Fantasy Cleveland

The Brewers apparently don't feel content walking down the Cubs in regular fashion (they are only 3 1/2 games back) and have instead decided, according to Tom Haudricourt's Brewers Blog at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, to trade for C.C. Sabathia.

I just was told by a reliable club source that the Brewers have a deal in place with Cleveland for left-hander C.C. Sabathia, contingent on the paperwork being done and medical records exchanged.

But believe me, folks, that's a deal. All that other stuff is formality.

All I know so far is that top prospect Matt LaPorta is in the deal. I was told two lower-level minor leaguers also are included. The Brewers refused to include another top prospect such as Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel.

Obviously this is huge news; Sabathia has been the primary name mentioned in all major trade talks over the past few months. Word had not-so-quietly leaked that the Indians were willing to concede this season in the AL Central and look to acquire young talent in exchange for the free agent to be. LaPorta fills that need as he ranks at the top of the Brewers farm system and could be an impact player in Cleveland in the near future. More details as the facts surrounding the trade get released.

Apparently the ghosts of deceased Native Americans finally decided to take matters into their own hands in regards to team names like "Braves" and "Indians" this baseball season. I'm not going to get into the whole discussion on the insensitivity of these names because that's neither my inclination nor my job.

Still, it's quite eerie they way these two franchises in particular have been plagued this year.

Both were expected to be contenders for the World Series, chock full of fantasy gems. Instead the disappointments and injuries are plentiful, and sometimes hand-in-hand.

The most recent casualty is Victor Martinez, and he already fit the bill as a bust. He's normally picked in the first five rounds (earlier many times). His owners have been treated with pathetic numbers this year relative to expectations (.277, 0 HR). And now he's on the DL with a bum wing (inflamed right elbow, if you must know ... but "bum wing" is so much more fun). The catcher could be out until the All-Star break, so this is a big blow to both the Tribe and your fantasy squad. Unfortunately, I believe you have to sit on him in fantasy, because he's liable to get hot when he does come back and no one will give you anything valuable for an injured bust in a trade.

More haunted individuals ...

There is no one hotter in Major League Baseball than Cliff Lee right now. He is 5-0, he has a 0.96 ERA and he has 32 strikeouts in just under 38 innings. But if you own him in fantasy baseball, you need to shop him immediately.

Lee might not come crashing back to Earth in a painful manner; after all, his 2005 demonstrates that he does have a skill set to pitch well. But besides the fact that his peripherals are telling for some statistical recession, what he's doing right now is mind-blowing just in terms of history. From BP Unfiltered:

We have game logs going back to 1956, courtesy of Retrosheet and Baseball-Reference.com. Since 1956, do you know how many pitchers had made three straight starts with 8+ innings, <=3 hits, <=1 walk, and 8+ strikeouts? Here's the list, which I have put in alphabetical order for your convenience

Cliff Lee.

Originally, I had planned to use C.C. Sabathia as the subject of Fantasy Felony today. He was a ridiculously obvious buy low, and I would venture to say that upwards of 40% of his owners were desperately looking to move him; it's not difficult to find fantasy expert mailbags galore where people are being consoled about their ownership of The Buffett.

Anyway, C.C. got straight dialed last night, pitching six scoreless innings (102 pitches), allowing four hits, issuing two walks and striking out a whopping 11 batters. He picked up the win as the Indians left poor Gil Meche bloodied and battered on the pitching mound, the victim of nine hits and eight earned runs through 33.1.

You may hear some people talk on Wednesday that "the Royals are good for what ails ya!" and other nonsense. C.C. just got his groove back. (Okay, you might hear that cliche type thing too.) The point is that Sabathia looked sharp as hell last night. He was hitting his spots, his fastball was dialed up and his breaking stuff was snapping in front of the plate. In other words: he is fine. Pitchers, even fantasy aces, don't go the entire season with near perfection. But a lot of people thought Sabathia was straight finished. So it's ironic that he got hot on a night when two other aces -- Brandon Webb and Jake Peavy -- struggled.

I don't think you can get Webb or Peavy on the cheap by any means. But I think that because it's early in the season, if you look at the freakout that Sabathia's struggles caused, you have to least inquire about both of them at some point today. Peavy didn't get the win; Webb did. But both guys didn't post huge numbers, which makes their owners at least somewhat vulnerable. You don't get many chances -- again, C.C. was one -- to land aces at a discount. But usually it's after they struggle and it's at the beginning of the season. So make sure and do your due diligence now.

Usually we reserve Always Be Closing for Mondays. But, much like 1995, the Braves and Indians are all the rage right now. Only this time, instead of being World Series opponents, they are the focus of closer issues. Both Peter Moylan and Joe Borowski -- the current shutdown guys -- were placed on the 15 day disabled list, leaving the closing duties open for two pretty cushy save situations.

Atlanta Braves
Bobby Cox never officially named Moylan the closer in the ATL, and maybe it's because he knew he could face "right elbow soreness" a little later down the road. Like, perhaps, today. Moylan had been absolutely dominant last season and equally as tough this year, nailing down his only save situation thus far. This works out "well" in the sense that the Braves need a roster spot for Buddy Carlyle, who was called up to take a rotation slot in the coming week. It works out "not well" in the sense that the previously deep pitching staff is getting thin quickly. Manny Acosta has a 7.20 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP on the season, but he's only pitched five times this year and the one bad outing was that freakish debacle against the Pirates. Add him immediately in all deep and NL-only leagues and think about jumping anywhere else if you need saves.

Cleveland Indians
Borowski has long been the bane of fantasy owners because of his ability to give up four earned runs en route to getting a save. In other words, no one understood why he kept the closer gig in the first place. Well, now he doesn't have it. Or at least he doesn't for the next 15 days as he'll be spending that time on the disabled list. Taking his place will likely be Rafael Betancourt. Betancourt recorded 31 holds last year, the sixth highest totals in the MLB, so it's pretty clear that Eric Wedge trusts him in a late inning role. Add in his 0.76 WHIP and a .184 BAA, and he's a very nice candidate to add in nearly any league. If he pitches well in this gig, there's no guarantee he gives it back.

To get you ready for draft season, Fantasy FanHouse will be running through each major league team, covering lineups, rotations and sleeper/busts.

Meet the ...
Pronks. Okay, that's probably not the best choice, but I'm terrified that Travis Hafner will fade into obscurity and the nickname will die, so I'm maxing it out now. I know, it's saddening. But not entirely implausible. Fortunately, Ryan Garko -- who seems like he should have a sweet-A nickname and can rake -- could potentially take his place. Anywho, this is a Tribe team that is quite potently potable. They have two aces in C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona (yes, he is legit) and plenty of studs in the lineup, beginning with Grady Sizemore, and ending with a three-bagger whose averaged 20 jimmy-jacks a year over the last three in Casey Blake (note that if your ninth hitter averages 20 home runs, you have a stout lineup).

The Breakout
Well, Ryan Garko, obviously. Right? I've seen some people that aren't as high on the full time first baseman, but I freaking love the guy. And usually, I'm pretty pessimistic. Or just sarcastic. Either way, Garko's second half bumps in home runs and OPS, plus a stout lineup in front of him have me thinking upside of .300/30/100. Maybe I'm greedy, but he's not that expensive.

The Bust
It pains me to say that Travis Hafner might bust, but the problem is that he's still a top three round pick in most leagues. And, in most leagues, he doesn't have more than DH eligibility, which means you're stuck playing him. Since Garko's time away from the bag will probably be for Martinez to be spelled behind the plate, it's tough to predict whether he'll get to play old man in the field. And that's all you hear about Pronk now -- that's he an old young. It's true though; power hitters designed like him decline quickly and holding the bag when it happens will crush your fantasy team. 40 homers might just simply be out of the question.

/wipes tears away