Sabathia proving to be worth the money
BOSTON – The are many Yankee fans that look at CC Sabathia through what his contract reads.
It reads many zeroes in case you have forgotten.
Thus, added pressure is put on him whenever he takes the mound. Anything not bordering on great classifies as disappointing.
Then there is another segment of Yankee fans (let’s just call them “realists”) that know that every time the big lefthander take the mound that know he will not pitch like Don Drysdale in his prime every time out, but if he gives a quality performance the Yankees will win more than they lose.
Mix them both together and you get the consensus that in games against the Red Sox, everyone agrees that pitching well, if not great against them is part of “The House Rules”. If you don’t believe that, look at all the discussion surrounding AJ Burnett after his third Fenway Flameout on Saturday.
Matched up in a heavyweight battle of aces with Boston hurler Josh Beckett in nationally television battle with entire country watching, it was the Yankees ace that stood up to the Fenway Park crowd, the Red Sox lineup and some shoddy defense and came out of it unshaken, not intimidated and most of all, victorious.
Unlike his counterpart Beckett, who was hammered for five homeruns and made it appear as if this were the video game “The Bigs” with the arcade nature Yankee hitters were hitting them out, and with all precincts reporting, it is apparent the team has officially got its “ace”.
We all thought going in that this had the making of a tight, death grip struggle, with runs coming at a premium. Everyone gears themselves for it, but rarely does it come out that way. It becomes more of a battle of survival than anything else. In those games, it becomes the pitcher who stays afloat, rather than sink.
For this, Sabathia gains his biggest credit.
He was given a 2-0 lead in the second and gave it all back with two outs when Mike Lowell doubled off the Monster and scored on a single by Rocco Baldelli who would then score all the way from first base on an RBI double by Jason Varitek.
The lead was gone and his pitch count was rising early. As he has so many times this season, Sabathia can be counted on for getting through seven an into the eighth inning. When you looked at the overworking of the bullpen in the previous two games, it was incumbent on him to keep his team in the game and give them much needed length even if he had to throw upwards of 120 pitches to do so.
His pitch count was hovering around 60 in the third inning when Boston had runners on first and second. However, he was able to jam Kevin Youkilis with a cutter and was able to get an inning ending double play after the Yankees had given back to him a two-run lead in the previous half inning.
If it weren’t for Robinson Cano dropping a pop fly off the bat of Varitek, the inning would have been over. Instead, it allowed the Red Sox to score a run and mount a mini-rally to make it 5-3, but shut the door immediately before any thought of a comeback could be conceived.
While Sabathia was holding it down, Beckett was giving it up. The Yankees were tuning Fenway into a launching pad. After Alex Rodriguez guessed right on a 3-2 curveball and hit it over the Monster to make it 7-3.
It was all he was going to need. Boston would never get any closer. There was a sacrifice fly by Baldelli, but nothing else. It is what the great pitchers do. He could have given most of the lead back considering that his pitch count was high early and he did not have his “A” stuff. Yet, he saw the opportunity and seized it.
You looked up and here we were in the bottom of the seventh inning and he was still out there on the hill and getting Red Sox hitters out. Alex Gonzalez grounded out and Jacoby Ellsbury would strike out on Sabathia’s 118th pitch of the night.
It would be his last.
His night was over and though the final stat line did not look terrific, but it was still an admirable performance. The last time on that mound in June, he left a great performance that night to a shaky bullpen and ended up a loser. This time, he was able to leave with his head up high knowing that he gave the team exactly what they were looking for and that Boston did not have much chance to coming back on this night.
Gaining win 15 of the year, he now leads the major leagues in wins. He has been his best when the calendar reaches August (5-0) and has proven to be worth the money the Yankees have spent on him.
So far, the money has worked out for the regular season. The real money will be on the table starting in Game 1 of the Division Series against whoever shows up at Yankee Stadium. That is when the stakes will be even higher.
Sabathia’s postseason history suggests that he will meltdown. Only time will tell on that. For right now, he has proven to be the guy that will get the Yankees to Mission 27.
BOSTON – The are many Yankee fans that look at CC Sabathia through what his contract reads.
It reads many zeroes in case you have forgotten.
Thus, added pressure is put on him whenever he takes the mound. Anything not bordering on great classifies as disappointing.
Then there is another segment of Yankee fans (let’s just call them “realists”) that know that every time the big lefthander take the mound that know he will not pitch like Don Drysdale in his prime every time out, but if he gives a quality performance the Yankees will win more than they lose.
Mix them both together and you get the consensus that in games against the Red Sox, everyone agrees that pitching well, if not great against them is part of “The House Rules”. If you don’t believe that, look at all the discussion surrounding AJ Burnett after his third Fenway Flameout on Saturday.
Matched up in a heavyweight battle of aces with Boston hurler Josh Beckett in nationally television battle with entire country watching, it was the Yankees ace that stood up to the Fenway Park crowd, the Red Sox lineup and some shoddy defense and came out of it unshaken, not intimidated and most of all, victorious.
Unlike his counterpart Beckett, who was hammered for five homeruns and made it appear as if this were the video game “The Bigs” with the arcade nature Yankee hitters were hitting them out, and with all precincts reporting, it is apparent the team has officially got its “ace”.
We all thought going in that this had the making of a tight, death grip struggle, with runs coming at a premium. Everyone gears themselves for it, but rarely does it come out that way. It becomes more of a battle of survival than anything else. In those games, it becomes the pitcher who stays afloat, rather than sink.
For this, Sabathia gains his biggest credit.
He was given a 2-0 lead in the second and gave it all back with two outs when Mike Lowell doubled off the Monster and scored on a single by Rocco Baldelli who would then score all the way from first base on an RBI double by Jason Varitek.
The lead was gone and his pitch count was rising early. As he has so many times this season, Sabathia can be counted on for getting through seven an into the eighth inning. When you looked at the overworking of the bullpen in the previous two games, it was incumbent on him to keep his team in the game and give them much needed length even if he had to throw upwards of 120 pitches to do so.
His pitch count was hovering around 60 in the third inning when Boston had runners on first and second. However, he was able to jam Kevin Youkilis with a cutter and was able to get an inning ending double play after the Yankees had given back to him a two-run lead in the previous half inning.
If it weren’t for Robinson Cano dropping a pop fly off the bat of Varitek, the inning would have been over. Instead, it allowed the Red Sox to score a run and mount a mini-rally to make it 5-3, but shut the door immediately before any thought of a comeback could be conceived.
While Sabathia was holding it down, Beckett was giving it up. The Yankees were tuning Fenway into a launching pad. After Alex Rodriguez guessed right on a 3-2 curveball and hit it over the Monster to make it 7-3.
It was all he was going to need. Boston would never get any closer. There was a sacrifice fly by Baldelli, but nothing else. It is what the great pitchers do. He could have given most of the lead back considering that his pitch count was high early and he did not have his “A” stuff. Yet, he saw the opportunity and seized it.
You looked up and here we were in the bottom of the seventh inning and he was still out there on the hill and getting Red Sox hitters out. Alex Gonzalez grounded out and Jacoby Ellsbury would strike out on Sabathia’s 118th pitch of the night.
It would be his last.
His night was over and though the final stat line did not look terrific, but it was still an admirable performance. The last time on that mound in June, he left a great performance that night to a shaky bullpen and ended up a loser. This time, he was able to leave with his head up high knowing that he gave the team exactly what they were looking for and that Boston did not have much chance to coming back on this night.
Gaining win 15 of the year, he now leads the major leagues in wins. He has been his best when the calendar reaches August (5-0) and has proven to be worth the money the Yankees have spent on him.
So far, the money has worked out for the regular season. The real money will be on the table starting in Game 1 of the Division Series against whoever shows up at Yankee Stadium. That is when the stakes will be even higher.
Sabathia’s postseason history suggests that he will meltdown. Only time will tell on that. For right now, he has proven to be the guy that will get the Yankees to Mission 27.
No comments:
Post a Comment