Brewers land reigning Cy Young Award winner

MILWAUKEE -- With one XXL-sized move, the Milwaukee Brewers hope to transform themselves from scrappy underdogs to a big, bad pitching powerhouse intent on chasing down the Chicago Cubs and making the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

The Brewers obtained AL Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia in a trade with the Cleveland Indians on Monday, giving up four prospects in a gamble that favors the present over the future.

"I'd say we're going for it," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said. "That's the way I look at it."

The deal stacks the Brewers' deck with a pair of aces, Sabathia and Ben Sheets -- but only for a few months.

Barring blockbuster contract offers from a small-market team that already is stretching this year's payroll into the $90 million range, both players will become free agents after the season.

But Sabathia said that's a concern for the offseason. Right now, he's just trying to blend in and get back to having fun on the mound -- something he didn't do in the postseason last year.

"If anybody's ever seen me pitch, I'm out there laughing and having fun," said Sabathia, who went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA last season, but lost two games to Boston in the ALCS. "That's just me, and that's something that I didn't do last year. When we get to the playoffs, I'll definitely be doing that."

Still, the deal hardly assures the Brewers an easy road to the postseason. Milwaukee began Monday a percentage point ahead of St. Louis for the second-best record in the NL, and both teams are chasing the Chicago Cubs, who are 3 games ahead in the NL Central.

"Let's face it: This is still a calculated risk," Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said. "The other teams in our division aren't going to sit back and look at this and say, 'Oh, now the Brewers have got CC Sabathia. Let's just roll over.'"

The football player-sized Sabathia -- slugger Prince Fielder offered to lend him a pair of uniform pants -- is the first reigning Cy Young winner to be traded since Roger Clemens was dealt to the New York Yankees in the offseason after winning the award with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998.

For Cleveland, it's a sign of surrender hardly anyone would have imagined going into the season.

Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said the team's string of injuries and disappointing performances made it hard to imagine a significant rally in the second half.

"We all headed into this season with what we feel are well-founded expectations for a championship-contending season," Shapiro said. "Four core players on the DL -- tough for almost any franchise to overcome -- as well as disappointing performances from many components of our team, most noticeably in the bullpen, leave us at the juncture we're at. There wasn't much doubt or question in our mind that it was nearly impossible for us to become a contending club this year."

Sabathia arrived in Milwaukee before Monday night's game against Colorado and is scheduled to pitch against the Rockies tonight. He also is expected to pitch against Cincinnati on Sunday, giving him a pair of starts for his new team at home leading into the All-Star break.