Can Ubaldo Jimenez Trade Change Indians' Pitching Luck?

Saturday's trade of Ubaldo Jimenez is meant to stop the Cleveland Indians' slide out of the playoff race. Landing the Colorado Rockies' ace is a change of pace for the Indians, who tend to trade aces rather than land them. Jimenez isn't the ace he was back in the first half of 2010, which is why he was dealt in the first place. Yet can a chance of scenery turn him around, like it did for other aces that left Cleveland?

Several years ago, the Indians had Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia at their disposal, which helped them get one win away from the 2007 World Series. But Cleveland lost their star pitchers to free agency and trades, and hasn't contended since 2007 until now. Yet the Indians' hot start is a memory, as the team is nearly at .500 yet still just 1 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

Getting Jimenez almost 24 hours before the trade deadline is the last chance for a shot in the arm. But not only are the Indians not what they were a while back, their new pitcher isn't either. After going 15-1 to start 2010, Jimenez has slid to 6-9 this season, although he has had more quality starts lately.

But the best example of how someone can go from ace to sub .500 to ace again started off in Cleveland. Lee was 22-3 in 2008 and won the Cy Young, yet went down to .500 at the start of 2009, due to bad run support. Then when the Indians traded him to Philadelphia, he began a run that included two World Series appearances with two separate teams, and could end up in a third straight pennant with the Phillies this year.

That change of scenery paid off perfectly, as it did for Sabathia when he left the Indians to go to the Yankees. Not only did he win a championship in 2009, he is the Cy Young favorite this season and has the most wins in baseball. It seems that leaving Cleveland pays off well for many sports players- although that was debatable in the case of LeBron James this past year- but can coming there help turn stars around?

If Jimenez pulls off what Lee did, and returns to ace form in a new location, it could be enough for the Indians to overtake the Tigers. Since the AL Central is among the weakest divisions in baseball, it probably won't take much for Cleveland to win it if it gets hot again.

But if the Jimenez trade doesn't pay off, the Indians are back to square one, while Colorado gets to rebuild with top pitching prospects like Drew Pomeranz, Alex White and Joe Gardner. Will they be yet another example of how pitchers thrive better outside of Cleveland than in it?

Sources

SI.com- "Rockies trade Jimenez to Indians"

Yahoo Sports- "Jimenez deal forces closer look at prospect value"