A Trade at the Deadline

It has been a while since the Tribe made a significant trade at the deadline to add players for the stretch run.  This time is was for pitcher Ubaldo Jiminez, a true ace of the staff.  When I first heard about the trade, I was with Drew at the Clippers game last Saturday.  We were following the events on Twitter.  First White was to be traded, then Pomeranz, then both of them along with two other players.  At first, I thought, wow, this is too much.  Much as I hated to give up TWO FRONTLINE PITCHING PROSPECTS, I began to think through the trade.  By completing the trade, the Indians are saying that they are all in this year to win it.  Jiminez is a heck of a pitcher, he pitched a no hitter last year.  If he is on, he is the ace of the staff, a true number one pitcher who can match up with other aces of other staffs.
What I particularly like about the trade is that Chris Antonetti added pitching at the deadline.  Think about it, the Indians are where they are at this year because of pitching.  Pitching and defense wins ball games.  Yes, they need to hit, but with a good pitching staff a small market team can compete with the bigger clubs.  I think that this will be the Indians blueprint for the foreseeable future.  They have pitching prospects STILL in the minors: Chen, Hagadone, Judy, Gomez, Huff, and a few others.  If they Indians can continue to draft and develop pitching, bringing the studs to the big leagues, we may see a window of opportunity opening for the Tribe for a long, long time.  I like the trade.  Did the Indians give up too much?  That remains to be seen.  But right now, they got another front line pitcher in the rotation.  Ubaldo pitches tomorrow night.  And the eyes of all Indians fans will be watching and rooting for him to succeed.