at 3rd base left by Braun in a year or two. His defense is well... worse than Braun's was. Escobar is said to be the next Jose Reyes with his combination of speed, range, and power. I still see the Brewers moving someone for bullpen help perhaps using Weeks as bait. They may also use Hardy while he is hot right now as trade bait to go after relief help.

The problem the Brewers were going to have was with where to put Laporta. He was a first baseman moved to a corner outfield position. He is an average defender with a below average arm. With Braun, Hart, and Fielder being at their respective positions for a few years to come, it is hard to see where there would have been room to put Laporta.

Yeah, well it works out well for him in coming to an AL team then. He can either compete for a spot at his natural position at 1B or become a DH.
 
The more I think about this......the more I get the feeling the Brew Crew are going to rue this day. Yes, they have bolstered their rotation considerably (in a wide open league), but the Brewers bullpen is still a problem that needs to be addressed. IMO, the Cubs still win the Central, so Milwaukee will have to hope for the Wild Card. If LaPorta pans out as advertised, what will Milwaukee have to show for it?
 
The more I think about this......the more I get the feeling the Brew Crew are going to rue this day. Yes, they have bolstered their rotation considerably (in a wide open league), but the Brewers bullpen is still a problem that needs to be addressed. IMO, the Cubs still win the Central, so Milwaukee will have to hope for the Wild Card. If LaPorta pans out as advertised, what will Milwaukee have to show for it?

2 draft picks if Sabathia bolts to a major market town as expected following this year.
 
The more I think about this......the more I get the feeling the Brew Crew are going to rue this day. Yes, they have bolstered their rotation considerably (in a wide open league), but the Brewers bullpen is still a problem that needs to be addressed. IMO, the Cubs still win the Central, so Milwaukee will have to hope for the Wild Card. If LaPorta pans out as advertised, what will Milwaukee have to show for it?

The Brewers are going for it all now, which is a good move. This trade provides the Brewers with the best starting rotation in the NL and two Cy Young calliber starters in Sheets and Sabastia that gives them an advantage in a short series in the playoffs. The Brewers are solid at every position and should be the favorite in the NL. Their primary weakness is the bullpen, but Torres, Shouse and Stetter pitching well, and Gagne coming back from injury it may be good enough.

Next year, the Brewers will not resign both Sheets and Sabatha (I would be thrilled if they sign one, preferably Sheets). However, an underrated Yovani Gallardo should be back from injury and the key position players should be back so the Brewers will be solid. However, with a relatively weak NL, the Brewers see an opportunity to win it all now and if renting Sabathia for 3 1/2 months puts them in a better position to do it, it's a good move.
 
The Brewers are going for it all now, which is a good move. This trade provides the Brewers with the best starting rotation in the NL and two Cy Young calliber starters in Sheets and Sabastia that gives them an advantage in a short series in the playoffs. The Brewers are solid at every position and should be the favorite in the NL. Their primary weakness is the bullpen, but Torres, Shouse and Stetter pitching well, and Gagne coming back from injury it may be good enough.

Next year, the Brewers will not resign both Sheets and Sabatha (I would be thrilled if they sign one, preferably Sheets). However, an underrated Yovani Gallardo should be back from injury and the key position players should be back so the Brewers will be solid. However, with a relatively weak NL, the Brewers see an opportunity to win it all now and if renting Sabathia for 3 1/2 months puts them in a better position to do it, it's a good move.

Why? Sheets is injury prone. If given the opportunity, wouldn't you want to go with the "safer" option?
 
Has this become offical yet, just curious?

Yup. I just took an "extended lunch" to listen to the press conference in my car.

Here's the final details:

The Brewers gave up top prospect Matt LaPorta, an outfielder, plus Triple-A left-hander Zach Jackson, Class A right-hander Rob Bryson and a player to be named later. According to some reports, that player will be 2007 Brewers Minor League Player of the Year Taylor Green, a third baseman.

They have until the end of this year to finalize the "player to be named later".
 
Why? Sheets is injury prone. If given the opportunity, wouldn't you want to go with the "safer" option?

Because an injury prone Sheets will come at a lower price. We could also argue whether he is really injury prone or just some bad luck with things... like an inner ear infection that throws off balance. Sheets will probably garner about 15 mil a year where Sabathia is probably going to want at least 20 mil a year. Rosenthal wrote an article about how the Brewers may send Hardy and prospect to the Giants for Matt Cain over the winter. There have also been rumors about a Fielder for Grienke and Gordon trade.

As far as bullpen help, there isn't a whole lot out there for the Brewers to go after over the deadline. Maybe Fuentes? Kind of makes you wish the rumored Nathan for Weeks trade over the spring would have happened.
 
That seems like an awful lot to give up just to get a guy that is only guaranteed through the end of the year.
 
Just a side note,

From the Sabathia press conference today, Indians GM Mark Shapiro mentioned the other teams in the running for Sabathia who eventually lost out to the Brewers. Those other teams mentioned were the Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox and Rays. Apparently the Brew Crew made the strongest offer.....

Milwaukee fans, you should be very happy with Sabathia. C.C. is a stud. Don't let his current ERA and W/L record fool you. Following his unusual slow first 4 starts, Sabathia had an ERA below 2.00 through the next 14 starts. He also lead the AL in strikeouts. As for his lopsided W/L record, he got nearly ZERO run support. IMO, he's back to his Cy Young form from last year. Oh yeah, Sabathia can also hit the hell out of the ball! Just wait till the NL gets a load of this guy. You guys are in for a real treat....
 
I guess the Tribe have packed it in for this season. Looks like a good trade for the Tribe. I can't blame them for trading him. No starting pitcher is worth what he wants.
 
I guess the Tribe have packed it in for this season. Looks like a good trade for the Tribe. I can't blame them for trading him. No starting pitcher is worth what he wants.

Yup. The Tribe made a legitimate offer to keep Sabathia. (4 years @ $72 million). That deal would've been the richest contract in Indian history.
 

Worst divisions in sports history

Am I the only one who thinks the Cubs are annoying?

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