There really is no bad news for Cleveland Indians fans in the signing of pitcher Fausto Carmona to a long-term deal. It's the continuation of a trend general manager Mark Shapiro cribbed from his predecessor John Hart. Get the young talent under contract before they are arbitration-eligible. It has the added benefit, too, of making the payroll costs of a budget-challenged team much more predictable over the next several years.

Still, if you follow a team long enough, there are just some truths you know. They may not be things you can necessarily prove or even things that the team would readily admit. But you know them nonetheless. And most of the time, unfortunately, the truths are as harsh as they are bitter.

In this case, the signing of Carmona just adds to an ever growing list of of truths that Indians fans know.  Number one on that list is that this is going to be pitcher C.C. Sabathia's last season in Cleveland.  Signing Carmona, no matter that Shapiro may say otherwise, just provides more evidence, not less.  And that's not because Sabathia's money has gone to Carmona.  Far from it.  It's just that Shapiro is never going to allow a team he oversees to commit the kind of money it will take over the length of time necessary to keep Sabathia in Cleveland.

Indians fans know Shapiro's record in this regard and have a notebook filled with proof.  Shapiro may have control over the budget and theoretically could allocate it anyway he wants.  But given its limits and the devastating effects that a huge long-term contract could have on it when injury or ineffectiveness kicks in will make Shapiro shy away.

And while we're on the topic of pitching, another truth on the list has to do with closer Joe Borowski.  Because he saved 45 games last season, Indians fans know the case for change isn't easily made.  But they also know that the thought of his getting the ball in a crucial game seven makes them cringe.

USA Today on Wednesday ran a feature on Borowski and Todd Jones, the Detroit Tigers closer, both castoffs of the Tampa Bay Rays and somewhat twin sons of different mothers. The point is that neither is an elite closer by conventional standards, which is the key to the fans indifference to their accomplishments.

According to Indians pitching coach Carl Willis, Borowski apparently has lost some velocity on a fastball that wasn’t all that fast to begin with. Whether or not that is alarming is a matter of context. Borowski, like Jones, doesn’t rely on heat. He relies on location and disrupting a hitter’s timing in order to get outs. He’s been relatively successful in that regard, but with him until the final out is actually registered you’re never really it ever will.

The situation with Borowoski actually reveals another truth that Indians fans really know. No matter what Shapiro or manager Eric Wedge might say to the contrary, you just know they’ve never really had much confidence in Borowski either. In fact, you really get the sense that the worst thing about last season to Shapiro and Wedge was not losing to the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series but that Borowski led the league in saves. It kept them from looking elsewhere in the offseason. The USA Today story just highlights why they lack confidence in Borowski and in that, though, they’re not alone. As the USA Today story notes, both Borowski and Jones have been released twice.