"Not a bad home debut for Ubaldo Jimenez. Not bad at all.

But the Indians didn't trade for him to beat the Tigers in August.

Don't take that the wrong way. Cleveland's 10-3 win behind Jimenez Wednesday night pulled the Indians to within two games of Detroit in the suddenly-competitive-again American League Central.

With Jimenez in the rotation and new local hero Jason Kipnis in the lineup, you'd have to say the Indians have a chance against the favored Tigers.

But the Indians didn't trade for Ubaldo just to get them to October.

For their Ubaldo gamble to work, Jimenez has to be the Indians' Justin Verlander. He can't just be good. He has to be great.

He has to be a true No. 1 starter. He has to be the guy who would give the Indians a fighting chance in a playoff series against the Red Sox or Yankees.

It doesn't need to be this year. The Indians agreed to the Jimenez trade because he's under control at an extremely reasonable price through 2013.

But the only reason for the Indians to trade both Alex White and Drew Pomeranz -- both potential No. 1 starters down the line -- was that they believe Jimenez is a true No. 1 right now, the kind of pitcher who wins you a World Series.

Other teams didn't believe that. The Yankees didn't even think he was a true No. 2 behind CC Sabathia. The Tigers had their doubts. The Rockies thought Jimenez had slipped to the point where he was more of a No. 3 starter.

That's not to say the Indians are wrong, and it's not to say that the Jimenez trade was a mistake. At times Wednesday, when he went eight innings and allowed three somewhat tainted runs while striking out six, Jimenez dominated the Tiger lineup.

He wasn't electric (his fastest fastball clocked in at 95.5 mph, about average for him this year but down a few clicks from 2010), but he was good -- even very good.

"I feel like he could have thrown a shutout," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "He was fantastic."

But let's remember, when Acta was asked Wednesday afternoon what Jimenez can be as a true No. 1, he brought up Verlander's name. "