You can choose any cliched description of CC Sabathia's start on Monday night that tickles your fancy.
Sabathia battled or fought or ground his way to his 16th win of the season against the White Sox, allowing 10 hits over eight innings but never giving way to the big hit that would have made it impossible to walk away with a 3-2 win. It only took him 104 pitches to get through those eight innings, but every one of those pitches had a lot riding on it and that makes the performance all the more impressive.
It also made you wonder about what will happen to this team when October comes around. Sabathia, to use another cliche, is the Yankees' horse this season and that forces you to contemplate what will happen if the horse just doesn't have it one day in the playoffs.
Let's say that day is Game One of a series and Sabathia turns in a performance similar to the one he turned in on Tuesday night. The big difference is that one of those 10 hits winds up being a home run that leaves the opposition on the happy side of a 3-2 decision instead of on the losing side.
It wouldn't be a significantly different start for Sabathia, but it would be a devastating outcome for the Yankees. With at least two games to play before Sabathia could go back to the mound, the Yankees will have to figure out ways to win without having an advantage in the starting pitching matchup.
That's a scary way to go into October, as evidenced by the first round defeats in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Those Yankee teams didn't have anyone pitching at Sabathia's level, of course, but the rest of the Yankee rotation looks a lot like the substandard groups of flagging veterans and free agent flops that ran out there and fell flat on their faces in the first round for three straight years.
It is hard to criticize Brian Cashman that much for not adding another arm to the mix before Sunday's trade deadline. There wasn't a difference maker out there at a price that made any kind of sense, so it is wise to avoid throwing good money after bad in an ultimately doomed attempt to correct a problem.
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Watching Sabathia on Monday night underscored just how big a problem it is. You can accept that someone from the Bartolo Colon/Freddy Garcia/A.J. Burnett/Ivan Nova group will have to win a big game at some point in October and you can even believe that will happen without stretching the bounds of credulity all that much.
Expecting them to win a series when Sabathia doesn't grind his way through the rough spots is a much taller order, though, and Monday night reminded us just how likely it is that scenario will play out.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.
