CC could face old club early as Indians visit Yanks for opener

LAS VEGAS -- Excuse Eric Wedge if he can't quite envision it yet: the wild scene of CC Sabathia wearing pinstripes in the new Yankee Stadium for New York's home opener.

Yes, Wedge and his Cleveland Indians will be there for the April 16 debut of the Yankees' $1.3 billion ballpark -- and there's a decent chance Sabathia could be pitching that day against his former club.

"It'll be good to see him. It'll be strange to see him in another uniform," Wedge, the Indians' manager, said Wednesday at the winter meetings. "But I think it'll be just as strange if not more so for him looking across at us, too. That's just the nature of the beast."

Sabathia and the Yankees agreed Wednesday on the framework of a $161 million, seven-year contract, the richest for a pitcher in baseball history. The star left-hander spent his first 7½ major league seasons with Cleveland before being traded to Milwaukee for four prospects on July 7. The Indians made him the 20th overall pick in the 1998 draft.

"Any time you're talking about that type of deal, it's pretty amazing stuff," Wedge said.

With the family atmosphere surrounding the Cleveland organization, Sabathia's move hits pretty close to home for Wedge. Sabathia was one of those players the Indians developed from the start, all 6-feet, 7-inches and 250 pounds of him.

The Yankees beat out the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and others for Sabathia. So much for the hints he might want to sign close to home to be near his native Northern California.

Wedge has seen enough of Sabathia over the years to be confident he will thrive in New York despite the pressures of playing in baseball's biggest market.

"I think CC is going to be fine. I think he's going to be more than fine," Wedge said. "Nobody puts more pressure on CC than CC. I know some people will stop at that because New York is different. Well, New York is different. Boston's different, Philly's different. ... He has perspective. He has a tremendous belief system in himself and the process. It takes time for things to play out. If he has a tough day, he's not going to overreact to it. He's going to be that much better the next time."

Wedge insists he isn't thinking about the what-ifs as Sabathia moves on - knowing this is kind of like watching his own kid grow up and leave home. Trading the popular lefty was about "the ability to see around the corner and have the guts and the discipline to make those decisions because you feel like it's best for your organization - maybe not today but for tomorrow," Wedge said.

Can Sabathia be as strong at the end of the contract as he is now? The burly lefty won 17 games this season between the Indians and Brewers and 19 during his AL Cy Young award season in 2007.

"I don't know. That's not for me to say," Wedge said. "He's done everything he could possibly do to be the pitcher he is today."