The spotlights were on CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett yesterday at the old Yankee Stadium, but come April the attention will focus on Joe Girardi.
Sabathia and Burnett hadn’t removed Yankee shirts when Hal Steinbrenner was asked if spending close to a quarter of a billion dollars on the hurlers raised expectations the organization.
“Yes it does,” Steinbrenner said. “Any time you make investments like these, it does. But they know the deal.”
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Sabathia will make a record-setting $161 million over the next seven seasons, and Burnett will earn $82.5 million across the next five.
The breakdowns are:
* Sabathia, $23 million per year through 2015, including a $9 million signing bonus that will not be paid in one lump.
* Burnett, $16.5 million per year through 2013.
Steinbrenner was talking specifically about the pressure on Sabathia. But he could have been talking about others in the organization as well.
Especially, Girardi.
Yesterday’s introductions gave the Yankees legitimate star power atop the rotation. It also upped the pressure level on the manager.
Girardi’s first year ended without a playoff spot and several players not impressed with the job he did.
Now Sabathia and Burnett are aboard, more pitching help could be incoming, and there is a possibility the Yanks could add Manny Ramirez to the middle of an order that needs help. There’s also sparkling new Yankee Stadium awaiting next door.
And, oh yeah, Girardi is in the second season of a three-year contract.
“I agree,” Girardi said when asked about the expectations being a lot higher today than a year ago, when the Yankees put too much faith in Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.
“But you like to have people with confidence in the clubhouse, because you know what you are going to get every day.”
GM Brian Cashman, the driving force behind the acquisitions of Sabathia and Burnett, isn’t overwhelmed with people expecting a lot more from the 2009 Yankees than the 2008 club delivered.
“Expectations are always high for us,” Cashman said. “Are they any higher than when we got Javier Vazquez or Randy Johnson? Our job is to keep it simple and tune out all the expectations.”
As expected, Sabathia and Burnett said all the right things.
Sabathia insisted The Bronx wasn’t a second choice to his beloved California.
“I didn’t want anyone to think I didn’t want to come here,” said Sabathia, who spent Wednesday looking for a permanent house in New Jersey and was impressed with super-affluent Alpine.
Cashman leaving the Winter Meetings to meet with Sabathia in his California home sealed the deal, according to the pitcher.
“Ten minutes after he left, I called him and said, ‘I’m in,’ ” said Sabathia, who insisted the seventh year was the deal-sealer more than the three-year opt out he received.
After evolving into an ace for the Indians and a dominating No. 1 for the Brewers, Sabathia says he is ready for the responsibility of being a Yankee ace because of the names around him.
“Look at the guys on my team,” said the 6-foot-7, 290-pounder, whose No. 52 jersey is a size 56 that requires lengthening on the sleeves. “It’s going to be easy to do my job.”
Burnett played second fiddle to Roy Halladay in Toronto and appears comfortable working the day after Sabathia.
“Him signing, pitching behind him, that makes it easier on me,” said Burnett, who pointed to being more mature about how he throws as the reason he stayed healthy last year, when he went 18-10 and led the AL in strikeouts with 231.
Sabathia and Burnett said “easy” and “easier.” But nothing is ever easy in this town. Especially when the expectations are as high as they are today.