Yankees Camp Day 1

"Who ate my Captain Crunch?!!!!!!!"

Pitchers and catchers reported yesterday to Yankees camp and things got interesting right off the bat.

You know that joke where a friend says he lost 60 pounds and you say, "so what are you now, like 290?" (Kudos to Tmags) Well CC Sabathia almost filled the bill on that one. The big man lost 25 pounds..and still weighs 290. But it actually looks pretty good on his 6'7" frame.

Sabathia decided to lose the weight after undergoing knee surgery. Nothing takes the brunt of too much weight more than knees- Sid Fernandez learned that lesson too late- so good job by CC. The comical thing about it though is that CC lost the weight by stopping his habit of eating a box of Captain Crunch. Who knew that's what CC really stood for? CC, what are you 12? I think that's the last time I ate Captain Crunch.

Now to a more interesting/serious situation. Those "elitist media" types got right down to business and asked CC if he was going to opt out of his contract after this season. CC didn't say yes, but he didn't say no either. He also said it was the last time he was going to address the issue this season.

"I'm here to try to help this team win," Sabathia said. "I went through it with the free agency thing, so it's not going to distract me at all." Still, Sabathia seemed to back off a previous statement that he had no plan to exercise the opt-out clause. "Yeah. I said that, but ..." Sabathia said. "Like I said, I'm here to try to help the team win. I don't want to talk about that all year. This will probably be the last time I address it. I'm here."

Most of said media feels CC will opt out and I have to agree with them. Even though he's happy and seemingly content, the big dude sees how much money is being thrown around right now. But here's the thing, how many teams can really afford him? CC's current contract is seven years (now in year three) for $161 million- an average of $23MM a year. Opting out could actually backfire. There's been a lot of speculation thrown around already too that the Yankees will avoid an issue by giving him an extension.

Hank Steinbrenner, for one, doesn't think CC will opt out. Hank may be wearing rose colored glasses.

"I don't think he will," Steinbrenner said this afternoon. "He's happy there. He's been very happy there. Now he really knows what it's like to be a Yankee. He had another excellent year last year. I think he's here to stay."

When asked if he were willing to negotiate a new deal, Hank wisely stated that this is not the time to be talking about such matters and that this season is the only important thing right now. He also said he knows CC is thinking the same thing. The maturity meter has risen for Hank who probably would have responded with a much harsher retort a few years ago. Kudos Hank.

No matter what does happen after this season, the Yankees must keep CC in Pinstripes...unless he turns into Oliver Perez. God forbid.

Oh and this is how I ate my Captain Crunch when I was 12. No, I'm not kidding.