Las Vegas, NV (WFAN) -- So now it’s time for everybody to start poking holes in CC Sabathia. Just stop. This guy has been one of the best pitchers in baseball. Wild in his younger days, he’s cut back on his walks and turned the corner. Now, still only 28 years old, he’s just what the Yankees are looking for.
I understand CC’s postseason record isn’t great. But in case you didn’t notice, the Yankees didn’t make the playoffs last season and need some help to make it back. Step one is complete.
Is CC Sabathia a winner? You better believe it. The guy is 44 games over .500 for his career, while the teams he h as played on are just 24 games over .500. Four times during his years in Cleveland, the Indians finished with a losing record. However, Sabathia has NEVER had a losing record during his eight years in the big leagues.
Can Sabathia handle New York? Just because he professed his love for the West Coast and used that leverage to get $60 million more than the next team offered doesn’t make him a timid little bird in the concrete jungle. I’m starting to think that makes him a lot smarter than any of us. And besides, I haven’t heard anybody say anything negative about Sabathia’s makeup and his ability to handle the pressure. As far as the media spotlight, longtime Cleveland PR man Bart Swain smiled widely as he told me how much we were going to love dealing with CC. He also told me that in eight years he never recalled Sabathia taking more than 5 minutes to be at his locker, ready and accountable after a game, good or bad.
Now the Yankees move on to other concerns, hoping to rope in two of these three---Derek20Lowe, AJ Burnett, and Ben Sheets. Where does that leave Andy Pettitte? Maybe he shouldn’t have shrugged off that 1-year, $10 million offer so quickly. If they sign two mor e guys that means three new pitchers, plus Wang and Joba for the rotation (yes, Joba is going to be a starter!). Plus they’ll have Hughes, Kennedy, Aceves, or someone else cheap at the ready as a 6th starter or at AAA. Andy Pettitte’s future in pinstripes just got interesting.
Although there was very strong talk about Ben Sheets earlier this week, I hear that the medical profile is just too scary for the Yankees to take a chance and that he's fallen to the bottom of that list I just ran down. Burnett is a risk too, but the Yankees seem prepared to go forward with a 5-year offer around $80 million. As I have said before, Derek Lowe is still their best option. I thought it was a mistake to not pursue him harder four years ago.
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