Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia had been rumored to be on the trading block, with the usual big money suspects (Red Sox, Yanks, Cubs, etc.) supposedly interested. So, how did the hurler end up with the Milwaukee Brewers?

Tom Haudricourt of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL reports that the deal is all but done, with only some last-minute paperwork yet to push through. As the Brewers get Sabathia, Cleveland collects prospect Matt LaPorta and three other minor leaguers in return.

And the Brew Crew expects to put their new acquisition to work right away, as the reigning AL Cy Young winner is scheduled to start Tuesday night against the Rockies.

C.C. & the Brewers looks to be a lethal combination for the NL Central - and in more ways than one. Read more…

Yes, this is real. (It comes with a letter of authenticity!) THREE IDIOTS ON SPORTS found a pair of pants once worn by former All-Star closer Bob Wickman on the eBays, which you can get today for the low, low starting bid of $29.99.

(Not actual size. Like most AAA maps, 1 inch = 1 mile.)

The pantaloons were donned when Wicky was a Yankee closer back in 1993, so perhaps the pants are slightly smaller versus his beer-belly days with Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Atlanta. Slightly. Read more…

• Shaq is moving on up, as the ARIZONA REPUBLIC reports that the Big Cactus’ new abode is the former Phoenix residence of Emmitt Smith.

• TMZ catches Terrell Owens having some ab-solute shirtless fun in Vegas. (Jeff Reed’s been there, done that.)

• The CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER doesn’t relish members of Progressive Field’s condiment race being kicked out of the Indians’ training room.

• Tom Ziller of AOL FANHOUSE grooves to the news that Larry Bird likes him some Beyonce.

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To paraphrase Tom Hanks in “A League of Their Own”, there’s no farting in baseball! Well, tell that to C.C. Sabathia & Jim Bowden.

First, HOME RUN DERBY catches the Indians pitcher pooting in the dugout. You don’t hear any sound of the dirty deed (could have been an SBD – silent but deadly). But by the way C.C. is leaning & the face he makes, obviously something has passed along.

Video after the jump (fortunately not presented in Smell-O-Rama).

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The game was drawn out longer than Kevin Costner’s “The Postman,” but the budget was higher and featured a better script, even though it didn’t have one. New York’s 15-9 win over their Bostonian counterparts in the first of a quick little two-game series was, as begrudging as it is to admit as a non-New Englander, entertaining.

(The first pitch was thrown from space by Dr. Garrett Reisman. Because of this, the game was delayed three light years to wait for the baseball’s re-entry and parachute landing somewhere over the Mariana Trench.)

Fourteen runs were scored in 1½ innings between the two teams, effectively hurting the feelings and ERA of both starters, Clay Buchholz and Chien-Ming Wang. But the Yankee bullpen only allowed one run after Wang’s departure, while the Red Sox pen was far more generous. Every Yankee scored at least one run, and only Hideki Matsui failed to drive in a run.

In some other games last night… Read more…

“Hello? Neal? Neal Huntington, wake up! This is your boss, Bob Nutting. I just saw the damnedest informercial on the Food Network and we totally have to get this for the Pirates. It’s this pitching machine, right? But instead of looking at the machine shoot you the ball, it’s hidden behind a screen and a pitcher is pitching on the screen and then the ball comes through the screen!”

“Mr. Nutting, sir? Have you been playing with the espresso machine after midnight again?”

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We’re not sure how sad a day it is in Cleveland just yet, as the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER reports that Jacobs Field has been renamed to “Progressive Field”.

Excerpt: “The Indians have reached an agreement with Progressive Insurance for the naming rights of the 40,000-seat facility on the corner of Ontario Street and Carnegie Avenue, a source close to the Indians said Thursday. Progressive Insurance, a Cleveland-based company, is owned by millionaire/philanthropist Peter Lewis.”

We say we’re unsure how upset Clevelanders really are because the ballpark was previously named after the Jacobs family, who owned the team during the Tribe’s glory years in the ’90s when the ballpark first opened. We were working in Ohio at the time, but never really got the feeling the Jacobs were beloved. You would think so, but we don’t know what the reaction will be. More than anything, the name was tradition, so there has to be some sadness settling over Lake Erie today. Especially since the ballpark is now monikered after one of those low-rate car insurance outfits (even if the owner is from Cleveland).

We’ll have to tune into Mike Trivisonno today, the unofficial mayor of Cleveland, to find out. And also get the scoop on that photo.