CC Sabathia is the ace of the New York Yankees. He's the ace they did not have during their postseason struggles between 2002 and 2008. You could even argue that he's the sole ace that they lacked during their Dynasty run of 1996-2000. He is the stopper. He is the guy who gives the Yankees innings. And in my mind, he's the guy that will be the first Yankee since Roger Clemens (2001) to bring home the Cy Young Award.
Tuesday's game was the kind of game the Yankees needed. They got distance from Sabathia, clutch hitting from Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, and even Derek Jeter. When things looked bad after CC surrendered a leadoff homer to Austin Jackson, the Yankees worked the count and got two quick runs against Justin Verlander, the ace of the Tigers. CC took over from there.
The Rays were victorious, and the Red Sox were too. That's the way it's going to be in the American League East for the rest of the season. It must be nice to have a worse record, but close to a ten game lead in your division, like the Texas Rangers, who were trounced by Tampa. Tampa is a great team, and the Red Sox simply do no go away, especially when guys like Buchholz or Lester are on the hill.
The solid victory over Detroit Tuesday doesn't mean much unless the Yankees can go on a run. Their record at home over the last two months has not been impressive, and it has not been anywhere near their 2009 mark in the Bronx. Unfortunately, Andy Pettitte is very far away from a return to the mound, so Dustin Moseley will throw for the Yankees on Wednesday. The offense needs to carry the team sometimes. This would be one of those times.
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