While the New York Yankees sit home again and watch the balance of the post season like the rest of us, the biggest concern regarding next year’s team appears to be return of highly-paid pitcher CC Sabathia.

Sabathia has a clause in his current 7-year deal, signed before the 2009 season, which allows him to opt out after three seasons. This was originally put in the deal because Sabathia feared he and his family would not like playing in New York, and he could go back to his California roots.

Sabathia has until three days after the World Series to opt out and it is widely thought that the Yankee pitcher will do so. But if he does, it is not due to the original intent, and that deserves little respect.

Sabathia has continuously stated he loves New York and pitching in pinstripes, recently posting this fact on Twitter. The home in Bergen County he built with his wife is a masterpiece, a tony 18,000 square foot palace in Alpine, NJ.

Yet, despite loving it in New York and having his family move to Northern NJ, he is expected to opt out.

CC says he loves New York, but he also said he loved it in Milwaukee, too. He then turned down a $100 million deal to continue playing in Milwaukee to take more money from the Yankees. Not a surprise there.

And as it is with most players, CC is only about the money. Nothing more, nothing less.

Several young players, who like playing in their current cities, namely Carlos Gonzalez in Colorado and Jered Weaver in Anaheim, have taken less cash to stay where they are comfortable.

So if Sabathia wants more money, then the Yankees should give it to him.

But not if he opts out. That would be a HUGE mistake.

Opting out shows me CC doesn’t want this Yankee team, his current teammates, their fans and this area. And it also shows that a single player would be holding his employer hostage.

The Yankees cannot let that happen.

A real man who wants more cash than the $92 million currently left on his current contract, who supposedly likes the area, would approach the team and ask to remake his current deal. But that will likely never happen.

But knowing that CC will not approach them and that he likely will opt out, the Yankees should pull a “George Costanza” and initiate a pre-emptive strike on a perceived breakup. Before he has a chance to opt out, approach Sabathia with a new five year deal for $120 million, one more year and $28 million more than what his current deal has left.

If Sabathia says no, then Yankee GM Brian Cashman should say to Sabathia what he said to Yankee icon Derek Jeter last off season, “We encourage you to test the market and see if there’s something you would prefer other than this.”

If CC likes somewhere else than playing in New York, then he should go there and play. And after all the success teams have had in the free agent pitching market over the last decade, who is going to pay a very heavy Sabathia who has had recent leg issues?

All the big market teams are done. The Angels have a pretty good rotation already. The Mets and Dodgers can’t afford that type of deal, and the Red Sox have too many over-priced guys already. With aging, deep pocketed owners who want to win now, the Nationals and Tigers might be possible teams.

So if the Nats or Tigers want to overpay CC Sabathia for six or seven years, then the Yankees should let him.

The inmates are already running the asylum in many places. Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman left the team mid-season due another year not being added to his contract, but a few reports indicate players did not listen to him on many occasions. The biggest culprit was overpaid free agent outfielder Jayson Werth, who reportedly balked at doing pre-game fielding drills. And this story about the Red Sox collapse in the Boston Globe states Terry Francona lost his team, as more overpaid guys like Josh Beckett and John Lackey did their own thing, which was not working hard to stay in shape and perform better.

Cashman should not let the inmates run the asylum here in New York, and that begins with Sabathia, who will essentially become a free agent.

What the Yankees must have learned over the last seven years is that large free agent contracts almost NEVER work out well for the team. Most do not in the long run, while many are busts from the beginning.

Jayson Werth, Carl Crawford, Jason Bay, Daisuke Matsuzaka, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe, Alfonso Soriano, Carl Pavano, plus an essential free agent like Johan Santana who was traded for but had to sign an extension to approve a trade. Other bad deals were for current team extensions which “had” to be made because the team “needed” to keep the potential free agents include Vernon Wells, Alex Rios, Ryan Howard and Josh Beckett. All signed extensions but recent performance has shown this will be wasted money posing a drain on future team moves.

It only is a matter of time until the long term extensions afforded superstars Adrian Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki will turn out to be cost effective.

And, based upon recent declines in performance, is anybody out there wondering if Mark Teixeira’s five more years ($112 million) and Alex Rodriguez’ seven more years ($143 million) will provide good value?

Besides the quartet of CC, AJ, Tex and Alex signings helping win one World Series title in 2009, has any of the these other free agents moderately help their teams win? And it looks like with the mediocre Burnett and Teixeira’s decline, that one title might all they get out of those signings.

Baseball free agency and long term contracts are nothing more than an internal Ponzi scheme for a team. Free agents are signed, and when they do not produce enough to win a title, more free agents are signed. Then big trades are made for more high-priced veteran talent. Years go by; many prospects are traded (many who star for other teams) while other kids are passed over for more free agents and big dollar contracts.

Then as the ticket prices rise, new stadiums get built and everything costs much more, the internal structure begins to crumble under the weight of so many big money contracts.

But since CC is signed for another four years anyway, I do not see any harm in going one more to get him locked up through 2016. He has proved durable for his career and even has dominated at times, but if he opts out, the Yankees are best served to let him go.

As the Texas Rangers are showing that right now, teams can survive the regular season and the post season with a solid lineup, decent pitching and a good bullpen. During the Yankees recent ALDS loss, except for Sabathia’s performance they dominated the Detroit Tigers in all stats. It was like the 1960 World Series played out again for New York.

Despite Sabathia’s presence, the Yankees almost won the ALDS with Detroit. Their secondary starters did well enough to win games, and their bullpen pitched very well. They really didn’t “need” Sabathia.

Really good pitching staffs are comprised of young guys developed through the system, evidenced by Tampa Bay and San Francisco having the right formula for starters. The Yankees need to look more at their own kids in order to build a sustainable rotation for the next 5-7 years.

But Sabathia is different. He is an ace, a “go to” guy who is a “big time” pitcher who “sits atop of a rotation.”

He currently is a New York Yankee pitcher and needs to be a Yankee.

But only if he does not opt out and at a price which will not further Ponzi the Yankees.

Joseph Delgrippo is an aspiring sportswriter and TV baseball analyst. He played NCAA baseball, at tiny Marietta (OH) College, participating in the Division 3 World Series. In addition, he's coached baseball at the high school level. His knowledge of this game goes far beyond what is shown on television.

Joseph Delgrippo

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Tags: Boston Red Sox, Brian Cashman, Carlos Gonzalez, CC Sabathia, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals