Cavaliers & Indians

Cavs' Biggest Game Ever
Every game the Cavaliers play from here on out becomes the biggest in franchise history. A game #5 win in Detroit tonight would be surprising although possible. The Pistons are good but not the team that won the title several years ago.

Tribe at the 1/3 Mark
The Indians sit at 32-19 after 51 games played. After playing approximately 1/3 of the season, some patterns are forming.

The Tribe has a solid baseball team capable of contending in a fairly balanced division.

Offensively, this team is very good at working pitchers deep into count and should again be among the top 1/3 in the sport in scoring.

Peralta's start at the plate and Garko's early-season production are key elements to the team's early success at the plate.

The starting pitching is very good, and if Sabathia continues at this pace, he should finally emerge as a true #1 - someone you expect to win upwards of 20 games a season on a regular basis. Paul Byrd's bounce back season to date has also been a huge lift for the rotation.

The relief pitching is a work in progress, especially the back end of the bullpen where a lack of power arms is worrisome.

I still prefer Wickman over Borowski.

The team is adequate at best defensively and still lacks overall team speed. That has been the case for several years now.

A run producing right handed hitter to offset lefty starters and a back-end of the bullpen power arm should be on Shapiro's shopping list come July.

Here's food for thought - a reporter recently put out the possibility of a Sabathia for A-Rod trade based on New York's problems and Sabathia's contract expiring in '08. The answer is YES if you are the Indians and you can get the Yankees to pick up part of A-Rod's contract.

With every win CC accumulates, his asking price, already likely too high for the Tribe, rises even more. A-Rod is one of the game's five best players of ALL-TIME based on current stats alone. It's simple - if you can't sign him (CC), you can't let him walk away and not get quality in return (see Ramirez, Thome, etc...).

Management's inclination will be to get prospects in return. I would rather have a first ballot Hall of Famer in his prime - especially if the Tribe expects to contend with this core for several more years.

Of course, if the Tribe looks like it will reach the post-season in '07, management will hold on to CC through the season and revisit his situation in '08. It would take huge #@#@ to deal CC for A-Rod this summer if the big fella is on pace to win 20 and October baseball is in sight in Cleveland.