Hello Tribe Fans Everywhere!

Lefthanded pitchers, as a rule, mature late. They can show flashes of brilliance at an early age -- see Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers -- but it generally takes several years before they settle in. The exception to this rule, of course, is C.C. Sabathia, who pitched another gem Tuesday as Cleveland slipped past Kansas City, 1-0.

Sabathia went all the way, striking out eight and walking nary a batter, improving his record to 9-1. "I'm even prouder that we've won 12 of my 13 starts," said C.C. after the game. It shows how much he's matured since those early days in Cleveland when he showed so much baseball promise, but not much common sense.

Do you remember the night Sabathia spent several hours drinking with his new friends at a hotel bar just a few blocks from Jacobs Field? When they finally called it a night, the group stepped outside and the guys promptly robbed C.C. of all his gold jewelry -- about $60,000 worth. He felt they came close to taking his life. Sabathia was so shook by the incident that his mother rushed to Cleveland from the family's home in California. She cooked and kept house for her 6-foot-7, 335-pound son, helping him to regain his balance.

Since then, Sabathia has married and become the father of a young son and daughter. Tribe fans have watched him grow from a talented young thrower to a complete pitcher, and, this season, he might just be the best in baseball. I imagine the Yankees and Red Sox drool with anticipation every time Sabathia pitches a gem like the one last night against the Royals. Without a doubt, they'll have their designs on C.C. once he becomes a free agent after the 2008 season.

C.C. won't turn 27 until July 21, but he's already posted 90 major league victories and appears headed toward his best season yet. What's most amazing about his awesome pitching skill is his control, which is impeccable. In 192-plus innings last season, Sabathia walked only 44 batters.

Earlier in his career, he showed an occasional tendency to wander a bit. But since the second half of the 2005 season, Sabathia has been focused an determined. He's developed into a strong team leader and only smiled -- never got angry -- during his post-game interview on TV when Trot Nixon crept up and let him have it with a pie in the face.

These are the good times for the Indians and C.C. Sabathia. We should remember them fondly a couple years from now when the big lefty is off in New York, Boston or some other distant locale.

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Today's quickie quiz: Who played the most games with the Indians, Jim Hegan or Ken Keltner?

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-- Kevin Cuneo