Si Si or No No?

[DOUGHBOYS]

Here's a name that was brought up in the chat of a draft last night.
CC Sabathia.
Sabathia will be selected in both the 30 round and 50 round formats.
Near the end in the former and middle of the latter.

In chat, a drafter seemed disappointed that he wouldn't be drafting Sabathia.
He typed, "First time in 8 drafts that I won't be rostering CC."
To which another drafter responded, "Just thank him and move on."
Defending Sabathia, the first chatter shot back, "Where else are you going to find 14 W, 3.69, 1.27 with K's at this point in the draft?"
The conversation then deteriorated.....

The fellow disappointed admitted that he had a bias towards older players.
This was reflected when he made Felix Hernandez his next choice.
Old vs. New has been a forever argument in fantasy sports.
The Old carry more reliability in that they have large contracts and clubs do not like wasting the money paid them.
They also have 'position' in that they have built good will with their teams, teammates, and players.
A pitcher like Sabathia will get many chances before somebody like Chance Adams, who has to wait for an opening in the rotation.

On the other hand, the New provide unlimited ceilings. Fantasy hobbyists love unlimited ceilings.
Ronald Acuna has an unlimited ceiling.
Nobody knows what he is really capable of doing this year.
Last year, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger leap frogged over 700 players to become first and second round picks in this years drafts.
Picking the New is very enticing, indeed.

The thing about the Old is that drafters expect the same results year after year.
This was noted by the drafter in chat when mentioning the stats missed by Sabathia.
To me, those stats are gone.
Sabathia was used by Joe Girardi as a five inning pitcher last year, who was rescued by a bullpen he had total and justified faith in.
Sabathia is another year older.
Sabathia has a different Manager.
And bullpens, from year to year, change.
In Sabathia's favor, he is bulky. Many bulky pitchers have longer careers.
They have the last laugh on jokesters throughout their careers.
The point is though, that we cannot count on the same numbers from last year.

Personally, I believe that Sabathia's days of seeing an E.R.A. starting with the number '3' are over.
For 50 round drafts, he remains a choice because Starting pitchers start drying up and he will get every chance to start as many games as allowed by the Yankees.
For 30 round drafts, I'm betting he will go back and forth from rosters to the FAAB heap.

One statistic from last year for CC was a shocker.
He was 4-0 with a 1.04 E.R.A. vs the Red Sox last year.
The problem with that statistic for fantasy players is that most probably didn't receive those statistics, choosing to bench Sabathia instead.
Against Toronto, 6.23...Against Baltimore, 7.41
In fantasy baseball we abhor statistics like this. They make us look stupid and roll our eyes.
We like pitchers who do what they are supposed to do!
Dominate the losers. Get bombed by the winners.
Even though CC had an E.R.A. of 3-something, his fantasy E.R.A. was probably higher for most teams.

In the end, Sabathia is a tough take.
He throws in a great hitting division and will not rack up innings.
At the same time, I have selected him in a draft or two.
As stated, pickings become very slim with starting pitchers.
I just don't expect last years numbers and will watch his match-ups closely this year.

If wanting to talk about any player, bring his name up.
I'd be more than willing to review that player.

[Thurman15]

I'm a Yankee fan and I love the guy. But I'm not drafting him this year. Hurts to say, but I just don't think he can come close to last year. Another year older, may not get that many starts. Thanks CC. You've done a lot for the Yankees but I'm drafting younger pitchers. I'm an old time baseball guy. My favorite sport by a mile....for well over 40 years, and I love the history of the game. But in the old vs young question, I always go young. More chance to improve. Less chance to get hurt.