Thanks to the above photo from the AP, I got to see CC Sabathia take his first warm-up tosses at Steinbrenner Field. And thanks to Pete Abraham’s blog, I got to listen to CC answer questions from the media.

What struck me most was how easygoing and relaxed he sounded – not fazed in the slightest by the scrum of scribes assembled in the dugout. For a man who had just scored a gargantuan contract, he was very…real.

What also struck me was how often he used the word “definitely.” We all have our verbal tics, and now Yankee fans know his. For example….

Q: How do you feel about being in the spotlight in New York?

CC: I’m definitely excited to be playing on the big stage. And I’m definitely glad I got a guy like A.J. here. We can kind of lean on each other and laugh about people taking our pictures.

Q: How do you feel about the subject of steroids?

CC: I definitely think it’s bad for the game because anybody who performs well….people are going to definitely assume they’re doing something.

Q: What’s your feeling about Alex Rodriguez?

CC: I’m looking forward to him getting down here and to being his teammate. I’ll just go up and introduce myself to him – I know him in passing and from playing against him. He’s a good guy, so I’m looking forward to hanging out with him.

Wait. Wait. Wait. That last answer didn’t have a single “definitely” in it, but the notion of CC and A-Rod “hanging out” did give me pause. How, exactly, would these two seemingly incompatible men spend their time together away from the game? And which of them would get his way?

I allowed my mind to wander – always a dangerous thing.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that these two remind me of them.

But they’re both Yankees now. Here’s hoping they win a championship together.