CC Quickly Becoming a Leader

From Tyler Kepner:

The Yankees lavished a $161 million contract on Sabathia to give their rotation an ace. As a bonus, they gained a team leader.

Sabathia has taken teammates to three Orlando Magic games, gone fishing with Brian Bruney and Nick Swisher, and taken the Toy Story Mania! ride at Disney World with Joba Chamberlain.

“I don’t know if I’m a leader,” Sabathia said. “I like to hang out with my teammates. I like to talk to my teammates, get to know them. It’s just my personality. Going to Magic games and going out to eat, doing different things, it’s just something I felt like guys on the same team should always do.”

As he decided where to play during the off-season, Sabathia talked to Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon and others. He said he believed the Yankees’ atmosphere could be fun.

“That’s all I was looking for was just that camaraderie, that willingness to fight for each other,” Sabathia said, adding later: “In here, we’ve got all the talent in the world. If we can come together as a unit, I think we’ll be unstoppable.”

When General Manager Brian Cashman and his staff evaluated Sabathia, they found many examples of his value as a teammate. In Cleveland, Cashman was told, Sabathia’s mother would invite the Indians for barbecues. With free agency nearing late last season, Sabathia ignored his nervous agents and made his last four starts with the Brewers on short rest.

“He’s not going to punch the clock at work and tag out and say, ‘See you all tomorrow,’ ” Cashman said. “He’s on call 24/7 as a teammate. He exemplifies the definition of teammate. It’s not just from when you show up at the ballpark until when you leave. Teammate means friend to him.”

Kepner also discuss how CC helped Jorge Posada yesterday when he used a slide step from the stretch to help Jorge throw out three base stealers, something Posada had not done since having shoulder surgery.“I got plenty of time to throw a guy out,” Posada said.

He also had this quote from Joba Chamberlain about CC: “He’s always been laid-back. You watch him, and he doesn’t really focus on baseball; it’s more the relationship part of it when we’re just in here hanging out. If you want to talk baseball, he’ll talk baseball, but he’s always just trying to make people feel comfortable. He’s really easy to talk to.”

And then there were these quotes about CC from Joe Girardi in today's Daily News:

"I think it was a good (decision) for him (to not go to the WBC)," Girardi said. "It gives you a chance to just fit in and not always have to answer a lot, and the expectations of a lot. It just allows him to be him. And that's a good person, a gentleman who brings a club closer together. Kind of like glue, in a sense."

... Girardi also likened the jumbo lefty's clubhouse presence and ability to intermingle with various players to that of gregarious former Yankee teammate Tim Raines.

"It's great because you want guys comfortable in their surroundings when they come in here," Girardi said. "Not only that, but he's comfortable bringing people together. To me, that's great, because we're going to go through some adversity this season. The closer our club is, the easier it's going to be to get through it."

I think Girardi give a good example of the true importance of good team chemistry and having good teammates who actually like each other. Having a comfortable, relaxed clubhouse is a good thing. And I think it's becoming pretty obvious that CC was not on the right pitcher for the staff, but the right person for the clubhouse.