THE Indians, emerging as the favorites to win the wild card, greatly aided the cause of the two-time defending World Series champions by trading David Justice to the Yankees.

That doesn’t mean Indian General Manager John Hart regrets trading Justice, who earns $7 million per season.

Hart has said if he did not make the trade, for payroll reasons he could not have made the deals for pitchers, most notably Bob Wickman and Jason Bere, who turned around the Indians’ season.

The Indians turned Ricky Ledee into David Segui and are happy with the way Segui’s line-drive bat has revived the offense.

Still, nobody in Cleveland is going to want to hear that talk if Justice bounces the Indians from the playoffs with a dramatic home run.