New York Yankees: Savior in Waiting

For the New York Yankees, missing the playoffs in simply inexcusable.

With the name Steinbrenner still printed on the main office door, an October-less season will not be tolerated and certainly will not be repeated. For these reasons, the Yankees are once again opening up their wallets and preparing to spend big money on enticing free agents.

However, one name is placed on a pedestal above the rest. The Yankees associate this one name with restoration as a serious playoff threat and top-tier team in the ever-improving AL East. That name is CC Sabathia.

CC Sabathia is arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball, especially after his max effort in his 17 game stint with the Milwaukee Brewers. This hefty-lefty is the main goal for the New York Yankees this off-season.

The Bombers have already showed their interest, and then some, by offering Sabathia a contract towering at a reported $140 million for six years. Although reports say Sabathia wishes to stay in his home state of California, the Yanks are hoping that all that “green on the other side” will change his mind. In other words, they are counting on the old adage: money talks.

Simply put, the Yankees need Sabathia. By passing on Johan Sanatana last season, the Yanks were left without a true ace and a boatload of ineffective young pitchers. While Chien-Ming Wang has shown great promise and has proven to be a consistent regular season pitcher (winning 19 games in both the ’06 and ’07 seasons) his terrible showing in the 2007 ALDS against the Cleveland Indians is a real concern. New York needs a big game, full effort ace pitcher to get back to the playoffs, and Sabathia is exactly that guy.

Sabathia, coming off a very impressive year, posted a 2.70 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP (anything below 1.12 is extraordinary) while striking out 251 batters this past season. CC was so dominant in his 17 games with the Brewers that he actually finished in the top five for the NL Cy Young voting in less than half the games than the rest of the candidates.

If you average in CC’s ERA with all of New York’s, it drops from a mediocre 4.28 to an exceptional 3.49. This would alleviate a lot of pressure for the Yankee’s underachieving offense, allowing the team to get by on a 3 or 4 run night. But, when it comes down to it, good pitching always beats good hitting. With the addition of Sabathia, the Yankees would have exactly that.

The 28 year old Cy Young winner throws a mid to high 90’s fastball, topping out at 99 MPH. He also has a hard cutter that ranges between 84 to 86 MPH and a swooping 11-to-5 curveball, which lies between 79 to 82 MPH.

Assuming Sabathia is throwing at top speeds for all of his pitches, that’s a 17 MPH difference between his fastest and slowest pitch! That overlooked difference is a major batter freezer and a critical quality in relation to his strikeouts. Throw in CC’s excellent command over all of his pitches and you end up with a dominating pitcher.

Going beyond the tangibles, Sabathia is also a facilitator—he makes others around him play better. That unique ability was seen when he was traded to the Brewers last season and made an instant impact. He improved the quality of the players around him and surged the Brewers forward to their first post-season since 1982. Sabathia could only have a positive impact on young New York pitchers such as Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes with his Cy Young caliber pitching knowledge. 

In the end, I’m sure the Yankees would be more than willing to offer even more money if Sabathia asked…he’s that important. A pitcher of his ace stature is very rare, and the Yankees haven’t had a true ace since David Cone on the ’98 team. CC Sabathia could very well be the New York Yankee’s baseball savior.