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A Case for C.C.

By MoneyMike
Monday, July 2, 2007

C.C. Sabathia deserves to be the starting pitcher for the MLB All-Star game.

This shouldn't have to be said, but the large lefty pitches in a middle market where respect is only dished out in the form of $100-million contracts from big market teams.

Sabathia has already been named to the team by a player's vote. Joining teammates Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore for the mid-summer classic in San Francisco, the southpaw is finally getting some of the respect he deserves. But until Detroit Tigers Manager Jim Leyland - the man charged with leading the AL team - formally hands the ball to C.C., you will hear sportcasters across the country singing the praises of a pile of other pitchers.

Instead of wasting time with their superlatives, I'm going to pit Sabathia against each of the other contenders now, so you know why the three-time all-star deserves to take the hill.

To do this, we'll make it like the old Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, working our way through the Glass Joes of the world (John Lackey) to the Mike Tyson's (Justin Verlander) before giving C.C. the championship belt.

Round 1: C.C. vs. John Lackey
Lackey, the Angels version of a young Charles Nagy, is a perennial 14-game winner that packs about as much punch as Glass Joe. Lackey is getting his name thrown into the hat as a possible starter for the game because it's in California and the Angels play somewhere in that state.

We will quickly dismiss him in one round. C.C. has more wins (12-11), significantly more Ks (116 to 87) and has been so pinpoint accurate with his pitches this year that their literally isn't even a comparison in their number of walks given up (17 to 32). Please go back to your slightly above average career, Mr. Lackey, and don't try to make the list of AL aces. We'll see you at the end of the season when you've frustrated fantasy owners after a 5-6 second half.

Round 2: C.C. vs. Dan Haren
Haren, a regular Great Tiger, has a secret punch that is stronger than anything Lackey could have packed: He pitches for the A's and the game is right around the corner in San Francisco. C.C. can counter that by being from nearby Vallejo Calif., but can't quite match the fan desire for a hometown hero to make the start. Haren also packs the best ERA of the viable starters list at 2.20. Add in a .98 WHIP and he can have C.C. on the ropes in the early rounds.

Here's what he can't do, however. He can't match C.C.'s league high 12 wins (Haren has 10) and he can't claim recent dominance over the Tribe the way Sabathia can over the A's. I know Sabathia has struggled against Oakland in the past, but his June 25 start against Oakland led to an 11-2 victory. Sabathia pitched all nine and struck out eight. Haren's response the next night? He took a no-decision in the A's 8-5 loss. That's not how your ace helps you bounce back.

Round 3: C.C. vs. Josh Beckett
I'll go ahead and say it, Beckett is a Mr. Sandmanish sexy pick. A former World Series hero and the ace of the Bean Town staff, he's basically covered in Bill Simmons' drool. He's easy to hype because he's got a Grady Sizemore-like following with the female fans in Boston and for the first time since he left south Florida he looks like a legit No.1. So let's tear him apart.

Here's what you need to know about why C.C. is more valuable than Beckett: 129.1 to 96. That's the difference in innings pitched for the two heading into Monday night's games.

The counter argument lands softer than an Oscar De La Hoya punch: Beckett has three less starts. Even taking that into account, Sabathia has pitched 34.1 more innings than Beckett. That means the Red Sox hurler would have to average about 11.2 innings over his next three starts to give the kind of quality innings that Sabathia has given the Tribe. Factor in the fact that C.C. has more wins (12 to 11), significantly more Ks (116 to 83) and a lower ERA (3.20 to 3.38) and you have another punch out for the big guy.

Round 4: C.C. vs. Justin Verlander
This is the championship round for our heavy-set hero. Verlander has some Mike Tyson strengths that are hard to beat. His record is the least impressive on the list (9-3), but he's thrown a no-no this season and he's the ace starter on Leyland's team. If Leyland wants to keep getting free Marlboro Lights at the Citgo by the stadium, he better throw his guy out there. From a straight numbers standpoint the two guys are close. They have comparable WHIP stats (C.C.'s is 1.12, Verlander's 1.17) and ERA (3.20 and 3.18, respectively).

So, to be completely bias toward the guy that I want to win this argument, I'm going to play the ESPN sportscasters' favorite card: The Intangibles.

To put it simply, C.C. has them. In his 18 starts this year, the Indians are 15-3. What's the reason you can almost tally a Tribe win when C.C. takes the mound - the promise that he has the grit to keep his team in the game.

Averaging more than seven innings per start, Sabathia gives his team a pregame hope that if they can just muster up some offense they can win the game. Meanwhile, Verlander is pitching well on a team that is, essentially, underachieving. Remember, this Tigers team went to the World Series last year. They were the smart pick to win the division. So for their ace to have less wins than C.C. - a guy who throws for a team that didn't even win 80 games last season - doesn't bode well for their team.

In the end, Leyland probably goes with his boy. But C.C. is the right pick. If only because I think America will appreciate his large frame and his tilted hat. That entertainment value alone is the knockout punch.

MoneyMike is a magazine journalist by day and S*KM's biggest C.C. supporter by night (really, he weighs in at about 197 pounds, that''s two Double Cs). Read his stuff every Monday instead of learning the social skills that have already passed you by.
You can e-mail him at mcottrill@sawkick.com

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