TAMPA — CC Sabathia is going to do this his way. Boom or bust.
Cue the Sinatra music. "My Way'' not "New York, New York.''
I would rather take a shot with this version of Sabathia, than the lighter, overly protective of the right knee version of the big man we saw last year.
An hour after Sabathia threw his simulated game on Thursday, which ended after 29 pitches with the left-hander bent over at the waist from the 86-degree heat at Steinbrenner Field, there he was sitting in the first-base dugout, a massive ice pack wrapped around his right knee, another ice pack on his left arm.
I wanted to know why this man was smiling.
"I feel great,'' Sabathia said. "My balance, my legs, everything is under me and I have a good progression going toward the plate. Today I felt I was hitting spots pretty good. I have more power now.''
That last comment is vital.
More power is a good thing with the way his fastball has slowed.
Overall, it was a really good day for Yankees pitchers because Masahiro Tanaka was terrific in his first spring training game, two perfect innings with two strikeouts, four splitters, a fastball that was 91 mph by the scout's gun — not the YES Network gun — and no elbow pain in a 3-2 win over the Braves.
Scouts behind home plate marveled at his sharpness. One suggested a six-man rotation would help as well.
As for Sabathia, hours earlier, in the clubhouse he said, "I'm not hurt. I feel good. That's the only way I judge myself right now."
Keep it simple at the age of 34. Go big or go home. It's going to be one or the other for Sabathia.
The big lefty is coming off right knee surgery for a degenerative condition he will have to deal for the rest of his career. At times, the knee will need to be drained.
"Part of the maintenance program,'' Sabathia said.
CC SabathiaPhoto: AP
Part of having thrown nearly 3,000 innings over 14 major league seasons at his massive size.
Youth is not much of an option now for the Yankees because lefty Manny Banuelos, who once had a bright future with the Yankees, will be in the Braves rotation. So that means an old-timer such as Sabathia must do well for these Yankees to survive and thrive in 2015.
Don't make too much of the simulated game, though. It's that he felt more powerful that mattered.
Manager Joe Girardi was asked how many starts he expected from Sabathia and answered, "You're asking me to play God. Our hope is he gets 30 to 32 starts, whatever happens we have to deal with it.''
Knocking off rust is the next step and Tuesday Sabathia figures to make his first spring training start.
"He's finishing pitches better, he's pushing off better, that's key for a pitcher,'' Girardi said. "When you're not using your legs, you're putting your arm in jeopardy. When you can't finish pitches, the balls cut and do different things they are not supposed to. It's vital that he uses his legs.''
More legs should equate into more power and less stress on the arm and that's why Sabathia was excited. He is wearing a sleeve on his knee for the first time and believes that will give him the extra support he needs.
CC is going to ride this out, if the knee blows so be it.
"I'm just going to let it go,'' he said. Sabathia then offered a hearty laugh that filled the dugout.
"We have a pretty close-knit group,'' Sabathia said of the pitchers. "Me and some of the guys have been here a number of years now and we root for each other. I think we all know for us to be successful as a team, we have to be good. It's like a brotherhood. We need everybody.''
The Yankees season is on these pitchers and they know it.
A big weight is on Sabathia in more ways than one. Let it ride.
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