ST. PETERSBURG -- CC Sabathia chose to defend his teammates over the potential of padding his bank account, earning an ejection two innings shy of a contractual bonus on Thursday when he appeared to throw at Jesus Sucre in the sixth inning of the Yankees' game against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
Sabathia would have scored an additional $500,000 by recording six more outs in the contest, and he made no secret of his disgust as he exited the playing field, gesturing toward the Rays' dugout. The left-hander had been irked in the top half of the frame when Tampa Bay's Andrew Kittredge buzzed Austin Romine with a pitch up and in.