Yankee fans may have just been spared the opportunity to watch CC Sabathia die on the mound

Full disclosure: I have a stent inside me. About seven years ago, after feeling chest pains, I underwent emergency angioplasty - "the widow-maker," the doc said later - and for about two years, I took blood thinners that made me bruise like a banana. Today, I feel fine. You could say I've had a complete recovery, though my dreams of playing in the NBA remain on hold. 

Two weeks ago, CC Sabathia felt chest pains. (It's amazing how those two words - "chest pain" - affect people in an emergency room.) He had such a procedure, and a stent was inserted. By all indications, he can expect a long and happy life - a miracle of modern medicine. But it's not over yet.

The Yankees say CC is expected to make "a full recovery," and that they are still slotting him in as the fifth starter. That's a nice public gesture to a beloved player. It's also bullshit. CC's entire outlook on life just changed. He might be able to pitch in 2019, but nothing will be quite the same. For one thing, he will be considerably more aware of aches and pains, especially around the chest. If he pulls a muscle, he will be terrified. Any tweaks, all the dings he used to disregard, he will think about them. He has entered a new world.

Make no mistake here: The Yankiverse just dodged a bullet. If CC had not reported the pains, or if he dismissed them - as I did, for weeks - we might have watched the unthinkable: A pitcher having a heart attack on the mound. 

CC is 38. He is listed at 300 pounds. Last year, he threw 153 innings - third highest on the team, just three less than Masahiro Tanaka. He is a far cry from the pitcher of 2009, who led the Yankees to their last world championship. I certainly appreciate the Yankees extending him a vote of confidence, and we should all wish him well... but he should seriously consider retiring.