Is C.C. Sabathia a "Choke" artist?

"You can blame this loss squarely on me," Sabathia said.

Those were the words C.C. Sabathia uttered after the game the Milwaukee Brewers were supposed to win yesterday, turned into a nightmare after Shane Victorino's Grand Slam in the third inning sent the Brewers back home down 2-0.

On the airwaves from Milwaukee, Cleveland, and the rest of country, the talk of the day revolves around the suggestion that C.C. Sabathia is a "choke" artist. While there may be evidence to suggest that, no one in Milwaukee should have the nerve to even say something of the sort. The only city that can claim that C.C. didn't deliver for them when it counted is his former home of Cleveland. Why?

Because since he was acquired on July 6th, Sabathia's gone 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA to carry the Brewers all the way to the playoffs. May I add, their first playoff appearance in 25 years. Seven of the 11 games he pitched in the NL were complete games and 3 were shut-outs. He nearly struck-out a batter per inning (130IP, 128K) and hit .229 with 1 HR and 6 RBI's. The guy even delivered at the plate a la Carlos Zambrano. This is exactly why C.C. Sabathia can't be labeled a choke artist. Throw in the fact that even if you do believe he isn't a "big-game" performer, you can't lay the blame squarely on him when for the last week he's pitched two huge games. Oh...don't forget that he's been on 3 days rest for the last month and C.C. isn't the most in-shape person in the world.

So back to the question: Is he a big-game pitcher? That's debatable and the numbers point to the fact that he may be when it doesn't count (regular season), but he isn't in post-season play. He only has 2 wins (2-3) in his playoff career and a career post-season ERA of 7.92. The Brewers star pitcher struggled against the Red Sox in last year's playoffs and while he looked like the ace all season long in Cleveland, Francisco Carmona was the guy who delivered for the Indians when it counted.

So if your a Milwaukee journalist, talk-radio personality, or even fan, the last thing you should do is even lay an ounce of blame on C.C. despite what he may say himself. Without him, this franchise is back in the dumps next year. Who are you going to depend on? Ben Sheets. This guy should have a hospital bed and a nurse next to him 24 hours a day.

Milwaukee Management: Listen up!

You do everything in your power to keep C.C. Sabathia in Milwaukee. He's one of the top 3 pitchers in baseball. He is better suited for the National League in terms of the lack of hitting prowess in comparison to the AL. He's already used to the Midwest way of life and doesn't seem to have a problem with it. What else?

- You had your best-selling year in terms of attendance.
- Your fans are now engaged and you need to keep them engaged.
- You have a beautiful ballpark. You've attracted the attention of the casual Brewers fan.
- Blogs and forums that aren't even associated with the ball club will now be heavily trafficked.
- The move to fire Ned Yost had to do as much with the fan's dissatisfaction with him, as it did with ownerships.

All of that adds up to this: Re-signing Sabathia is a good business move whether you have to break the bank or not. And trust me, if Barry Zito committed high-way robbery at $126 million, you can damn sure expect C.C. to get what he "deserves" and a 30-50% increase of that contract is on the horizon.