'I Don't Want To Hear It,' - Sabathia

C.C. Sabathia may or may not be leaving the Indians as a free agent after the 2008 season. The agents for the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner may or may not resume negotiating with the team on a contract extension during the season. He just doesn't want any part of it from now until the Indians' final game in October ... whether that is at the end of the regular season or a run into postseason play.

''I don't care,'' Sabathia replied when asked if he thought his agents at Legacy Sports could possibly negotiate a deal during the season. ''I just wouldn't want to know about it. I refuse to let this run my life. I kind of think they (the front office) feel the same way I do. I want my focus to be on the season.''

Sabathia said his decision not to continue contract talks after the start of spring training is simply a case of "been there, done that" and something he doesn't want to endure again. He said that talks during his last contract extension in 2005 bothered him.

"That was horrible," he recalled. "I was on the phone all night, didn't get much sleep. I don't want to live through anything like that again."

As for his current status, Sabathia gave no hint as to how close he is to returning to the Indians, other than to continue to emphasize how much he enjoys playing for the organization that made him a No. 1 draft pick out of high school in 1998.
br> ''We didn't have enough common ground, and I want to focus on the team and not have it as a distraction,'' Sabathia said. ''I have seen these things become a distraction.

''Everybody knows what I think about the team and this city. I think there will be plenty of time (to negotiate) after the season.''