Yesterday, I did a quick Top 10 for the 2009 fantasy baseball season. At #9 and #10 was Carlos Quentin and Ian kinsler. Those spots could have been easily occupied by Ryan Braun and Josh Hamilton. Or by a starting pitcher.

My question is which one. Do you take a veteran ace like Johan Santana? Or a new veteran ace like C.C. Sabathia? Or an fresh ace like Tim Lincecum.

Here are the three pitchers relevent fantasy stats.

It is early to discuss free agent rumors, but John Perrotto from the Baseball Prospectus had an article out yesterday where he mentioned in his NL Rumblings section that the Dodgers are planning on making a big push to sign CC Sabathia in the offseason. Sabathia is from California, and is rumored to want to play closer to home, so LA is a possible destination.

Adding Sabathia to a rotation that includes Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and Clayton Kershaw may be the best in the NL next year. Billz is on the cusp of becoming an ace, and Kershaw has the potential to be an ace, so adding Sabathia would give the Dodgers a starter who is already a dominating ace.  LA needs someone like CC to compete against the likes of Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, and Jake Peavy. Billz should continue to pitch well, but he is not seasoned enough to go head to head against these pitchers and expect to win.

After reading this rumor yesterday morning, I just had to ask Will Carroll his thoughts on this rumor in his afternoon chat, and thankfully he obliged, BUT:

raygu1 (burlington, nj): Will-thanks for the chat. John Perrotto thinks the Dodgers will make a push for CC this offseason. Would teaming CC, Billz, Kuroda and Kershaw together form the best rotation in baseball? Who will be better long-term: Kemp or Justin Upton?

Will Carroll: Hmm. Sabathia at the head of any rotation is darned good. Not sure it's the best ... the Rays young staff will all be back, with Price and maybe Davis. Twins staff is really good, but lacks that "ace" unless Liriano comes all the way back. Giants could be outrageously good if Bumgardner pushes his way up next year and Sanchez comes back.

Sanchez?? Bumgardner? Will mentioned he was smoking a cigar, maybe it was laced with some halucinogen? Bumgardner is at least two years away, although he has dominated in single-A this year, but what has Jonathan Sanchez accomplished this year? He has started 24 games, 8 wins, 4.53 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Not bad, but certainly not enough, in my opinion to top the potential LA staff with Sabathia. I know the Rays and Twins have some solid young pitchers, but none are close to Sabathia.

The Dodgers have alot of contracts coming off the books this offseason including Derek Lowe, Rafael Furcal, Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent, and possibly Brad Penny. That's about $50 million in salary that can be used to sign CC,and to fill other needs. They also need a power-hitting 3bman to replace Blake. Where are you Adrian Beltre?? Seattle appears to be dumping contracts....you may be next. Ned, are you listening?

 It is assumed LA will replace Kent with Blake Dewitt or Ivan Dejesus at 2b, hopefully sooner rather than later. They also need to sign a SS-Rafael Furcal wants to stay in LA, so he may be the answer as long as he is healthy and affordable.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has been rumored to be having money problems after including some top prospects in trade deadline deals for Casey Blake and Manny Ramirez to ensure that LA did not take on anymore salary. Now why would he go out pay Sabathia a gazillion dollars if he has money problems? Well, maybe its a rumor, and he is saving his sheckles for some CC Gold?? Dodger fans can only hope.

Philadelphia Phillies' 1B Ryan Howard hit his major-league leading 29th HR last night and drove in his NL-leading 85th RBI.  With such gaudy RBI totals, one would expect an AVG better than Howard's current .234.

How can he have such a low AVG and great RBIs?  His AVG with RISP is .325!  Looking over his career, he hasn't been consistently better with RISP though.  Can he persist with the RBIs if his AVG stays under .250?

Mike Mussina won his 12th game against six defeats.  With a 3.49 ERA, he may be the most surprising pitcher in baseball this season - Justin Duchscherer and Cliff Lee be damned!

Cincinnati Reds' rookie sensation hit his 7th HR last night.  With a .273 AVG and 23 RBI,  one can safely conclude the hype surrounding debut week at the end of May/beginning of June (15-26, 3 HR, 2 SB) makes the recent market bubbles of internet stocks, real estate and credit lending pale in comparison.

I just won the FAAB bidding for Joe Blanton in my NL-Only.  I can only hope he is 2/3s as successful as C.C. Sabthia has been for his owner.  C.C. moved to 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 24 Ks since his move to the NL.  He also went 1-4 and is hitting .222.  With that kind of bat, he is going to throw a ton of innings.

The Texas Rangers called up catcher Taylor Teagarden.  With Jarrod Saltalamacchia failing to impress at catcher (four pased balls in 38 games, 17.5% CS, .977 FPCT), Teagarden may be splitting time with Gerald Laird for the rest of this season and next.  In AL-Only keeper leagues, grab him.

Am I the only person who sees Macier Izturis batting 3rd for the Angels and wonder how in God's name that team has scored enough runs to have the best record in baseball?

The C.C. Sabathia trade rumors are over.  He has been dealt the the Milwaukee Brewers for a three-prospect package headed by slugging 1B/OF/DH Matt LaPorta (288/402/576).  Accompanying him to Cleveland are pitchers Zach Jackson (AAA) and Robby Bryson (Low A) along with a PTBNL reportedly High A 3B Taylor Green (295/380/444) or Double-A CF Michael Brantley (324/405/412). C Jonathan Lucroy (318/398/537), who has split time between Low A and High A, was also floated on the internets yesterday as a possible piece.

For the Brewers, this trade signals the team is in it to win it this season.  Dealing four prospects of the calibre they did says it loudly.  It also means the bat of 3B Mat Gamel immediately makes him the top hitting prospect in the organization and says the team believes he can stay at 3B.  Unless he too is dealt this season.

For the Indians, the acquistion of a DH-type like LaPorta spells doom for OF Shin-Soo Choo in the immediate future and maybe 1B Ryan Garko in the almost-as-immediate future.  It should mean the end of Travis Hafner, but the Indians unwisely gave him a four-year/$51.75MM contract that did not begin until 2009.

Notable as a commonality amongst the hitting prospects is their OBP.  None could be said to be lacking in plate discipline.  As long as their bats and gloves continue to play, projecting their major league debuts is a simple task.  Laporta should be ready to appear in 2009 as would Brantley and the other two in 2010.

The fantasy implications are clear enough.  Matt LaPorta immediately becomes one of the top fantasy prospects entering the 2009 season.  He joins Baltimore Orioles' C Matt Wieters and Tampa Bay Rays LHP David Price as the most anticipated rookies.

For most of us who are unfamiliar with Green and Lucroy, Here is Baseball Amercia's write-up for Green that I blurbed a couple days ago. Here is the same for Lucroy.

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Ken Rosenthal follows-up yesterday C.C. Sabathia-to-Milwaukee news with news that the Los Angeles Dodgers are in the hunt for C.C.  However, the team is conflicted as their pursuit of Pirates' SS Jack Wilson involves some of the same prospects they'd need to incude in a Sabathia deal.

So, do the Dodgers need a half-season of an ace more than two years of a no power/good glove SS?  Adding Wilson will certainly improve the Dodgers' current cast of SS options, but he isn't going to bring the noise the offense needs at the plate.  Even with Wilson, I don't see the Dodgers breaking out of the low-scoring doldrums that offense provides.

With an ace, though, the Dodgers will be able to keep the opposing team from scoring runs.  With the 2nd best bullpen ERA in the NL at 2.97 and 3rd best starter ERA, the addition of Sabathia makes the Dodgers' strengths stronger.  Because the Dodgers' rank 13th in starters' innings, adding C.C. will improve the team in that stat and preserve the overworked bullpen as the season heads into the dog days of summer.

When can we expect any of this to be resolved?  This is the most interesting part of Mr. Rosenthal's report.  He writes, "His next start is Tuesday, but several baseball people expect he will be traded before then."

Tom Hardicourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel leads one to believe Brewers' GM Doug Melvin told him what the Brewer's offer is.

"If the Brewers' latest offer is accepted, it's my understanding that it would include top prospect Matt LaPorta, minor-league third baseman Taylor Green and probably another prospect, perhaps outfielder Lorenzo Cain."

According to FOXSports' Ken Rosenthal, sources told him the Milwaukee Brewers have offered a package headed by top prospect 1B/OF Matt LaPorta to the Cleveland Indians for starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia.  Most die hard baseball fans know LaPorta is one of the minors top power-hitting prospects.

The other player Rosenthal rumors to be involved is SS Alcides Escobar.  Most baseball fans have no idea who he is.  Simply, he is a great defensive SS on the same Double-A Huntsville team with LaPorta (and soon-to-be top Brewers' hitting propsect Mat Gamel.)

This comports well with what Jayson Stark said on ESPN's Basbeall Today podcast.  He reported the the Indians were askign for two or three AA prospects who are considered building blocks.  LaPorta's bat and Escobar's skills would qualify.

Tom Hardicourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel confirms their is some fire amidst all the smoke.  He mentions the Indians have been scouting High A 3B Taylor Green.  Like Escobar, this would be another prospect most baseball fans have not heard of.  He does say the Brewers would be unlikely to deal LaPorta if Green were involved.  This sounds like Brewers' homerism more than solid reporting though.

With Escobar in the orgnaization, the Indians can move current SS Jhonny Peralta's bat. In fact, this could be one way for the Trine to solve their power dearth in the corner OF spots assumign LaPorta' bat plays better at 1B.  The question is whether the fielding stats (FCT, ZR, RF) are true.  If so, Peralta ranks near the top in the AL and is far and away the top power SS in his league.

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Chris DeLuca of the Chicago Sun-Times reports the Chicago Cubs are in the hunt for starting pitching help especially after LHP Rich hill's disatrous Rookie League start where he could not throw strikes despite the directive from the front office to do just that.  Add in former Notre Dame 1st round pick Jeff Samardzija has had big walk issues between AA and AAA (50 in 88 innings), and the Cubs have to look outside the organization to bolster their rotation. 

Mr. DeLuca mentions C.C. Sabathia, Rich Harden and Randy Wolf along with his teammate Greg Maddux.   A Randy Wolf for Matt Murton or Felix Pie deal looks like a deal that has to happen.

Buster Olney offers this very informatative nugget on the plans of the Cleveland Indians and trade rumors about C.C. Sabathia.  If only he had named the teams those scouts represent.

"The Indians have dispatched scouts to watch the minor leaguers of teams that might be interested in Sabathia, and those talent evaluators expect the Indians to begin presenting proposals to other teams for the left-hander very soon, perhaps at the beginning of next week."

The Toronto Sun reports the Blue Jays are shopping A.J. Burnett to any team looking for a starting pitcher sna want a SS in return because "...they're not happy with either David Eckstein or John McDonald."  With the Dodgers in need of a SS, too, this could get interesting.  Could the two teams get together and put together a package with Burnett and Eckstein going to L.A. with Chin-Lung Hu and others going to Canada in a Win-Now deal for the Dodgers and a Win-Later one for the ays?

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Peter Gammons of ESPN.com reports the Chicago Cubs are keeping in touch with the Cleveland Indians about the availability of LHP C.C. Sabathia but doubt they have the pieces to get C.C.  He also reports the Cubs have interest in Rich Harden of Oakland, Randy Wolf in San Diego and A.J. Burnett of Toronto.  Mr. Gammons gets a Cubs official to say, "It may come down to July 28, but we almost certainly will do something. But we really don't want to give up Gallagher at this point."

Some other Sabathia rumblings reported by Peter Gammons:
New York Yankees:  There but GM Brian Cashman doesn't want to trade for him.
Philadelphia Phillies:  Do not over look them.  I agree.  A package of lesser-known prospects like OF Greg Golson and 2B Adrian Cardenas are more attractive than the public knowledge about them indicates.
Tampa Bay Rays: There but can't see how they can sign him.  More focused on a right-handed bat.

Despite a first place standings, Gammons reports the Chicago White Sox will sit out the trade market barring an injury to their starting pitchers.  Given how rare it is for there to be no injuries in any team's rotation, I take this with a grain of salt.  The bigger factor keeping the White Sox out of the trade market would be there kiddie pool shallow minor league system.

Buster Olney reports some interesting trade specualtion from a "rival executive".  This rival suggests the Cleveland Indians send starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia and a prospect to the Milwaukee Brewers for 1B Prince Fielder.  With the wealth of 1B-types in the minors, the Brewers could make this kind of deal.  Last year's top pick, Matt LaPorta has to play somewhere. 

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports writes:

 "The Brewers' surge makes it doubtful that they would entertain trade offers for first baseman Prince Fielder before the end of the season. Brewers GM Doug Melvin prefers to trade position players in the off-season in order to attract a greater number of suitors; that was the route he chose with Richie Sexson, whom he sent to the Diamondbacks for a six-player return in Dec. 2003. The Brewers, brimming with corner-infield prospects at Class AA, have the flexibility to replace Fielder, trade for a starting pitcher or both."

I wonder if the Seattle Mariners wouldn't be a better fit with Erik Bedard going to Milwaukee?  He has an additional year on his contract, and the Mariners' needs a 1B.  Whether it is Fielder, LaPorta or Matt Gamel going West, this appears to be a better fit.

Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer speculates the Phillies would have to build a package for Sabathia around RF Shane Victorino and AA SP Carlos Carasco.  Also mentioned is one the the team's top hitting prospects Adrian Cardenas, a 2B in High A Clearwater with a 316/387/477 stat line .  Mr. Salisbury gets assistant GM Mike Arbuckle to say:

"We have to balance going for it now versus the future.  We have to keep in mind that this is not a club that is all-or-nothing this year. We have to be careful about absolutely wiping out the best young players in the system to do it now. That is not to say we don't want to win now and won't move good players if we feel the deal is right. It's just something we're looking at carefully."

My follow-up question for Mr. Arbuckle would have been, "Define 'good players'."

Sean Adams of the Providence Journal also dives into the trade speculating market for C.C. Sabathia. and states the inclusion of AA SP Michael Bowden could land Sabathia. I agree Bowden would be in the package but his presence alone won't be enough.  Any Indians' offer made to the Boston Red Sox will include middle infielder Jed Lowrie.

Too bad MLB doesn't allow the trading of draft picks.  I'd love to have some data about whether a supplemental first round pick and a second round one are considered more/less/the same as Michael Bowden and Jed Lowrie.

Last week,  I quipped that MLB trading season won't really open until the Yankees are being mentioned in every rumor and ESPN's Peter Gammons begins mentioning Oakland A's players available for trade.  The Yankees' ace, Chien-Ming Wang, left Sunday's game against the Houston Astros with foot pain, and the New York papers are filled with speculation that he suffered a Lisfranc injury and will miss the rest of the season.  This naturally leads to C.C. Sabathia.  One condition has been met.

Sunday night, Peter Gammons' latest column was published at ESPN.com.  In it, he surveys the trade landscape in a build-up towards the most intriguing pitching option available - Rich Harden of the Oakland A's.  The money quote?

A call came in Sunday morning that said, "Billy Beane has the single most important piece to trade to win the World Series. But the question is, how many songs do you let Slowhand play before a string breaks."

Hello, Rich Harden. Beane is right -- Harden is the most dominant pitcher in the American League right now.

Beane is right?  Did Mr. Gammons let slip that the Oakland general manager was that Sunday morning caller - and that he speaks in the third person about himself?  Either way, both condition have now been triggered, and the official start of the trading season has begun!

Other than patting myself on the back, Mr.  Gammons does shed some additional light on trade fronts other than Oakland.   In Cleveland, he reports that Cleveland Indians' GM Mark Shapiro has made it clear that he'd rather move sooner than later.  This would help maximize the return he could get for Sabathia by giving the acquiring team and additional month's worth of starts.