Results tagged ‘ CC Sabathia ’
Notes & quotes: Vernon gets a breather vs. O’s
Vernon Wells has enjoyed some success in his career against Orioles starter Freddy Garcia, going 7-for-16 (.438) with a homer and three RBIs, but manager Joe Girardi said he was willing to table those numbers because he believes Wells could use back-to-back days off after last night’s rainout.
“It just allows me to get Vernon a couple days off,” Girardi said. “I’m going to have to do some rotating a little bit with these guys. Anytime you can get an older guy two days off in a sense, it’s helpful. He played every day in that last long stretch that we had. He’s played a lot over the last 30 days. I figured it might just help him.”
Girardi has no concerns about CC Sabathia being ready tonight after being pushed back a day by rain.
“If you get two or three extra days, you worry a little bit,” he said. “He’s had extra days before. Hopefully it makes him a little bit stronger. These guys have been going at it pretty hard and we’re going to have another long stretch after this. It’s not such a bad thing.”
Speaking of time off, Girardi wonders if sitting out for most of 2012 might have made Mariano Rivera more effective.
“The big difference is he’s had a lot of save opportunities,” Girardi said. “He’s on pace to be in 70 games which is not totally unusual for a reliever. You can say, and I’m a big believer, an arm only has so many bullets in it. Sometimes a year off is not the worst thing in the world.”
Injury updates from Tampa: Mark Teixeira went 1-for-2 with a double and walk in a simulated game … Kevin Youkilis is taking batting practice and ground balls and could be activated when the Yankees return to New York … Alex Rodriguez is taking ground balls but is still being talked about as returning after the All-Star break … Eduardo Nunez is taking dry swings and ground balls … Ivan Nova threw 3 2/3 innings in a simulated game. … Derek Jeter is out of his walking boot but isn’t doing much else.
Here in Baltimore, Chris Stewart hit off a tee and felt OK, but Girardi doesn’t think he’s ready to get in a game yet. He’s just an emergency catcher tonight behind Austin Romine, who is making his third straight start.
Saturday’s camp notes: Rivera, Sabathia on the mound
CC Sabathia admitted to experiencing some jitters as he entered the bullpen at George M. Steinbrenner Field this morning, with the ace preparing to pitch off a mound for the first time since having surgery on his pitching elbow in October.
Mariano Rivera – in what should be a surprise to no one – felt no such nerves as he worked off the hill, firing about 30 pitches as the Yankees closer continues to hit every checkpoint in his return from last year’s knee injury.
“There’s no peace of mind where I say, ‘OK, I feel good now,’” Rivera said. “No. I knew the [work] that I put in during the whole year. It’s been a hard job. I always tell you guys that I trust myself. I trust God first, then I trust myself. I’m capable to do this. I was expecting this. It feels good. Everything feels good.”
Sabathia joked that he “probably didn’t throw a strike” during his entire 29-pitch session, but a lack of command isn’t out of the ordinary for Sabathia at this point in the spring. He said that it usually takes two or three bullpens to hit spots correctly, but Sabathia came away most encouraged by how it felt to throw without discomfort.
“I got a little nervous when I first got up there, just because it’s the first time doing it,” Sabathia said. “I hadn’t been up there and didn’t know how I was going to feel. I immediately felt good and felt comfortable after the first couple of pitches.”
Yankees manager Joe Girardi remains optimistic that both Rivera and Sabathia will be ready and active on the big league roster for Opening Day.
“I’m pretty confident they’re going to be OK, but I always say in the back of my head, I want to see them out there before I make that assumption,” Girardi said. “But I feel pretty good about it just because I know where they are in their rehabs.”
- Can’t make it up: If you had wandered into the Yankees’ clubhouse around 10:30 this morning, you would have seen a Joba Chamberlain cramming his 6-foot-2 frame into a tiny laundry cart and begging Boone Logan to push him around. Chamberlain isn’t a coffee drinker, but if he were, the appropriate advice might be to switch to decaf for a while.
- Here’s the full list of pitchers who threw live batting practice sessions this morning: David Phelps, Nik Turley, Nick Goody, Juan Cedeno, Jim Miller, Adam Warren and Brett Marshall. The list is particularly notable if you’re wondering who might be on the mound for the Yanks’ first few exhibition games, since they’re slightly ahead of the others right now.
- Breakdowns for bullpen work this morning included: Andy Pettitte, Rivera and Sabathia; Phil Hughes, Hiroki Kuroda and David Robertson; David Aardsma, Dellin Betances and Clay Rapada; Tom Kahnle, Ryan Pope and new acquisition Shawn Kelley.
- Francisco Cervelli confirmed that he is not participating in the World Baseball Classic. Cervelli was listed on Italy’s provisional roster but decided to stay in Yankees camp with hopes of winning the starting catching job.
- Yankees position players are due to report in camp tomorrow, with player physicals beginning at 7 a.m. Roster hopeful Juan Rivera stopped by the clubhouse this morning.
Spring is here: Yankees pitchers and catchers report
George M. Steinbrenner Field is open for business, and while we’re still waiting to hear the first official crack of the bat, these words should be enough to warm your afternoon wherever you are — Yankees pitchers and catchers reported to Tampa today.
CC Sabathia meets the media in the Yankees dugout on Tuesday.
The players went through the usual gauntlet of physical tests and checked out their locker assignments – with 84 names on the invited list, the Yankees have had to build a few new ones in the clubhouse – before heading out for the day. The real work begins tomorrow, with the first official workout for pitchers and catchers.
“Everybody talked about the guys that we didn’t sign, but talk about the guys we have coming back,” Yankees ace CC Sabathia said. “Hiro (Hiroki Kuroda) coming back, Andy (Pettitte) coming back, we’ll get Mo (Mariano Rivera) back for a full year. I think we already had the pieces here in place to compete and try to win a championship. We’ll just go with what we’ve got.”
Yankees manager Joe Girardi held his first press conference of the spring, and the big news was again about Alex Rodriguez, as Girardi revealed that A-Rod will not be reporting to camp with the Yankees’ position players.
Instead, Rodriguez will be continuing his rehab in New York, which should limit some of the potential distractions that were expected to go along with MLB’s investigation of the Biogenesis case.
Girardi said that he believes the Yankees “could win 95 games and get to the World Series,” and said that “if other clubs want to think we’re vulnerable, that’s OK, but I love the character in that room and the way they find ways to win games.”
Want video? You got it.
Here are some of the other quick hits from Girardi’s session with the press:
- Girardi is not concerned about the health of Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera. He is, however, curious how the Yankees will find their designated hitter against right-handed pitching. Eduardo Nunez, Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera appear to be the early options.
- Girardi called the spring “a test” for Francisco Cervelli, who must block out the distraction of the Biogenesis investigation while also competing for the Opening Day catcher job.
- Austin Romine should be able to help the Yankees at some point during the season, Girardi said, but he doesn’t know exactly when. Romine said that he intends to make the roster out of Spring Training, but the Yankees have him ticketed for Triple-A right now.
- Girardi said Cervelli, Stewart and Romine should be able to be as good as Russell Martin was defensively.
- Michael Pineda is throwing in camp, but Girardi said he doesn’t expect to see him in a game this spring. The Yankees have been saying that Pineda’s best case scenario is to pitch in the big leagues by May or June.
- Girardi said he’s not worried about his lame duck status as the Yankees’ manager, saying that he’s only concerned with the next 162 games and getting to the World Series. The Yankees will likely hold off until after the season to open contract talks with Girardi.
CC Sabathia wants your #MLB13CC tweets
Here’s something fun. The above video says it all, but CC Sabathia is asking for your help to represent the Yankees as this year’s cover athlete for ‘MLB 13 The Show.’
Check out http://www.mlb.com/CoverVote for more information, where you can click over to Twitter and send a tweet using the hashtag #MLB13CC. Voting is also available on Facebook.
Friends & Fans I need your help! We need to get the first Yankee ever on the cover of @mlbtheshow Please Retweet and use #MLB13CC all week!
— CC Sabathia (@CC_Sabathia) January 7, 2013
Other players nominated as potential cover athletes for The Show are Buster Posey, Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera, Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper.
No matter who wins, I’m going to have to remember to pack my PlayStation 3 for Tampa next month. The Show is some good gaming.
CC: I want Pettitte, Kuroda back next year
CC Sabathia said this afternoon at Yankee Stadium that he has been texting with Andy Pettitte about returning to the Yankees in 2013, and also hopes Hiroki Kuroda will be back in the rotation next season:
“I’m lobbying hard to try to get ‘Titte’ (ed. note: pronounced “tea-tay”) to come back. Hopefully Hiro comes back. He was our most consistent pitcher all year. Hopefully he comes back and does great for us again. I definitely, for my own selfish reasons, want Andy to come back. He’s somebody to talk to, he helps me out a lot being a lefty that’s pitching in this league for a long time. Hopefully he does.”
Pettitte said after the ALCS that he’d need about a month to make up his mind, while Kuroda could be locked up by Friday – the Yankees made a $13.3 million qualifying offer to him that he can accept or reject. Sabathia said he has been trying to get a feel for Pettitte’s mindset.
“I know he’s hanging out with his family enjoying that time right now. It’s not time to put the full court press on him yet. A few texts on a couple of Sundays, talking about football and throwing in, ‘Have you decided yet?’ We’ll see what happens.”
Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild talks Mo, Pineda, CC, Kuroda, Pettitte
Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild appeared on the MLB Network Radio channel on SiriusXM on Friday, joining hosts Jim Duquette and Jeff Joyce. Here are some highlights:
On Michael Pineda:
Host/Jeff Joyce: “What is his status and is he a guy you are expecting or hopeful that will be healthy for you this season?”
Larry Rothschild: “With elbows it is a lot more predictable and you can expect. With shoulders, really, I think you take him off the radar screen, bring him back as the injury allows. But I don’t think we can count on him for next year at all. And hopefully he comes back and it’s a great addition but if you count on him and think he’s going to be back by a certain point you have a pretty high percentage of being disappointed with that. So I think you’re better off just approaching it that he’s not going to be back next year. And if things go right – and he certainly could come back and be able to pitch, I wouldn’t doubt that at all – but for us to count on him, I think, would be a mistake.”
On Mariano Rivera:
Rothschild: “At the very end of the season I didn’t even think about it. I thought for sure he’s coming back because of the rehab he’s done and everything he’s done leading up right until the very end of the season. Really, when I got home I heard that now there’s talk that he may not come back and may retire. But I don’t know. I would bet anything that he’s coming back. But I have not talked to him. I’ve kind of left him on his own because I think it’s a decision he has to make. I will probably talk to him in the next week or 10 days or so. But there are no parameters. Cash will handle that part of it as far as when he’s going to come back, when the decision is made if he’s not, and we’ll go from there.”
On CC Sabathia:
Joyce: “Has there been talk about lightening the load a little bit during the regular season based on the load that he’s taken on over the last five, six, seven years?”
Rothschild: “Yeah, Joe and I talked about it even going back to last year. This year we talked about it even more. Not only lightening the load but the pitch total during the game because he’s a guy that almost thrives on working the pitch totals and when he doesn’t have them it has an effect leading into the next start. Unlike a lot of guys where if they get a little more rest they’re more effective, he works more and throws more pitches he seems to get on rolls a lot quicker. And what happened, I think, part of this year is he didn’t do it. We didn’t let him get to that point. And then with the groin at one point and the elbow at the other we just never got to that point until towards the end and then he got on another roll when he did throw the pitches. So it’s kind of a Catch-22 with him. We do have to watch it and we’re going to probably have to watch a few guys on this staff. We’re aware of it and back off. When he had a chance to pitch with extra rest we did that. In the past he would pitch on the fifth day almost all the time.”
On Hiroki Kuroda:
Host/Jim Duquette: “Do you think there’s a high percentage chance he comes back to you guys?”
Rothschild: “I think there’s a high percentage chance that if he plays in the States he plays with the Yankees. I think he enjoyed the experience. I think his decision, to some degree, is going to be: Is this the year for him to go back to Japan? He feels like he has a debt to the team in Japan that he played for, that he would like to pitch, I think, another year for them before he retires. Whenever that comes about I think when he thinks he’s ready to do that that’s what he’s going to do. And if he’s not then I think we have a good chance to re-sign him and he’ll play for us or, you know, possibly the Dodgers. I don’t know. But I know he enjoyed New York and I think if he’s going to play in the States we’re going to have a pretty good shot at bringing him back.”
On Andy Pettitte:
Duquette: “Do you think he wants to come back to the Yanks?”
Rothschild: “Yeah, I do. But I think it’s a decision that when you get home, at the end of the year I would have told you, ‘Yes, absolutely.’ And now I think he still will but, you know, you just don’t know at this time of year. I think it is his decision again and he’ll sit down with the family and I think the family is pretty much on board with it so, yeah, I think the fires are still there. It was a freak thing, getting hit with the ball and the fracture of the bone this year. Can he hold up for 36 starts? I’m more comfortable thinking a little bit less than that. … I think effectively, if we’re smart about it, he’s going to be more effective with a few less starts than trying to push it through to 32 or 35, whatever it might be, and keep him fresher as long as we can.”
Report: Dodgers asked about CC, Teixeira
Before the Dodgers pulled the trigger on their big trade with the Red Sox last week, they asked the Yankees about the possibility of trading for CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
The Yankees told Dodgers executives that they had no interest in trading either player, according to the report. Sherman also noted that there were no signs that the Dodgers had any interest in acquiring Alex Rodriguez.
Los Angeles instead added first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, pitcher Josh Beckett, outfielder Carl Crawford and infielder Nick Punto in a blockbuster, salary-dump with the Red Sox, agreeing to take on $260 million in future salary.
CC: I’m pitching Friday
CC Sabathia threw about 20 pitches in a bullpen session this afternoon at Yankee Stadium and declared himself ready to pitch on Friday against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.
“I felt good. I’ll throw a bullpen again on Tuesday and the plan is to be ready to go on Friday,” Sabathia said.
Sabathia said he felt no discomfort in his left elbow and, though he probably wouldn’t have mentioned the injury on his own, says that he believes it was the right decision to go on the disabled list for some time to heal.
“Looking back on it now, yeah,” he said. “It’s the same thing as with the groin. I probably wouldn’t have said anything, but I woke up that morning and couldn’t move my arm or touch my shoulder. I had to come in, but looking back, I pleaded my case to not go on the DL. After throwing today and the past couple of days, the way I felt, it seemed like that was the best way to go.”
CC: Cano will repeat in Home Run Derby “easily”
CC Sabathia has placed his bet for tonight’s State Farm Home Run Derby on Yankees teammate Robinson Cano:
“He’s going to win, for sure. You’ve seen him hit; you’ve seen him take BP. It’s so easy. It’s not a max-effort swing. His swing is so consistent and he doesn’t have to try. I think he’ll win easily.”
Cap’n Crunch-free CC rolls the clock back
CC Sabathia is back in his Spring Training 2011 shape, reporting at a more svelte 290 lbs. or so, a very similar look to where he was when he came in 12 months ago. Now, the key for Sabathia is staying there, something the Yankees have talked to him about.
“It’s just making sure I stay healthy and be able to keep it off,” said Sabathia, who lost about 10 to 15 pounds this winter. “It’s important to me to make sure I get in a good routine and keep it. I’ve got a lot of help here, so it shouldn’t be hard.”
Yankees GM Brian Cashman said that he called Sabathia to Yankee Stadium over the winter to relay the importance of keeping his physique in check, a meeting attended by manager Joe Girardi and head athletic trainer Steve Donohue.
“CC is one of our hardest workers, he really is,” Cashman said. “He’s obviously a big man and he’s pitched with weight his whole career. Some people do that. But obviously over time you have to be careful and watch your diet. That was the focal point of our conversation.”
Sabathia also said that watching A.J. Burnett head off to the Pirates is a difficult situation for him personally. Their families grew close as they were linked coming to New York at the same time; even having their Yankee Stadium press conference on the same day.
“We came into this thing together, and it’s just tough to see him go,” Sabathia said. “But I think it’s the best for him, and we just move on. It’s part of the game, he’s been around a long time, and I think he understands. … A change of scenery, sometimes that does well for guys, and hopefully that can do well for him.”
Bryan Hoch
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