while right-hander Fausto Carmona has emerged after a rocky rookie season in 2005, Sabathia is clearly considered the leader of a rotation that has been good enough to put Cleveland atop the AL Central standings with a 37-23 record, 2 ½ games in front of Detroit, but also poor enough in spots to cause concerns that the Indians can stay there the rest of the season.

“I came into the season knowing I had to be ‘The Man’ if we were going to go to the playoffs,” Sabathia said. “We’re a good team and I really believe it’s our time to make the playoffs. All playoff teams need that No. 1 starter and that’s been my goal since the first day of spring training. I’ve been here the longest and I’m the one who should step up and take responsibility.”

Though Sabathia is only 26, he is in his seventh season with the Indians, and coming off of a career-best year in 2006, when he was 12-11 with a 3.22 ERA and a 46.5 VORP in 192 innings. However, it was the fifth straight non-playoff season for the Indians since 2001, a season in which Sabathia won 17 games as a rookie. Last year was especially disappointing for the Indians, as they finished 74-88 a year after being eliminated from the race on the final day.

The frustration of last year's setback has helped drive Sabathia to raise his performance in 2007. He showed what he is capable of in his previous start on Tuesday night when he threw his fifth career shutout, a five-hitter in a taut 1-0 victory over Kansas City and Jorge De La Rosa. “He showed why he’s a No. 1 starter with this type of performance in this type of game,” Indians manager Eric Wedge.