Lady Loves Pinstripes

Yankees ace CC Sabathia came so close to perfection last night in the Bronx, striking out 14 Mariners and winning his 15^th game of the season.

Sabathia looked unstoppable, until a 30-minute thunderstorm erupted in the sixth inning, the first of two. The ace came right back out to the hill following Mother Nature’s disruption but he didn’t strike out another batter that inning.

In the seventh inning, Seattle’s Brendan Ryan hit a single to break up Sabathia’s flawlessness but he went on the strike out his 13^th and 14^th batter to end the inning, a personal high for Sabathia.

Following the game, marking the 17^th straight Mariners loss in a row, Ryan had this to say about-facing CC to the New York Daily News:

“He’s always got Sabathia stuff. But today, that was by far the best I’ve ever seen him pitch. I almost feel disrespectful saying that, because we all know what he’s capable of. But when you’re locating the fastball and the way he’s throwing that slider, stealing strikes with curveballs here and there, he’s absolutely filthy.”

Sabathia is undoubtedly building a case for the 2011 CY Young; as he already has racked up 156 strikeouts and pitched 168.2 innings this season; and there is plenty left to go. Sabathia is posting a 0.92 ERA for the month of July.

Following the game, I was on the phone with my mother (who is NOT a baseball fan at all) and she asked me what was so special about CC Sabathia.

The only thing that came to mind was a quote by Aristotle that depicts who CC Sabathia is as a player perfectly, so I responded to her using his words:

“We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

Look Sabathia’s reputation as an ace is founded on him being as close to perfect all the time as humanly possible.

GM Brian Cashman and the baby Steins should bend the rules this time and just hand Sabathia a blank check now.

I can’t conceive Sabathia not in Yankee pinstripes for the rest of his career. That means time for Cashman & Co. to drop the Grinch-act and grant us loyal fans a well deserved, early sigh of relief.

Related articles

• Sabathia looks twice the Cys (nypost.com)
• CC Sabathia sends Mariners to 17th straight loss (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• CC whiffs 14 as Yankees deal Mariners 17th straight loss (cbssports.com)
• Sabathia nears perfection as Mariners lose 17 in a row (reuters.com)
• CC fans 14 in earning win No. 15 (mlb.mlb.com)
• New York Yankees: Can CC Sabathia Beat Josh Beckett? Please. (ladylovespinstripes.com)
• CC Dazzles, Ks 14 As Yankees Hand Mariners 17th Straight Loss (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• New York Yankees: CC Sabathia Is Actually Right On Track (ladylovespinstripes.com)