He thinks it's ludicrous.

"With trade rumors continuing to circulate around C.C. Sabathia, you may have wondered who would take the big lefty's spot in the rotation if he was indeed traded. Well, the Indians provided themselves with an option today by signing right-hander Jeff Weaver to a minor league contract and sending him to Class AAA Buffalo."

The era of The Close draws to a close. Also! Bauer gone, Lewis and Slocum promoted.

That's surprising considering how long he's been in the majors and how well he's been. Could Atlanta's hitting coach be as bad as Shelton?

YES, I bookmarked google news for the Indians specifically for this week.

Interesting points:

- As the Brewers continued to scout Sabathia in his outing for Cleveland against Chicago on Wednesday night, word came out of Brevard County that the Indians were looking at specific Milwaukee minor leaguers.

- The Indians reportedly had scouts looking at Class A Brevard County third baseman Taylor Green, the Brewers' minor league player of the year in 2007. Cleveland is believed to be taking a close look at the Brewers' prospect-laden Class AA Huntsville club, also.

- They're unlikely to part with Gamel or LaPorta.

It's pretty much put up or shut up time for Kobayashi at this point in the season.

Bauer gone, Jensen likely replacement. JoBo demoted but not DFA'd.

Can 2008 possibly get any worse?

Why, yes. Yes it can.

After he was called out on strikes in the ninth inning of Triple-A Buffalo's 5-4 extra-inning loss to Rochester, Cabrera raised his bat over his head in the direction of Klein. Cabrera stepped toward the umpire as he continued to shout, while third baseman Andy Gonzalez tried to restrain him.

Torey Lovullo says Cabrera was just trying to hit himself in the helmet with his bat, but the MLB.com report suggests there could be a fine and/or suspension on the way.