Joe Girardi announced today that CC Sabathia will start both the opening day game against the Baltimore Orioles on April 6, and the new Yankee Stadium home opener against the Cleveland Indians on April 16.I offered a poll earlier on who should get the opening day start earlier in spring training, and fans voted that Sabathia would in fact get the opening day start. Chien-Ming Wang finished in a close second. Although, I agree with Girardi to give Sabathia both of these starts.
Firstly, Sabathia is actually in line to pitch on both days if you look at the schedule, because the Yankees will not need a fifth starter the first week of the season. The Yankees are and should hand Sabathia the ball every fifth day. His durability and talent must be taken advantage of.
Secondly, the Yankees just gave this guy $161 million. I guarantee you the Steinbrenners want him to start every big game all season, and these two openers are nothing short of big. He's been a big game pitcher throughout his career, and he will live up to the hype.
Lastly, these next seven years will be known as the CC Era in Yankee history. He is one of those gems that you happen to stumble on once every ten to twenty years. Our last gem? Derek Jeter.
Sabathia is already a front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award. How can you not start him on these two monumental games?
