Talk about a workhorse. CC Sabathia just may be one of the only pitchers in baseball who can pitch on short rest and make it seem like there’s nothing out of the ordinary. This was proven last year when he was with Milwaukee and pitched each of his final four starts of the year on three days’ rest. The New York Yankees put his arm to the test again for Game Four of this year’s ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels.

In the two games in this series that Sabathia has pitched in, he has basically been the model of effective consistency. In both games, he went eight strong innings, allowing just one earned run in each. In Game One, he gave up four hits, one walk, and struck out seven. In Game Four, he allowed five hits and two walks and struck out five. In the two games that Sabathia has not pitched, Yankee starters Andy Pettite and A.J. Burnett each went 6.1 innings, but beyond those starts, manager Joe Girardi has made 14 pitching changes. No doubt the arms in the ‘pen are happy about Wednesday’s untraditional off-day.

Perhaps it’s a good thing that the Yankees decided to go with three starters in the Championship Series. Girardi’s over-managing tactics have made full use of that extra player. With Sabathia’s heroics in Game Four combined with the off-day before Game Five, the Yankees’ bullpen will certainly be well-rested as they begin their first of up-to-three attempts to clinch a spot in the World Series, and the Yankees are not in the habit of losing streaks.

It will be interesting to see what the Yankees try to do if they make it to The Show, since the series returns to the traditional ‘2 games, off day, 3 games, off day, 2 games’ format that was abandoned for the LCSs. Which fourth pitcher will they throw into the rotation? Will they trust Burnett’s control issues or Pettite’s age to go on short rest? Either way, the Yankees are built to win, and a nine-year drought is about nine years too long for the fans of the Bronx Bombers.