CC YA IN THE BRONX
Sabathia pumped to take hill in ‘huge series’ vs. Bosox
With the Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles in the rearview mirror, the only team the Yankees have to likely worry about in their division the rest of the season is their blood rivals, the Red Sox, who visit the Bronx for a threegame series starting Friday.
“Obviously it's a huge series. Two of the better teams in baseball all year. It's always going to be a big game when we play these guys. Especially the way the rosters are set up,” Yankees lefty CC Sabathia said Thursday evening at the Stadium, where he hosted a celebrity softball game that benefits his PitCCh In Foundation.
Sabathia will take the mound opposite Red Sox southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez Friday night. The Yankees are one game behind the Red Sox, who beat the Angels, 4-2, Thursday night. Sabathia was scheduled to pitch Wednesday in Philadelphia, but manager Aaron Boone pushed the lefty's start back.
“Yeah, for sure, you always want to pitch in the biggest games for the team,” said Sabathia. “To date, this is going to be our biggest series. It feels good to be able to get the ball.”
Sabathia said earlier this year that he may hang up his spikes after the 2018 season if the Yankees win the World Series, and Thursday, Sabathia reiterated he would reserve any decision until after the season.
“I'm just kind of taking it one game at a time, one start at a time. Making that decision at the end of the year if we do win,” said Sabathia, who was wearing an “LGF” patch on his jersey in memory of Lesandro (Junior) Guzman-Feliz, the 15-year-old youth stabbed to death in the Bronx last week in a mistaken identity murder. Sabathia said the Yankees had reached out to Guzman-Feliz's family to have them come to the softball game. There was a moment of silence held for Junior before Thursday's charity game.
Sabathia's former Yankee teammate, Carlos Beltran, was on hand for the event, and said that after being interviewed for the Yankee manager's position this past fall — which eventually went to Boone — he is taking a year off to travel and be with his family. But Beltran does want to return to baseball at some point.
“I want to get back and I want to be able to hopefully impact young players the right way. I don't know where that's going to be,” said Beltran.
The switch-hitting Beltran said during the one spring training he spent with Aaron Judge — in 2016 — he tried to pass along his baseball knowledge to the mammoth Yankee outfielder.
“I'm extremely proud of the job (Judge) has done. He has been able to manage a lot of attention, which is very difficult sometimes. At the same time, he has been able to perform on the field the right way,” said Beltran.