Why put trade in jeopardy?

   CLEVELAND: Why did the Rockies risk voiding the trade of Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians by allowing him to start against the Padres  Saturday night?

Thirty minutes before he was scheduled to warm up, Jimenez was watching television in the clubhouse and saw a crawl come accross the screen detailing the trade.  He visited manager Jim Tracy, who told him the deal wasn't a certainty.

As the game was about to begin, there still was no confirmation of the trade (according to the Rockies), and Tracy sent Jimenez to the mound, only to watch him give up four runs and walk four in the first inning. Esmil Rogers also warmed up,  just in case.

After the game, Jimenez told Denver reporters, “”When I got to the bullpen, I was like, “I don’t even know what I’m doing here, because (the deal) was as sure thing. I couldn’t even throw a strike, because I didn’t have my focus.''

Seldom does a team risk injury to a player about to be traded, but in this case the Rockies did just that. General Manager Dan O'Dowd must have had a reason, but that reason is far from clear.

Meanwhile, the trade became official this afternoon, when he passed a physical at the Tribe's spring training headquarters in Goodyear, Ariz. A move will have to be made to get Jimenez on the 40-man roster, but that will come later.

An eye injury suffered by Akron's Matt McBride in batting practice Saturday night will not affeect the trade.