MILWAUKEE -- The moment CC Sabathia went from mouth-watering temptation to delicious reality over the weekend, many longtime Brewers fans reacted the same way.

They hungrily reminisced.

They reached back for a late-August day in 1982 when Milwaukee augmented its case for American League pennant contention by sending three prospects to Houston to acquire Don Sutton, a future Hall of Fame pitcher.

The deal went pretty well both ways.

The Brewers won five of the seven games Sutton started en route to the Eastern Division title, then prevailed in his lone AL Championship Series outing against California to send the franchise to its only World Series.

The Astros, meanwhile, saw outfielder Kevin Bass become an All-Star in 1986, reliever Frank DiPino save 20 games in 1983 and starting pitcher Mike Madden debut that same season with a 9-5 record and 3.14 ERA.

The Sabathia trade is going to take years to play out -- the Brewers agreed to ship four prospects to Cleveland for the AL Cy Young Award winner in 2007 -- but if Tuesday night was any indication, a fascinating tale is going to unfold.

Sabathia left a favorable impression during his National League debut at revved-up Miller Park, getting the win during a 7-3 decision over Colorado.

The renowned left-hander ended a losing streak in his first go-round and kept Milwaukee within four games of first place in the National League Central Division, but those expecting his usual workhorse dominance might have been disappointed.

Weary from the emotional energy expended since the trade was announced Monday, Sabathia allowed five hits, five walks and struck out five while allowing two earned runs in six innings of work.

He threw 97 pitches -- hitting 97 mph on the scoreboard radar gun in the sixth -- but the guy who worked seven-plus innings 116 times in 237 career starts for the Indians labored through his final inning (two runs, two hits, three walks). Although used to throwing around 120 pitches a game, Sabathia didn't object when Brewers manager Ned Yost lifted him.

Still, it's an upgrade from 26 seasons ago when Sutton lost his debut to, of all teams, Cleveland.

Sabathia took the mound just over an hour after the first-place Cubs announced their right-back-at-you trade with Oakland.

Chicago sent four players to the A's to get Rich Harden, a talented, but fragile starter, and Chad Gaudin, a veteran who can start or work out of the bullpen.

Go ahead and start your pool on who holds up down the stretch: Harden, who's been on the DL six times in six years, or Brewers vice-ace Ben Sheets, who's been on the DL six times in eight seasons.

The last week has seen a series of seismic shifts on pitching staffs in the NL Central, where the top three teams -- Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee -- own the best winning percentages in the league.

The Cubs got ace Carlos Zambrano off the 15-day disabled list Friday.

That was followed by the news that the premier talent on the trade market was coming to Milwaukee, a jolt so welcome there were billboards along the freeway trumpeting Sabathia's debut, his Brewers jersey vanished from the shelves at Miller Park and a sellout crowd of 42,533 showed up to see it.

The Cubs answered with their trade Tuesday, which will be followed today by the scheduled return of former all-star Mark Mulder to the St. Louis rotation.

How much difference will Sabathia make this season? No one knows for sure.

But he's already one up on Sutton.