and former teammates that the Pittsburgh Pirates were different. The proof came in the waves of people who approached the veteran pitcher as he walked the concourse at Pittsburgh International Airport on Wednesday morning just hours removed from an uncharacteristically aggressive trade that sent a jolt through a franchise http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey , a fan base and – Archer hopes – his own career.As strangers came up to welcome him to a town he barely knows and a team he’d only watched from afar, one thought kept running through his head.”Everybody knows who I am,” Archer marveled.Better get used to it.It’s not every year Pittsburgh’s typically cautious front office makes a serious splash at the trade deadline, as general manager Neal Huntington did by bringing in Archer and Texas Rangers closer Keone Kela to bolster a team that’s improbably wedged itself into contention as August begins.Their arrivals signaled a sea change of sorts for the Pirates. A winter after parting with stars Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen and failing to sign even one major league free agent, the splurge for two of the best arms available – both of whom are under team control through at least 2020 – gave Pittsburgh two things it desperately needed: a talent upgrade and serious a dash of buzz.”They went through a lot of changes this offseason and got a lot of scrutiny but I feel they reversed that with the way that they played,” Archer said. ”And the ownership and the front office stepped up with the couple moves they made at the deadline so I’m stoked. It’s been a while since I played winning, meaningful baseball.”A long while.Tampa Bay reached the playoffs just once during Archer’s seven seasons, and that was back in 2013. He’s spent much of the last five years as one of the few fixtures on a team in perpetual flux while watching the Rays flip talented pitchers – from David Price to Matt Garza to James Shields – for prospects.Archer’s turn finally came Tuesday when the Pirates put together a package that included rookie outfielder Austin Meadows and right-handed reliever Tyler Glasnow for a two-time All-Star with plenty left to prove.”There’s different phases (to your career),” Archer said. ”You become a big leaguer and you’re content and you have a little success. I’m in the phase where I want to win and I think I’m in the right environment to do that and the commitment from the ownership and the front office is to win.”Archer Max Scherzer Jersey , who turns 30 next month, was 3-5 with a 4.31 ERA for Tampa Bay this season.The Pirates entered play on Wednesday within three games of the second wild-card spot in the National League after finishing July on a 16-4 run that provided Huntington with all the evidence he needed to splurge. Archer will make his first major league start for someone other than Tampa Bay when he takes the mound on Friday night against St. Louis.Yeah, it’ll be a little weird at first. Archer doesn’t expect the feeling to last. He prides himself on his work ethic – he’s pitched at least 194 2/3 innings in each of the last four seasons – and now finds himself in a town that does the same.”It’s a blue-collar city,” Archer said. ”It’s roll up your sleeves and go to work. That’s how I was raised. My dad, he worked in hardwood floors his whole life.”Archer struck all the right notes on the first day of the rest of his baseball life.He took a quick tour of the city wearing the jersey of Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver Antonio Brown. He expects his warmup song to be ”Black and Yellow” by Pittsburgh-raised rap star Wiz Khalifa. He pointed out that he’s changing his number from 22 to 24 for the rest of this season out of respect to good friend McCutchen, who wore it for nearly a decade while helping return the Pirates to respectability before being traded to San Francisco in January.There will be time for Archer to carve his own niche. His contract includes club options that run through the 2021 season. He isn’t a rental. He’s here to stay. At least for a while. After all the anxiety, it’s a relief to start fresh in a place where he can set down a new set of roots.”It’s very nice to be wanted,” Archer said. ”That was the biggest relief after all the trade rumors was, these guys really want me. … I know one of the sayings for a long time here has been http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey , `We are family.’ And I already feel like a part of the family.”— NEW YORK (AP) — Plunking an opponent paid off for CC Sabathia.The New York Yankees gave Sabathia a $500,000 performance bonus, even though the 38-year-old left-hander was ejected from his final regular-season start six outs shy of the 155 innings specified in his contract for the payment.Sabathia hit Tampa Bay’s Jesus Sucre starting the sixth inning on Sept. 27 with his 55th pitch of the night, retaliation for Andrew Kittredge throwing a pitch behind Austin Romine in the top half.“We thought it was a very nice gesture by the Yankees,” Sabathia’s agent, Kyle Thousand of Roc Nation Sports, told The Associated Press on Monday. “CC was very appreciative and is really excited to come back next year and, hopefully, win a championship.”Neither side announced the decision http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey , which became evident when the $500,000 was included in the Yankees’ final luxury tax payroll.“It was something that we did very private and weren’t looking to publicize, and I’ll just leave it at that,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.Sabathia hit Jake Bauers on the knuckles of his right hand with an 88 mph fastball with two outs in the fifth inning. Kittredge threw a 93 mph fastball behind Romine’s neck with his initial pitch in the sixth, and plate umpire Vic Carapazza issued a warning to both benches. Sabathia started out of the Yankees dugout and had to be intercepted by manager Aaron Boone.After New York opened an 11-0 lead, Sabathia hit Sucre the lower left leg with a 93 mph cutter on his first pitch in the bottom half, causing Carapazza to eject the pitcher and Boone.“I don’t really make decisions based on money, I guess,” Sabathia said after the game. “I just felt like it was the right thing to do.”Sabathia was suspended for five games by Joe Torre Trea Turner Jersey , chief baseball officer in the commissioner’s office, and Kittredge for three.Sabathia had a $10 million base salary last year. He re-signed with the Yankees for an $8 million salary and said 2019 will be his final season.The 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner with Cleveland, Sabathia is 246-153 with a 3.70 ERA and 2,986 strikeouts in 18 major league seasons. He was 9-7 with a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts last season.