C.C. Sabathia and Free Agency Considerations for Cleveland Indians

Being a fan can be an excruciating experience. You watch a player grow up on your favorite team, mature into a superstar, and then worry that the front office won't be able to keep him well into his thirties.

Most Cleveland fans share this impending feeling of nervousness, but it probably is about LeBron James's contract being up in 2010. My nausea comes from the thought of the Tribe's very own hefty lefty CC Sabathia rockin' the crooked hat of another team in 2009. 

Why should I worry about him leaving? No one stays an Indian—look at Belle, Thome, and Ramirez. His ERA is over five! All of these questions and statements have merit, but Sabathia provides that extra oomph to an already outstanding starting staff.

Looking at the American League so far this year, the one constant has been that good pitching will beat good hitting—which was evident in the last series the Indians had with the Reds.

CC has been the Tribe's stopper for the past eight years. 103 wins is no fluke. His early season struggles are a thing of the past. CC seems to generally want to be on this team for the long haul, so why the paranoia?

The Tribe are in a tough spot when it comes to the 2007 Cy Young Award winner. They love his makeup as a pitcher and as a person, but the funds just might not be there.

Shapiro and Company would like nothing else but to offer Sabathia a contract comparable to his market worth, somewhere around the Peavy/Zambrano range (five years, $90 million). The problem is, Sabathia will get pressure from the MLB Players Association to shop his wares to all of the other 29 clubs in order to gauge his maximum worth.

If this occurs, the Indians will not enter into a bidding war, since Cleveland's market size just can't justify an outrageous contract. It would restrict all future roster opportunities (free agents, trades) the Tribe would be able to make, virtually eliminating any payroll flexibility down the road.

Cleveland is, unfortunately, a mid-market team, so GM Mark Shapiro is forced to reinvent his ballclub every few years.

The minor-league system seems to be ripe with pitching talent, as the names of Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, Adam Miller and David Huff bring the potential of prosperity to the big-league club.

Whether they maintain a track record of excellence is up for debate. As a suffering Tribe fan who has yet to see a World Series Champion, give me a Cy Young award winner anchoring my starting staff for the next five years any day of the week.