Major League Baseball

Yanks' affable big man can't lose at home

Published Sep. 6, 2010 8:19 p.m. ET

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Bob Klapisch

Joe Girardi isn’t kidding when he says CC Sabathia could be playing in the NFL. True, the big man has the size for any given Sunday and at 6-7, 300 pounds he’s probably right when he says, “I could see myself playing the offensive line."

But Sabathia means more to the Yankees than just another faceless mass: He is to the pitching staff what Robinson Cano is to the offense, so unflappable and untroubled that was unbeatable at home for the last year.

Sabathia was body-surfing a wave of momentum when he faced the Orioles on Tuesday night, going for his 20th win. It would've been an important milestone for a pitcher who’s never won more than 19, but Sabathia will have to wait another five days. The lefthander came up short in the Yankees' 6-2 loss to the O's, his first defeat at the Stadium since 2009 All-Star break.

If anything, the setback proved how much the Yankees need Sabathia to keep rolling toward the playoffs, because let's face it, he's the closest thing the starting rotation has to a guarantee of success. Even during the Bombers' eight-game winning streak, Girardi found himself surrounded by small fires.

That includes Phil Hughes, who’s 5-5 with a 5.47 ERA since the All-Star break, and Javier Vazquez, who’s back in the No. 5 spot but is at odds with his manager after being pulled after 4.2 innings on Saturday against the Blue Jays — with a two-run lead.

Andy Pettitte is still one more turn through the rotation from coming off the disabled list, and when it comes to A.J. Burnett — good luck cracking the code on his sub-.500 season. At 33, Burnett appears to have entered the beginning of his decline phase, the timing of which the Yankees didn’t count on when he was signed as a free agent after the 2008 season.

None of this seems to bother Sabathia, knowing the Yankees need him to win every time he takes the mound. The ace has five more starts, which means, realistically, he’s going to finish the season with at least 22 victories.

Would that be enough for a Cy Young Award? The debate on this topic is an endless loop, whether Sabathia is more deserving than, say, Felix Hernandez, who leads the American League in games, innings pitched, batters faced and strikeouts, or Clay Buchholz, No. 1 in ERA.

With four weeks to go before the ballots are cast, Sabathia holds the advantage over King Felix because of the traditional nature of the BBWAA’s voting pattern: 20-game winners are rarely snubbed for candidates in the low teens. Fair or not, it’s a reality that will work in Sabathia’s favor.

As for Buchholz, traditional metrics could undermine him, considering he’s made five fewer starts. The Red Sox right-hander will finish well behind Sabathia in innings pitched and strikeouts, which means his ERA would have to be better than league-best — Buchholz would need to be under 2.00 to trump Sabathia’s other advantages.

Not that Sabathia is sweating out a personal-awards race; he’s more concerned with the Yankees’ final 24 games and where they finish in the East. The Red Sox’ recent collapse has taken some of the energy out of the jockeying for position in the East, although the Yankees still want to finish ahead of the Rays for one compelling reason: they’re seeking the home field advantage if and when they meet in the AL Championship Series.

That’s where Sabathia could conceivably pitch three times in a seven-game war. That’s how little confidence Girardi has in Vazquez and, lately, Burnett. If the postseason started today, Sabathia would be followed by Pettitte and, probably, Hughes, followed by Burnett. In a do-or-die seventh game, there’s no chance Girardi would pass over Sabathia in favor or Hughes/Burnett, even on three days’ rest.

That would be just fine with Sabathia, who loves the work. He led the majors in innings pitched in 2007-2008, and is currently No. 2 in the American League in that category. Don’t bother asking Sabathia if his arm feels taxed. “No, man,” he says, smiling so broadly his eyes momentarily turn to slits.

Nothing seems to bother Sabathia lately, not even New York’s recent heat wave. He threw an eight-inning, one-hitter against the A’s last Thursday, despite a temperature-and-humidity real feel of nearly 100 degrees. Despite the blistering conditions, Jorge Posada said Sabathia had “no-hit stuff” against Oakland, whose own Dallas Braden succumbed to heat cramps in the sixth inning.

Sabathia thrives, in part, because of his 6-9 frame: he literally throws downhill with every pitch, forcing hitters to change their eye level. Sabathia is also blessed with near-perfect control, able to command both sides of the plate with his all three weapons in his arsenal — the mid-90’s fastballs, slider and change-up.

Apart from that, however, Sabathia’s real blessing is his temperament. He’s as mellow as Cano is cocky, or as Alex Rodriguez is regal. Everyone seems to love Sabathia. “I always knew CC was a great clubhouse guy, but I never knew how important he was to this team,” Girardi said.

Unlike, say, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens, who extracted their talent with game-day rage, Sabathia is taking the Yankees to the postseason without any angst whatsoever.

How is it possible that a man who throws so hard never seems to sweat? Sabathia’s easy smile says it all: Just watch me.

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