That player being the one who doesn't just go to where the highest bidder is. C.C. Sabathia is not that player.

ESPN reported this morning that C.C. Sabathia is on the verge of signing a 7 year $160 million deal with the Evil Empire. Standout player going to the New York Yankees for the money... no points for originality, C.C. And don't give me the "he has to do what's best for his family," argument. Athletes have used that excuse before for their greedy ways, and deserve a swift kick to the nuts for daring to use it. I sincerely doubt the family will suffer with the ridiculous amount of money most professional sports contracts offer these days.

Clevelanders, such as myself, as well as fans of other Midwestern sports markets are used to building teams from the ground up. A little thing called the farm system. Cleveland has always had a great farm system, whereas the Yankees farm teams probably couldn't beat a farm. Yet, they're the ones winning championships and Cleveland is lucky to have a playoff team. Yeah, the Yankees win championships, but I just don't get how rewarding it is for your team to win a championship with players you hardly know, because you bought them for a couple of years before shipping them off.

Now back to C.C., I would have been cool with his money grabbing solution if he went to a west coast team. That was the original thought. C.C. is a west coast guy and will go play there. As is always the story, however, the Yankees were the only team that could pay him a ridiculous amount of money. Actually, pretty much all salaries in professional sports are ridiculous, but that's a whole other rant.

With C.C., a guy far different than someone like A-Rod whom you'd expect to go after the money, making money the top priority, fans are left to still wonder when that player whom chooses a team based on talent (experts believe Yankees are still a third place team) and the fans will come around. It is yet another sad day for the small market sports world, but a merry Christmas on the horizon for the Sabathia family.