New York Knicks Could Help Lead CC to the Yankees

(Zell's Pinstripe Blog)

Can you imagine two years from now...Sabathia bring a World Series Championship to the Yankees and LeBron bringing in one for the Knicks? Now that would be something. The Knicks just dealt Randolph and Crawford away, making room in the salary cap to help bring in King James two years from now.

The Yankees are in hot pursuit  of CC, and you wonder if this will have any effect on him. I don’t know what to think about this.

Buster Olney Blog: Knicks could help lead CC to New York

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CC Sabathia’s best friend in baseball is Brewers reliever David Riske, and in the days leading up to Sabathia’s trade to Milwaukee in July, the two talked repeatedly about the latest rumors, about how great it would be to play together again. The day before the trade was completed, Riske heard the Indians and Brewers were closing in on a deal and he called the left-hander, wondering if he was headed to Milwaukee for a physical examination.

“Where are you?” Riske asked Sabathia.

Actually, Sabathia said, he was at the movies in Minneapolis, with his kids. But 48 hours later, Riske and Sabathia—who played in the minors together in the Cleveland Indians farm system—were reunited as teammates.

Sabathia, in the end, might take the largest offer he receives — and in the end, the largest offer will come from the Yankees. But other factors, such as friendships, will be a factor in what Sabathia decides, and the Yankees might have gotten very lucky Friday. The timing of a transaction in another sport came at a very opportune time for them.

Sabathia developed a friendship, through his years in Cleveland, with LeBron James, as the two became the biggest stars in a small town. They have bopped around New York together in the past, and Friday the Knicks made trades that are being viewed as precursors to their pursuit, in another 20 months, of James.

Presumably, at some point, Sabathia and James have shared a conversation about living and playing in New York at the same time — Sabathia for the Yankees, James for the Knicks. James, as the world famously learned in the playoffs of 2007, is a Yankees fan.

I had a couple of conversations with Sabathia during the season about his free agency, and walked away with a couple of strong impressions:

 

1. He fully appreciates the fact that no matter what decision he makes, he is never going to be able to spend the money he is about to earn.

2. Factors other than money could serve as tiebreakers in his decision. Maybe, in the end, it will be about remaining in his home state of California, if the Dodgers or Giants or Angels check in with a competitive offer. Maybe it will be about playing in the National League. Maybe it will be about heading to New York with a good friend who happens to be a pretty good basketball player, and taking a parallel path and commiserating and sharing the experience of shouldering enormous pressure and conquering New York.

The Brewers are willing to offer at least $100 million to keep Sabathia, and the Yankees, as we know, have checked in with a $140 million proposal.

The question remains whether any of the California teams are going to be willing to dangle something in the nine-figure neighborhood. If not, folks involved in this process are convinced, Sabathia will wind up with the Yankees.

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