"CC Sabathia wanted a heavyweight fight at Fenway, and no, John Lackey did not look half as eager to engage as Pedro Martinez looked the night Don Zimmer charged him from the enemy side.

Sabathia was incensed when Lackey hit Francisco Cervelli for doing a little end zone dance, for celebrating his homer by clapping his hands extra hard upon touching the plate. The ace of the New York Yankees was on the field shouting and gesturing at his opponent, this as a procession of much smaller men tried in vain to calm him.

Jorge Posada, of all people, was the most convincing peacemaker, though he was carrying a bat when he persuaded Sabathia to return to the bench. CC had already thrown his 128th and final pitch against the Boston Red Sox, but he wasn't done for the night.

Forever cast as an agreeable and neighborly Yankee -- Brian Cashman even likened him to Santa Claus -- Sabathia was mad as hell and he wasn't going to fake it anymore.

"Yeah," CC said, "I didn't like it.""