The better the player, the more postseason opportunities he should have, the greater the chance he ultimately will succeed.
“This is what you come here for, that opportunity to win a championship,” said CC Sabathia, a no-brainer Game 1 and Game 4 starter, provided he doesn’t out-think himself again.
An ERA of 7.92, the highest current of any pitcher with 25 or more postseason innings — and second highest all time behind Doyle Alexander — turns Alex Rodriguez into Mr. Clutch by comparison. But Sabathia bravely packed his bags last winter for New York autumns regardless, and tonight carries the same steamer trunk to the mound that A-Rod will take to the plate.
Of course, Rodriguez’s failures have been predominantly Yankees failures, not Indians and Brewers flops. But if Sabathia puts his team in a 1-0 hole tonight in a short series, Yankees fans will begin taking his disasters personally, too.
In 2007 against the Red Sox, Sabathia got chased in the fifth inning of 10-3 Game 1 loss. Then, in what could have been a clinching Game 5, got outpitched for a second time by Josh Beckett, surrendering a series-changing, seventh-inning triple to Kevin Youkilis.
In 2008, Sabathia gave up a second-inning Game 2 grand slam to Shane Victorino from which the Brewers could not recover. But unlike then, when he pitched out of turn three times to get the Brewers into the postseason on the last day of the season, Sabathia is rested. And unlike 2007 in Cleveland, he has the top scoring offense in the game to provide margin for error and peace of mind.
“Trying to go out there and throw shutouts and no-hitters instead of doing the same things I’ve done during the regular season, which is throwing strikes early in the count,” Sabathia said yesterday about the ghosts of postseason pasts.
“[Derek] Jeter, [Johnny] Damon and Tex [Mark Teixeira] and A-Rod the first four hitters, and they’re on your side, you feel pretty good. That’s the attitude I’ve taken all year, not going to try and do too much.
“I’m definitely pitching on more days rest, the last couple times [I] had a week between starts.”
Series A will give Sabathia a full four days before Game 4, and the five Yankees with at least 25 home runs should enable him with working margins.
“One of the things we tried to do in September is slow his innings down,” Joe Girardi said. “And every time you go through the postseason as a player, you learn something about yourself and ways to handle situations better.”
Providing less reason than ever to fail.
jay.greenberg@nypost.com