CC Ya Later, Alligator!

We knew that Sabathia was just a rental and that it would be extremely difficult to sign him when he became a free agent. We knew that the Yankees made starting pitching (mainly Sabathia) their #1 target this offseason. We knew that we only had a snowball's chance in hell that he'd take less money to stay with us. We knew that he said the right things about Milwaukee and his time spent here, and I honestly believe that he had a really good time playing for this team, hanging out with his teammates, and seeing this city embrace him as he carried us to the playoffs. We knew that we were a long shot to have the best pitcher on the free agent market, if not the entire league, to toe the rubber for the Brewers come Opening Day 2009. We knew these things when Sabathia came to our team on July 7, 2008. But on December 10, 2008, everything that we already knew finally happened.

But even though we already knew these things, it doesn't make it any easier when it actually happened. CC took the money ($160 million for 7 years from the New York Yankees) and ran, but can you blame him? Suppose you were one of the best people at your job, and Company A offered you $140 million in guaranteed money, while Company B offered you $100 million in guaranteed money. You'd take Company A, right?

Not so fast. Turns out that Company A is an evil company that uses child labor, turns shady deals, is scrutinized by every other company (not to mention the millions of people on the outside watching the company), and the employees at company A are like the hired guns of the Old West - they're in it for the money and don't give a shit about loyalty. Company A is also located in one of the busiest and dirtiest areas on the planet, and it will cost you tons of money to work there, not to mention live in the area. Oh, and everyone at Company A eat babies for lunch. It's mandatory if you work for Company A.

So suddenly company B is looking good. You worked at company B for 2 ½ months and everyone at company B (including every single man, woman and child in company B’s State) loved you. Not only that, but they worshiped you. You were put on a pedestal and was heralded as the savior of the entire year. You were Man of the Year, and everyone wore the same clothes that you did as a tribute to your hard work. You were basically a Saint that could do no wrong. You were arguably one of the best employees in company B’s short history, and you made the biggest difference in 26 years at company B. So what if it is 40 less million dollars. You can’t put a price on happiness.

But wait, there’s more! Company A comes back and offers you $160 million over 7 years, and says that you don’t have to eat babies. Well now it’s a no brainer. You certainly could think of things to do with an additional $60 million dollars. Hell, I could think of things to do with an additional $60 dollars. So suddenly everything bad about Company A doesn't look as bad because now it is tinted in mint green and surrounded by dead Presidents. You can now afford to make changes. And maybe, just maybe, Company A isn't as bad as it looks like from the outside. Maybe the people at Company A are only jerks and assholes to outsiders. But once you're an employee, then you are treated with dignity and respect. But I still can't vouch for the foul mouthed consumers of Company A and how they will treat you. Oh sure, they'll love you at first, but be careful not to screw up. Because if you screw up, you are a $160 million dollar mistake. Hard to write that one off. But that comes with the territory, and that is why you are given $60 million additional dollars to help deal with the pain. You can now dry your tears with $20's whenever you are sad. Or just take a trip somewhere to clear your head. Life's good when your rich. But sadly I'll never know... No one has ever offered me $60 additional anything to go anywhere. I was never presented with the decision, so I can't really do anything than present my "what if" opinion."

So now it's time to stop using fake "Company A + B" scenarios because everyone knows what I am referring to. I just felt like doing it that way. CC Sabathia chose the New York Yankees over the Milwaukee Brewers (or any other team that had yet to make an offer) because there would never be a better offer than the one made by the Yankees. It is obvious that decision came down to the money. As evidenced by reality TV shows (most notably Fear Factor), people will do just about anything for money. Even go live in a city that we really don't want to live in. It may not have not been his ultimate goal (which I think was the San Francisco Giants), but with that additional $60 million dollars he can certainly live anywhere he wants and make anywhere feel just like home. Plus in the offseason he can afford to keep his home in Southern California. He wanted to live in California and pitch in the National League (so that he could bat on a regular basis), but in the end none of the teams could come up with an offer that was even in the same galaxy as the Yankees offer. There really was only one choice to take then, and that one was the best offer. I really don't blame him because a player of his caliber should command the best salary out there. He really is an exceptional player (and person, as I am told) so he should get rewarded for his efforts. And since there is no salary cap in baseball (which is a topic that I will not get into today, since it is a monster debate) this kind of thing will continue to happen. The teams with the deepest pockets will always get the best players. Thankfully the best individual players doesn't always translate to the best team, and as much as I loved CC, I will be wishing with all of my heart that the New York Yankees once again miss the playoffs (like they did in 2008.) Money can buy you the best players, but unless you have the right players, you're never going anywhere.

So even though he is now one of those dreaded New York Yankees, I’ll never forget what CC Sabathia did for the Brewers. I’m still not going to go out and buy a #52 Sabathia jersey, but I will recognize and thank him for putting the team, this city, and the franchise’s often spoken about 26 year playoff drought on his back and carrying them into right into October. I have no reason to hate him. I will continue to boo Carlos Lee and Francisco Cordero (especially CoCo) because they left to play for inferior teams for the same amount of money. I hate to say it, but CC was just a little too good for us. The only way you can ever afford a megastar player is to lock them up when they are young (like Ryan Braun) or offer them a monster contract (like CC Sabathia). Since we didn't have the money to keep CC, we'll just have the memories of his time here and his contributions to the franchise. During his press conference when he was introduced as a Yankee, he shed a little light on why Milwaukee could not compete with the Yankees for his services. Although his statement hurts, it is nonetheless a true statement. "In Milwaukee, they would have been looking at me to win every single game," Sabathia told reporters in his first public comments since season's end. "Of course, I expect to win, and I know that's going to be here [in New York], too. But I think it would have been even more immense pressure there, because they wouldn't have been able to put the pieces around to actually help me win. I think I can get that here." If we committed $20 million+ per year to CC, we wouldn't have the money to keep Prince Fielder, JJ Hardy or Corey Hart, and it would difficult to sign any free agents at all. That's a lot of money for a team with a payroll of $80-90 million to commit to one player. And if he gets injured, we still pay him that money while he is sitting on the bench. It would've been huge to sign a player like that, but too difficult for the Brewers to pony up that dough for a guy who only plays 1 out of 5 days (and sometimes 3). It would have been franchise suicide for the ownership group led by Mark Attanasio to make that kind of mistake. These guys are business men, and they obviously looked at the short and long term implications of splashing out that kind of money, and they put their best offer out on the table. I commend them for even getting CC Sabathia in the first place, and showing this city that they were going to take the necessary measures to field a competitive team. No one that calls themselves a Brewers fan can be upset that we didn't offer CC more money to stay in Milwaukee. End of story.

So now that CC Sabathia has moved on, we need to thank the big man and move on too. There are still plenty of question marks on the 2009 team, and signing Mike Lamb, Jorge Julio, Casey McGehee, R.J. Swindle and Trot Nixon don't answer any of those questions. They all provide very interesting low-cost options, and some of them (like Lamb and Julio) seem primed for bounce back years. I think the Brewers do need to add another starting pitcher to the rotation, but need to be wary of adding another Jeff Suppan (a #4/5 pitcher commanding a salary of $10+ million per year) because we certainly don't need that. With each passing day, we get closer to Spring Training, so hopefully some of those questions do get answered. If not, 2009 is going to be an interesting year. So keep your heads up Brewers fans, don't set lofty unobtainable goals for the 2009 season, and cheer your asses off. The Crew is going to need your support in 2009 if they are going to go to the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive year. My prediction - we once again dance in October. The Brewers will fight hard and figure out a way to get it done. Until Spring Training or another Brewers acquisition, that might be it for my Brewers talk in 2008. But I'll be back in 2009 with some more of my insight into our favorite team. So until then - keep turnin' up the heat!

- pookon -

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