When Jayson Nix came over from the Cleveland Indians to the Toronto Blue Jays in a cash deal just before the start of the regular season he wasn't overly optimistic about his old team's chances heading into the new year.
Neither were a lot of other baseball pundits who were predicting another long and dreary season for an Indians outfit that had won fewer than 70 games in each of 2009 and 2010.
So far it has been Cleveland that has been enjoying the last laugh through the first two months of the schedule, the unexpected owners of the best record in the American League.
"I don't know if surprised is the right word I'd use to describe what the Indians are doing," Nix said. "I definitely didn't expect it, I don't think anybody did except, perhaps, their players."
The Blue Jays will get to witness first hand the resurgent Indians, who arrive in Toronto on Monday to play the first of a three-game set at Rogers Centre.
Shrewd trades, improved pitching and defence and a balanced attack are all to be credited for the turnaround that has landed Cleveland in first place in the A.L. Central with a record of 31-19.
Not bad for a franchise sporting baseball's No. 26-ranked payroll at $49-million (U.S.) that has parted ways over the years with such stars as C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee because of financial considerations.
"They've done it in a very typical Cleveland way - quietly - and all of a sudden they'll spring it on you," Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Madden told MLB.com. "When you look at it, what they're doing isn't really that surprising."
The Indians are being led this year by switch-hitting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who sports the best offensive numbers of any A.L. shortstop with 10 home runs, 61 hits and 35 runs batted in heading into play on Sunday.
Cabrera, 25, has developed into an all-star calibre performer who was still a minor-league prospect when the Indians acquired him in 2006 from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for veteran Eduardo Perez, who left the game at that season's end.
Of the 30 Indians currently on the 25-man roster or disabled list, 14 have been acquired in trades.
That list also includes Shin-Soo Choo, who was also buried in Seattle's minor-league system with Cabrera in 2006 before being dealt to the Indians.
The outfielder has since developed into one of the game's most complete players, coming off consecutive 20 home run, 20 stolen base seasons.
No team in the A.L. features as balanced a scoring attack as the Indians who currently sport seven players with at least 22 RBI. The New York Yankees rank second with five.
The only disappointment so far to the season for the Indians has been the response of the home-town fans.
After averaging a MLB-low 17,435 fans a year ago, attendance is up only marginally to 18,574 through 25 home dates in 2011.
Cleveland has proven in the past that it is a solid baseball town, selling out for 455 consecutive games between June 12, 1995 and April 4, 2001, drawing a total of 19.3-million fans.
"It's a whole different animal now," said Toronto shortstop John McDonald, who started his Major League career with the Indians in 1999.
A new stadium and a solid team that made the playoffs in six of seven years between 1995 to 2001 (including two trips to the World Series) helped prop up the fan base, McDonald said.
A rebuilding phase, combined with the economic downturn that has struck the rust belt city extra hard, has meant a slow recovery for the baseball club.
"I know the fans in Cleveland are watching," McDonald said. "They're watching, they're listening on the radio, they're very passionate about their team."