New York Yankees: CC Sabathia in Great Shape and Ready for 2012 Season

Because of all the "positive" feedback on the "he's in good shape, bad shape" articles, I thought I'd let you know that Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News is reporting that CC Sabathia is in great shape and ready for his 2012 campaign with the New York Yankees.

If you've watched CC at all the past few seasons, everything you need to know about where he is physically is in the picture above. Sabathia slimmed down to the same weight he is now before last season, 290, but wasn't able to keep it up.

“It’s just something that’s up to me to maintain,” Sabathia said.

Not that we really had anything to worry about at this stage in his career, it's certainly not a bad thing that the Yankees' ace wants to be in better shape. According to the same report, GM Brian Cashman even talked with Sabathia about slimming down. Clearly, it was important to the Yankees.

“Once the winter hit I decided it was a conversation I needed to have,” Cashman said. “It might be an issue.”

Sabathia already had a big frame when he came to the Bronx, but he has gotten noticeably bigger during his time here. It left Bombers' fans petrified at the prospect of possibly extending Sabathia to another four or more years on top of the four he had left when the big lefty was mulling opting out of his contract during the offseason.

The weight was certainly a concern if the Yanks were going to keep Sabathia for that much longer and it stunk of another possible, long-term mistake by New York. But instead, CC just tacked on another year to his existing deal and the Yanks avoided multiple disasters at one time.

Now, Yankees' fans might have gotten the best of both worlds with their best pitcher:

1. Sabathia's contract wasn't extended to ridiculous proportions.

2. Sabathia is more dedicated to staying in shape.

The second is particularly beneficial to Sabathia because it will no doubt help him prolong his career.

Make no mistake: there was no concern about his weight at this point and it's never been proven to affect him negatively in any way. Dragging around less weight in a game in Texas during August couldn't hurt his stamina; it can only make it better.

We'll have to see if Sabathia can keep this up and if it will actually improve his game any better than it already is. It's a good start to the season for Sabathia and it's always good to see any player more dedicated to their body and, ultimately, their performance on the field.