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'We're going for it' — Brewers get Sabathia

Top prospect LaPorta part of trade for reigning AL Cy Young award winner

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Cleveland Indians v Los Angeles Dodgers
  Mad Dog Minute: CC ya later!
July 7: Mad Dog thinks that the Sabathia trade was good for both sides, and now the Brewers are extremely dangerous in the NL.

Sabathia had a slow start but is 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA. Cleveland scored two runs or fewer in 11 of his 18 starts.

Milwaukee’s starting pitching has been thin ever since Yovani Gallardo went on the disabled list on May 2 with a torn knee ligament that required surgery. His rehab was supposed to take four months, which gives him an outside chance of returning before the end of the season.

Sheets (10-2, 2.77 ERA) is off to the best start of his career, but the All-Star righty is in the final year of a $38.5 million, four-year contract. No matter what happens in the future, Sheets said he’s glad the Brewers are going for it now.

“It’s hard to tell people in years past, ’Three years from now, we’re going to be good,”’ Sheets said. “We want to win now.”

Milwaukee, which hasn’t been in the postseason since the days of Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, fell two games short of the division title last year.

The Indians, who fell one win shy of the World Series last year, are in need of power-hitting corner outfielders and LaPorta is expected to fill that void. He hit .288 with 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 84 games for Double-A Huntsville.

Sabathia rejected a $72 million, four-year extension from the Indians during spring training and announced he wouldn’t negotiate until after the season.

Shapiro said seven teams were interested in Sabathia, and the trade came after three to five days of intense negotiations with Milwaukee.

“CC made it clear that once the season started he did not want to entertain any negotiations,” Shapiro said. “Our exploration of a contract was thorough enough in spring training to understand the combination of our capabilities and CC’s expectations didn’t align.”

Sabathia said he wasn’t going to worry about his contract until the end of the season.

“It’s hard enough to play this game as it is, let alone with any other distractions such as a contract going on,” Sabathia said. “I’ll focus on that when it comes. Right now, I’m worried about pitching tomorrow.”

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.


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