When the Brewers traded for CC Sabathia back in July, the brain trust had to be imagining a situation like this presenting itself:
The team plays pretty well and gets out to a nice lead in the wildcard by early September. Then the luck changes a little bit, a bad run happens and a losing streak is under way, putting the hard work of the last 5 months in jeopardy. Then CC and Ben Sheets step in and pitch two gems to put the team back on the winning track and help stabilize a potential free fall situation.
Of course, that is exactly what happened on Friday and Saturday for the Brewers against the San Diego Padres. It's rare that something like the CC acquisition plays out exactly like it's supposed to. He has been utterly dominant in nearly every start he's made. He's helped a good team jump up a notch and become a very good team. He is in position to receive a huge contract on the free agent market this winter....
Of course that is something we'll have to just worry about later.
Doug Melvin deserves a lot of credit for correctly reading his team, it's potential and it's needs and taking this risk. I wasn't totally sold on the deal at the time, mostly because I wasn't confident that the rest of the players on the team were quite ready to justify the risk of trading a guy of Matt LaPorta's ability. I'm very happy to be wrong about that, because whatever happens from here on out it was the right move.
Now, the team just needs to take care of business and give itself some space before the road trip to Philadelphia and Chicago next week.