CC Earning His Stripes

For the past several years, many Yankee followers have complained that the pitching staff lacked guys who will stand up for their teammates. You hit one of ours, we hit one of yours. That's the code. Even umpires who get warning happy understand the unwritten rules. Unfortunately, the guys who have been taking the bump for the Yanks have gotten lost in the corporate atmosphere and strayed from the code. With the additions of AJ Burnett, CC Sabathia, and Joba Chamberlain to the rotation, the Yankee have three enforcers on the mound. Despite his struggles, the highest priced acquisition of that trio may have taken his first steps towards being a "true Yankee" by an "errant" pitch in today's game.

In case you've missed it, a few Yankees have been on the receiving end of wayward pitches. A fastball to the elbow even knocked Nick Swisher out of last night's game and earned him a day off today as well. Fortunately, this fact has not been lost on Sabathia. In to the top of the fourth inning, with one out and nobody on, Sabathia planted a pitch in to the rear end of Angels catcher Mike Napoli. Hitting the catcher is the American League's equivalent to drilling a pitcher in the National League. In other words, it was a well-orchestrated purpose pitch by Sabathia. If he's going to earn the big money the Yankees paid him, he's going to have to do more than pile up wins and strikeouts. He needs to protect his hitters. He needs to be a guy his teammates know they can turn to with the deck stacked against them. And yeah, he's going to have to show the accuracy he used to hit Napoli to get a few guys out. Ironically, the pitch he's thrown farthest from the strike zone may be the most crucial to proving his value on this team.