Remember when everybody said CC Sabathia might as well be fitted for pinstripes? Well, according to Ken Davidoff, maybe not so much:
A pair of lefthanders on the Yankees' radar -- one whom they know very well, one whom they don't -- are both talking with West Coast teams. The bad news for the Yankees is that the Angels' interest in CC Sabathia appears more serious than the Dodgers' interest in Andy Pettitte.
--snip--
Sabathia … seemingly prefers to pitch in his native California. As of yesterday afternoon, the Angels hadn't extended an offer to Sabathia. However, The Los Angeles Times reported in yesterday's editions that the Angels, frustrated by their efforts to re-sign first baseman Mark Teixeira, would turn their attention to Sabathia and make him an offer in the neighborhood of the six-year package for about $140 million that the Yankees extended on Nov. 14.
According to a person in the Yankees' loop, the team is reluctant to raise its offer to Sabathia, even if such hesitancy causes him to sign with the Angels.
My first reaction was that the Angels need another starting pitcher like they need another hitter who doesn't walk or hit home runs. After all, their starters finished with the fifth-best ERA in the American League last season, and they'd have been second-best if
John Lackey hadn't been out for six weeks.
But the Angels' worst starter (by a lot) was
Jon Garland, and Garland's now a free agent. Replace Garland with Sabathia and you gain something like 30-40 runs; three or four wins. That might not seem like a lot, but that just points out how little difference one player, even one great player, can make. Sabathia has been about as good as anybody over the last three seasons, but he's averaged 16 wins per season over that span. Jon Garland won 14 games in 2008 (and has averaged 14 wins over the last three seasons).
Which isn't to suggest the Angels shouldn't go after Sabathia. Someone has to suck up Garland's innings, and there aren't any obviously viable candidates in the organization. Sure, the Angels' glaring weakness is their team on-base percentage and Sabathia's not going to address that. But a run saved is at least as valuable as a run scored, so I see little downside to the Angels spending their money on the best available pitcher.
Rob Neyer
