Sabathia And Sheets And Pray For Sleet

If the season were to end today, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals would meet in a one game playoff to see who would face the Phillies as the NL Wild Card. Not bad for a team that employs Eric Gagne in the bullpen and only has one decent starting pitcher. Well, now they can make that two starting pitchers, as today the Brew Crew acquired CC Sabathia from the Indians in exchange for top hitting prospect Matt LaPorta.

Sabathia says he is "excited" about the move, and why shouldn't he be? Not only is he going from a team in the cellar to a team competing for a playoff spot, but he also gets to throw against national league lineups for the remainder of the season...in a contract year. Heck, even the Royals starters dominated the NL in interleague- just think of the numbers Sabathia will be able to accumulate over the next few months. He probably made himself another $10-$20 mil over the lifetime of his next contract thanks to this trade.

Even if Sabathia turns out to only be a rental for the Brewers, this deal still makes a lot of sense for Milwaukee. The team hasn't been to the playoffs since 1982. In fact, the last baseball team to make it to the playoffs in Milwaukee was the fictitious Cleveland Indians led by Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn in Major League, which was filmed in Milwaukee County Stadium. The NL is especially weak this year, so now seems like a great time to strike. The Brewers were already in the thick of things with the corpse of Jeff Suppan as their #2 starter. Now he gets bumped down by a motivated Sabathia, and suddenly Milwaukee is a legitimate contender....assuming Gagne isn't renamed the closer.

Of course this deal is not without its risks. Sending CC Sabathia to the land of bratwurst is a dangerous proposition. Plus, there's the possibility that Sabathia could interfere with the chemistry in the locker room. You just know there are going to be a few scuffles between CC and Prince Fielder over who gets first dibs at the clubhouse buffet. But if Ned Yost makes sure there's enough milk and cookies for everyone, then for the first time in their lives, many Brewers fans will be seeing their team in the playoffs. Knowing that's possible is enough to give hope to the fanbase of any team. Except, Pittsburgh or Kansas City, of course.