Boxkutter - thanks for the support - greatly appreciated!  :-)

This day was probably coming, though I know some Tribe fans, myself included, were recently encouraged and thought there was a decent chance of resigning him.  Those hopes are pretty-well gone in my opinion, unless CC has a 180-degree change of heart, but that is unlikely.

If this had been last year, I'd probably be more upset about it; while CC's eventual loss will be felt, the Indians should still be able to field a quality team even after CC departs, due to the fact that virtually the rest of the Indians are signed for a few to several years, including Betancourt just recently.  Combine that with the fact that the Indians' farm system has notable prospects like Miller, Lofgren, Sipp (presuming he returns successfully from TJ surgery,) Stevens, Rodriguez, and others lower in the system, and the Indians can likely field competitive teams that have a solid to good chance to reach the postseason into the early part of the next decade.

Of course, CC's eventual loss would be mitigated moreso if Carmona can continue producing at a level at or near his great 2007 season, and if Miller and/or Lofgren can come close or meet their potential - only time will tell with them.

As for CC, it's a bit disappointing that he wasn't willing to negotiate through ST as he moreless said he was willing to do a few months back.  That is pretty much a telltale sign in my opinion that he WON'T be back with the Indians in 2009.

The debate over trading him versus keeping him is an interesting one, one I've debated about myself from time to time over the past year or two.  I can understand the idea of trading him - quality Minor Leaguers, even if they aren't top prospects, will probably be more useful, and therefore, valuable than 2 extra draft picks.  

The problem is though that the Indians are by all accounts a legitimate WS contender in 2008 with Sabathia.  Combine that with the fact that the Indians haven't won the WS since 1948, and there's more pressure on the Indians' FO to ride it out with Sabathia through this season and try their best to win a WS.

Of course, that could change if the Indians fall out of the race by June-July, or if someone would really throw an outrageous deal in their laps to acquire Sabathia and the exclusive rights to negotiating with him (as well as have a good chance of signing him - say the Yankees, the Red Sox, or the Dodgers, etc.,) but the chances of a deal like that happening are pretty remote in my opinion.  In addition, I'm not sure any realistic deal would enable the Indians to be as strong of a team in 2008 as they are with CC leading the rotation - even obtaining a Hughes or Buchholz would likely not make the Indians a better team in 2008 than they are with CC, since it would seem unlikely that either could match CC's ability in 2008 due to their limited experience and the fact that neither of them have had a full season at the ML level.  

Therefore, virtually ANY trade the Indians could make that involves CC would weaken them for the 2008 season.  While there are solid reasons for improving the Indians for 2009-2010 and beyond, any trade of CC now is going to alienate the Indians' fanbase, and that fanbase is just starting to show some support for the Indians after having been largely missing since the sellout streak ended in 2001.  I know Opening Day is sold out, but I think there are several other dates that are either sold out or very, very close to selling at this early date, something that I believe has not happened since probably around 2002 after the Indians' successful 2001 season.  I think I heard that Indians' ticket sales are up 20% or so over last season's sales, so the revenue the Indians are receiving from ticket sales is finally going back up after several years where it was not as viable a revenue stream as it was during the glory years of 1995-2001 (yes, the dollar amounts are more due to the higher prices nowadays, but the costs have also gone up, so in effect, the revenue stream from the ticket sales provides much less than it did during those years.)

If the Indians trade CC now, the majority of fans, as unrational as it really is, will probably feel betrayed and not want to come out to the ballpark.  Certainly, future ticket sales will be affected, with only the Indians excelling to a high degree possibly bringing them back out this season, and without C.C., that will be more difficult to achieve, though not impossible.

While the Indians' FO will base their decisions on what is best for the team, and those decisions don't always appease the fans (the Colon trade, for example,) the Indians' FO certainly doesn't want to lose fan support so soon after working so hard to finally get it back either.  Plus, the Indians' FO feels that they have a legitimate chance of winning a WS this season with Sabathia, so unless the Indians unexpectedly fall out of the race early or someone comes up with a totally ridiculous offer (virtually no chance at that happening,) it is doubtful that CC will be traded during the 2008 season.  The Indians will likely play out the 2008 season with him and take the 2 Draft picks they'll get from the team that signs him in the 2008-2009 offseason.

Just my 2 cents.  :-)

Take care and have a great day!