Yankees baseball blog

C.C. no opt-out a treat for Yankees

The Yankees and their ace reached agreement on a new five-year, $122 million deal with a vesting option for a sixth year that can bring the total value of the contract to $147 million, prompting Sabathia not to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract.

The new deal essentially boils down to a one-year extension worth $30 million, plus the vesting option for 2017 that could add another $25 million to the total. The sixth-year option becomes guaranteed if Sabathia does not finsh the 2016 season on the disabled list because of a left-shoulder injury, does not spend more than 45 days of 2016 on the DL with a left shoulder injury or does not make six or more relief appearances in 2016 because of shoulder problems.

Assuming Sabathia's left shoulder remains healthy, he will have earned a total of $216 million over nine years in pinstripes.
 
Had Sabathia opted out, he would have immediately become the top pitcher available on the free-agent market, but in the end, his desire to stay in New York - and the fact that the Yankees' offer might have been higher than anything another team would have proposed - led to him staying put. (continue)

No chance C.C. goes to Red Sox

While they would never admit it, you have to think the Yankees got a shiver when they heard Tuesday that Boston’s John Lackey will miss all of 2012 due to Tommy John surgery, news that could make the winter as sticky as a humid summer for the Yankees.

After all, increasing the Red Sox’s need for pitching does not dovetail well with the Yankees’ desire to improve their own rotation, especially in what is a limited free-agent market. The Yankees certainly don’t want another deep-pocketed competitor bidding for scarce talent.

Worse, what if their rich rival makes a play for the Yankees’ own ace, CC Sabathia, if - when? - Sabathia triggers the opt-out clause in his contract?

Losing Sabathia to any team would be damaging to a Yankee rotation that has only Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Ivan Nova signed for next season. Losing Sabathia to the Red Sox? Potential baseball disaster. (continue)

C.C not a lock ts stay with Yanks

A.J. has a better chance of being in the Yankees’ 2012 rotation than CC and way better likelihood than C.J.

This is the Yankees’ initial problem this offseason.

At this moment, the Yankees rotation for next season is A.J. Burnett, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes and, perhaps, Hector Noesi — or Three Men and a Maybe. Actually it is more akin to a bunch of backup singers in need of a front man. Sabathia would be the most obvious choice in a return engagement and C.J. Wilson could be added as a sidekick.

But the Yankees are bracing for potentially difficult negotiations with Sabathia while showing limited-to-no fascination with Rangers free agent Wilson. (continue)

CC has to be strong for Yanks to win

The Yankees like their ace, too.

For the second straight postseason CC Sabathia has been overshadowed by an opposing pitcher -- last year it was the Rangers’ Cliff Lee, this year it is the Tigers’ Justin Verlander.

Verlander is coming off one of the most impressive pitching years in recent memory and is the heavy favorite to win Cy Young and has even been mentioned in the MVP race.

But Yankees hitters always like their chances with Sabathia on the mound.

“CC is our horse,” Derek Jeter said at the team’s Thursday workout before the start of the ALDS against Detroit on Friday. “He wants to be out there. He’s been our ace, the guy we’ve looked to for big games and big results and we have a lot of confidence in him.”

The big lefty has earned it. Sabathia went 19-8 this season with a 3.00 ERA, and has anchored their rotations the past two postseasons. In 2009 -- his first season with the Yankees -- the team won four of Sabathia’s five starts and he had 1.98 ERA in 36 1/3 innings.

“CC is the guy we’ve always looked to for big games, and he’s done that since he’s been here,” Jeter said. (continue)

 

 

CC continues to roll, Yanks win 4-1

CC Sabathia is making the hardest chore in sports look easy.

"Win when you are expected to win" is considered the most difficult assignment an athlete or team can receive. And since the Yankees' rotation is full of question marks behind Sabathia, every time the ace takes the ball, that game becomes a must win.

Having lost two straight to the Blue Jays when Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia didn't pitch well and the bullpen was used extensively, the Yankees turned to Sabathia yesterday pleading for quality and length, and the big lefty delivered.

"I always look forward to his starts," Mark Teixeira said after Sabathia beat the Blue Jays, 4-1, in front of 45,606 at Rogers Centre. "I know we have a really good chance to win. CC is so good, we feel like we'll win every game."

The Yankees remained 1½ games behind the Red Sox, 9-5 winners over the Rays, in the AL East.

Sabathia entered the game riding a career-high 23 2/3-innings scoreless streak that ended in the first. He admitted commanding his pitches was a challenge. (continue)

CC complete game shut out vs Rays

CC Sabathia wasn't letting go of the ball. Not without a fight.

He felt too good to have his afternoon cut short after eight innings and 100 pitches. The game was his to finish, and he was determined to close it out in style.

"Larry came down and asked me was I all right," Sabathia said, referring to his conversation with pitching coach Larry Rothschild in the dugout. "I told him yeah. He said, 'Would you tell me if you weren't?' and I said 'No.' He'd have to come get it from me."

Then Sabathia pitched a perfect ninth, striking out the final two batters to punctuate a 1-0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees (53-35) are a game behind Boston entering the All-Star break.

Sabathia -- whose final pitch was clocked at 98 mph -- allowed four hits and a walk and struck out nine to earn his major league-leading 13th victory. "It felt good to be able to finish the game and let out some emotion in a 1-0 game, a tight game," said Sabathia, who got the whipped-cream-towel treatment from A.J. Burnett on the field after his 12th career shutout. (continue)

Don't worry about CC

Ben Franklin once wrote that the only certainties in life were death and taxes. After watching CC Sabathia get knocked around in his second start for the third straight spring, that list might need to be amended.

Sabathia was hit hard for five runs in 2-2/3 innings against the Nationals Saturday at Steinbrenner Field, continuing a trend of second-start stinkers in spring training.

"I'm not going to lose much sleep," Sabathia said. "A couple years ago, I probably would have taken it home with me, but I called my wife and she started laughing. Kind of sums it up right there."

Joe Girardi noted that Sabathia's lack of fastball command was the culprit, as the Nationals made him pay for every errant pitch.

"It seems to have a pattern, doesn't it?" Girardi quipped of Sabathia's second-start blues. "CC was off today. He didn't really have command of his fastball, so it's hard to set anything up. When you're missing your spots and missing over the plate, they were aggressive and swinging early." (News)

CC may play hardball with Yanks

In a reversal that could further complicate the New York Yankees pitching future, CC Sabathia has changed course and has left the door open to opt out of his seven-year, $161 million contract after this season.

"I have no idea [if I will opt out,]" a noticeably lighter Sabathia said in the Yankees clubhouse Monday morning, as pitchers and catchers reported. "It is still in my contract. Anything is possible."

Sabathia can opt out of his deal after the third year, which comes after this season. Since the middle of last season, the left-hander has repeatedly stated that he likes New York and playing for the Yankees and would not try to become a free agent. (ESPN)

CC finishes 3rd for Cy Young

Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia lost the AL CY Young Award today, finishing third behind winner Felix Hernandez of the Mariners.

The Seattle ace had a 13-12 record, but his major league-leading 2.27 ERA and superior stats made him an easy choice over David Price of Tampa Bay and and their impressive win-loss numbers.

Victimized by poor run support all season, Hernandez found ample backing with the voters. They clearly recognized how little the last-place Mariners helped him: In 10 starts, they were either shut out and held to one run.

“This confirms the Cy Young is an award not only for the pitcher with the most wins, but the most dominant,” a teary-eyed Hernandez said while celebrating with relatives at the family home in Valencia, Venezuela. (NY Post)

CC logs 20 wins

There is a decent chance CC Sabathia will not win the Cy Young award in the AL this season amid a groundswell of support for barely-.500 Seattle ace Felix Hernandez.

Win totals now are considered by many as a relatively meaningless stat in relation to a pitcher's effectiveness, as recent statistical analysis suggests.

Just don't tell that to Sabathia or to the AL-leading Yankees.

Sabathia's terrific season kept steaming forward with Saturday night's workmanlike 11-3 victory over the Orioles, making him the first pitcher in baseball this season to reach 20 wins and putting him at that figure for the first time in his 10-year career. (News)