Written by Tony Lastoria

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Indians ace C.C. Sabathia left the game today in the first inning after taking a line drive off of his left wrist on just his second pitch of the game. The incident put a huge scare into Tribe officials and fans as the worst was expected, but at this point x-rays are negative and Sabathia will be re-evaluated tomorrow. Disaster appears to have been averted....for now.

Indians ace C.C. Sabathia left the game today in the first inning after taking a line drive off of the bottom area of his left wrist.  On just his second pitch of the game against Toronto, Sabathia was unable to avoid a line drive off the bat of Reed Johnson and it struck him in the wrist of his pitching hand.

Upon being hit by the line drive and grimacing loudly in pain, Indians coaches and trainers sprinted to Sabathia's aide and immediately rushed him to the clubhouse to assess the damage.  Details were sketchy at first, and some speculation immediately surfaced on-line and from local talkshow hosts that Sabathia's forearm was fractured which would put him on the shelf for at least two to three months.  But, x-rays came back negative and Sabathia is listed as day-to-day.  He will be re-evaluated tomorrow.

Sabathia was making his final tune up of the spring before he makes his first start in the Indians season opener against the White Sox this coming Monday.  What remains to be seen is if this bone bruise would have any effect on Sabathia being able to make his start on Monday as it would seem highly unlikely Sabathia would still be able to start that game.

It is possible the Indians could bump everyone up in the rotation a day and go with a four-man rotation until a fifth starter is needed on Sunday April 8th against Seattle.  Sabathia could be held out until that game, which would give him almost an extra week to recover and not have to go on the disabled list.

If Sabathia were to go on the 15-day disabled list, it looks like the Adam Miller Era may get started sooner than expected.  Also, the much talked about depth on the Indians pitching staff will definitely be put to the test right out of the gates to start the season with Cliff Lee, Matt Miller and now possibly Sabathia all set to start the season on the disabled list.

It also should be noted, that while Miller should be the one to get the call if Sabathia is put on the disabled list, the Indians are pretty steadfast about starting Miller in Buffalo to finish him off.  It would not be a huge surprise to see Brian Slocum get the call instead, especially if it would be a short-term callup for two to three starts.