CC Sabathia said all the right, and predictable, things during yesterday’s press conference. He let the media know how difficult a decision it was, his “top” free agent destinations, and how he “didn’t want to make the wrong decisions”. I believe that CC Sabathia would have preferred to sign somewhere else. It could have been because of his family or preference for the west coast but, whatever it was, his actions demonstrated a desire to not don pinstripes. Today that doesn’t matter, because CC is another in a long list of mercenaries that are brought here to help the local teams win.

Carlos Beltran never wanted to be part of the Mets. He gave Houston every opportunity in 2004 to re-sign him. The Yankees were offered an $18 million dollar discount at the eleventh hour. When it was all said and done, Beltran signed with the Mets and the rest is history. If the Mets win a title during his contract do you think it will be a factor that day? AJ Burnett, CC Sabathia, Carlos Beltran, and even Andy Pettitte can say how it’s “not about the money” because, quite simply, no one believes them or cares. Those that have an issue should simply get over it and understand the reality of modern baseball.

This piece is not going to be a rant about ballplayers as mercenaries, or where is the loyalty in today’s game. It’s about accepting reality. Politics and money supersede happiness in this world, nowhere is it more apparent then major league baseball. Besides, when you make “CC Sabathia money”, factors that make managing long distance families are less of an issue.
Sabathia was in an impossible situation. Take less money and ruin the market for the rest of his brethren. He also couldn’t rush to a decision that his family wasn’t comfortable making.

So ignore the pundits that take CC to task. It doesn’t matter where he wanted to be, it matters where he ends up. It isn’t a factor now, and will be less of one on a warm July night against the Red Sox.

Tags: CC Sabathia, New York Yankees