I knew it! I knew after watching CC Sabathia struggle in Monday's season-opening loss to Baltimore that I would read comments and 'Fanposts' suggesting that Sabathia was nothing more than a big, fat waste of money.
I wasn't disappointed.
There was this comment from 'ploni."
Sabathia is and was not worth the kind of money he’s been paid.
He’s a choke artist, big time. And now he’s on a big stage.
Then there was 'jimbotampayanks' calling Sabathia a "300-pound career loser."
Yikes! To tell the truth, I am disappointed. Bitterly disappointed. And embarrassed. Not by Sabathia's rough outing or by a season-opening loss, but by reactions like that to a single loss. The first loss of a 162-game regular season.
I'm not going to bother with the litany of statistics I could use to refute the claim that Sabathia is a career loser. If you aren't familar, go to Baseball-Reference.com and look them up yourself.
I don't understand this jump off the bridge, Sabathia stinks, Joe Girardi is an idiot , the season is lost reaction after one game. One game, people! Granted, a bad one, but c'mon. It's one April game against the Orioles.
Just chill, please. The Yankees weren't going to go 162-0. Sabathia wasn't going to pitch brilliantly in every start. Neither will A.J. Burnett, Joba Chamberlain, Chien-Ming Wang or Andy Pettitte. Mariano Rivera will blow a handful of saves. Derek Jeter will make some errors. Invariably, Mark Teixeira will whiff in a key spot at some point.
Bad things will happen. They do every year.
In the end, though, a whole lot of good ones will also happen. Sabathia will be one of the league's best pitchers and the Yankees will be one of the best teams -- if not the best.
So, step back off the ledge, relax and get ready for the loooooong haul. It's April. We could be doing this right into November, so just enjoy the ride.