Sabathia in control with opt-out clause

On a day built for dreaming, CC Sabathia walked off the mound in the eighth inning Thursday afternoon to a heartfelt ovation from the crowd at Yankee Stadium.

The lefty had dominated the Brewers for 7 2/3 innings in the Yankees' 5-0 win, their fifth in a row and Sabathia's 11th. He's tied for the major-league lead.

Sabathia is going to sit out the second Subway Series, which begins Friday night at Citi Field. The Yankees' ace will not be tasked with trying to slow down Jose Reyes, the Mets' impending free agent and best player in New York.

You know who is second best? Sabathia. While Reyes may win the NL MVP award, Sabathia is the Yankees' MVP.

And he could end up as a free agent, too.

It's not talked about much, and never inside the Yankees' clubhouse, but Sabathia has an opt-out clause at the end of this season embedded into his seven-year, $161-million contract.

Can you imagine how much it's going to cost the Yankees to keep him if he uses it?

With the way he's pitching and how much he means to the Yankees, can you imagine him not using it?

Know this: Players and agents negotiate opt-out clauses with the intention of using them -- or threatening to use them -- to get more years and more money.

It was messy, but it worked for Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees need Sabathia, who turns 31 next month, atop their rotation for years to come far more than they needed A-Rod at third base until he's 42.

Unless you believe A.J. Burnett is ready to be an ace.

Didn't think so.

The Yankees proved Thursday they could win without A-Rod and Curtis Granderson, both of whom got the day off. They have proved they can survive quite nicely, thank you, without Derek Jeter.

Without Sabathia? No chance.

He's 11-4 with a 3.05 ERA. He leads the team in starts, starter's ERA, wins, innings, strikeouts and complete games.

He also leads the team. Period. Jeter is the captain, but Sabathia is just as vital in setting the tone in the clubhouse, which is unusual for a pitcher.

"He's just a guy that seems to attract people to him,'' manager Joe Girardi said. "People want to be around him. And I think that's important, because during the course of the season, everyone goes through tough times. This is a guy that you know you can count on that's going to be the same every day and will be there for you.''

But will he be there for the Yankees in 2012? Sabathia hasn't said he isn't going to opt out, and the team's policy is to wait until the end of the season to address contract issues. They did it with Girardi and Jeter and Mariano Rivera last offseason and will do it with Sabathia and general manager Brian Cashman this offseason.

Unless he gets hurt, Sabathia is going to use his leverage, and the Yankees are going to have to do what they do best -- write a huge check and tack on more years -- to keep Sabathia from hitting the open market.

Sabathia has pretty good timing. He went free agent after going 11-2 in a half-season to lead the Brewers to the playoffs in 2008. The Yankees were coming off a playoff-less season and were desperate for pitching.

On Thursday, after tying his career high in strikeouts with 13, Sabathia walked off the mound to chants of "C-C, C-C!''

"It felt good,'' he said. "Especially at Yankee Stadium, the biggest stage in baseball.''

If he stays on that stage, Sabathia is headed for Paul O'Neill/Tino Martinez status -- beloved Yankees who started with other teams.

If he leaves? That's unthinkable. At least it had better be, for the Yankees' sake.