CC Sabathia Earning His Money On The Mound

Okay, fine, so CC Sabathia is only earning his money in spring training thus far, but last night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, hopefully, foreshadows great things to come. Sabathia went 7.2 innings, gave up one run on four hits (all singles), struck out seven Reds, and walked none as the Yankees beat Cincinnati, 4-1. Sabathia is now 2-1 in the spring and last night Mariano Rivera logged his first save of the preseason, striking out one. And he only needed five pitches to get the job done. Best. Closer. Ever. Mark Teixeira, one of the Yankees’ other big free agent signings (along with Sabathia and AJ Burnett), earned his money as well, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Other Observations: Brett Gardner went 0-for-2, but did draw a walk and stole his fifth base of the spring. He is batting .383; 3 HR; 6 RBI; 9 R in 45 AB. His competition for the starting centerfield job, Melky Cabrera, is batting .313; 1 HR; 9 RBI; 9 R in 48 AB. Gardner has the edge thus far, which spurred some “trade Cabrera” talk, but it’s a close call. Who would you start? Leave your comments below!