Results tagged ‘ CC Sabathia ’
A rough day at the office for Sabathia
CC Sabathia was four batters into his afternoon and he was already staring off into the right-field bleachers at George M. Steinbrenner Field, where Garrett Jones’ three-run homer was making landfall against the steel and concrete seating area.
The left-handed ace’s second spring start didn’t go as well as he might have hoped, serving up five runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out two. It served as a reminder that there is still plenty left to work on here in the Grapefruit League.
“It was tough. Terrible,” Sabathia said. “My location was bad. I collapsed my back side and everything was up. I’ll keep working to keep the ball down and get my secondary pitches where they need to be.”
The Yankees’ probable Opening Day starter, Sabathia said that he felt strong, which is the point at this time. But it was impossible to forget that he had a similar start last spring against the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla., where he served up five runs in 1 2/3 innings, including a long Gary Sheffield home run that clanged off of a light post.
“It was the same kind of deal,” Sabathia said. “The ball was up and my secondary pitches were not there. … I guess it’s going to take a while. It’s pretty easy to hit when it’s like that.”
When Sabathia returned to the dugout, pitching coach Dave Eiland told him that he was collapsing his motion, but Sabathia said that he wants to be at the point where he can sense that himself on the mound.
“I always say results don’t matter, until you get out there and give up eight runs in two innings to the Pirates,” Sabathia said. “I’ll try to be better next time.”
Reminded that it was only five runs, Sabathia responded, “It should have been eight.”
- Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes will get three innings and 50 pitches each tomorrow against the Tigers in Lakeland, a lineup that should in all likelihood include former Yankee Johnny Damon.
CC says his delivery was “so-so”
CC Sabathia wasn’t thrilled with his first spring start, pitching two innings against the Phillies this afternoon at Bright House Field. Sabathia allowed two hits and walked two in a pair of scoreless frames.
“My delivery was so-so,” he said. “I had a couple of times when I fell off the mound. I wasn’t heading to the plate. That’s why you saw changeups in the batters box. That’ll be something I work on in my bullpens coming up and try to keep it going and get it a lot better heading to the start of the season.”
Sabathia said that he did get a couple of check-swings from the Phillies on his two-seamers, a good sign. For March 4, that’s enough.
“As long as my arm feels good and I’m heading in the right direction,” Sabathia said. “My delivery was OK. I’m happy. Results don’t start to matter until April 4.”
As for facing Roy Halladay, Sabathia said that he didn’t watch. There were too many Yankees standing against the railing for him to get a good view, so he didn’t bother.
“Like I always say, I’m facing the lineup,” Sabathia said. “If I was facing him, then I’d probably pay more attention.”
You might get the impression from those quotes that things are a little bit, shall we say, on cruise control? So someone asked CC if winning the World Series took some of the urgency out of his spring workload.
“Not at all. I want that feeling again,” he said. “That’s what you play for. It was unbelievable. It makes you hungry for more championships. I can see how Jeter and Posada and Mo and Andy are still working the way they do to win, because it’s a great feeling.”
- Joba Chamberlain is ready to go on Friday vs. the Rays. He’ll pitch after Phil Hughes.
- The Yankees might give Nick Johnson one more day off “just to make sure he’s not irritated,” Joe Girardi said.
CC, Chan Ho, and the day in camp
Some photos from the workout on Feb. 28, a day when CC Sabathia threw batting practice to the Yankees for the only time this spring and Chan Ho Park arrived in camp, speaking optimistically about wanting a World Series ring:
Sabathia up for Sportsman of the Year
He may not win the Cy Young (then again, he may — the BBWAA will announce the award today at 2 p.m.), but CC Sabathia is nonetheless generating buzz.
Sabathia is one of 30 nominees for Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year award, given annually to the individual or team with the greatest impact on the sporting world at large. To give you a sense of the award, here are the last five winners:
2008: Michael Phelps (swimming)
2007: Brett Favre (NFL)
2006: Dwyane Wade (NBA)
2005: Tom Brady (NFL)
2004: Boston Red Sox (MLB)
The nomination, which you can read here, harps on Sabathia’s much-publicized influence within the clubhouse, as much as his performance on the field. It may be tough for Sabathia to beat out the likes of Manny Pacquiao (boxing) or Tim Tebow (college football) for this year’s award, but hey — you never know. Sports Illustrated gives out the hardware every Dec. 1.
Speaking of hardware, Bryan is off trying to win MVP awards at fantasy camp down in Tampa. I’ll be filling in with Yanks news this week, so give me a Twitter follow at @anthonydicomo. Really. You won’t regret it.
–Anthony DiComo
Yankees feeling better about A.J.
After a rough August when he went 0-4 with a 6.03 ERA, A.J. Burnett has now cobbled together three consecutive solid outings to give the Yankees some peace of mind as far as the postseason arrives.
Before Juan Miranda played the hero in the ninth inning and Kyle Farnsworth assumed the role of goat, Burnett gave the Yankees 6 1/3 innings of three-hit ball in mowing down the Royals, striking out eight but walking three and needing 108 pitches to get that far.
Joe Girardi lifted Burnett in the seventh, as much because of the pitch count as a precaution for the American League Division Series.
Burnett is definitely going to be one of the starters in the ALDS, no matter if they play the Tigers or Twins, though it will be interesting to see how they will decide to arrange him after a long meeting Tuesday to discuss the roster. This weekend could provide a hint, as the Yankees have lined up CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Burnett to pitch against the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.
With Games 1 and 2 in the Bronx, the home-road splits — which Girardi said they would consider — seem to lean toward the idea of pitching Burnett in Game 2. Burnett is 5-3 with a 3.65 ERA at Yankee Stadium and 7-6 with a 4.73 ERA on the road. Pettitte is 6-4 with a 4.59 ERA at Yankee Stadium and 8-3 with a 3.59 ERA on the road.
Then consider that in, three career starts at Comerica Park, Burnett is 2-1 with a very disturbing 9.42 ERA. At the Metrodome, he is 2-1 with a much more palatable 3.91 ERA. Pettitte is 2-3 with a 4.65 ERA at Comerica Park, and 5-4 with a 3.62 ERA at the Metrodome.
Meet CC, Melky & Hairston at the Great Hall
Continuing their season-long fan outreach initiative, the Yankees will be having CC Sabathia, Melky Cabrera and Jerry Hairston, Jr. meeting and greeting this afternoon at the Great Hall entrance beginning at 4 p.m. ET.
The Yankees do this once per homestand and the lines always begin to fill up pretty early. The players are happy to pose for photos and, in most cases, sign autographs when asked.
If you’re planning on trying to meet the players, be sure to get to Yankee Stadium early.
A rotation change in the works?
There has been no official announcement yet, but there are indications that Joe Girardi is thinking about shuffling the deck in his pitching rotation and having Joba Chamberlain pitch this weekend after all.
CC Sabathia’s eight innings last night helped give the bullpen a night off and decrease the importance of having both Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin start games in this series.
Girardi is going to meet with the media at 6:30 p.m. ET and we should have word on a decision – if any – shortly after that.
Closing up at Steinbrenner Field
Final score, Twins 7, Yankees 3. Some short notes for you:
– Alex Rodriguez isn’t talking like a guy who plans to meet with MLB investigators on Sunday. His name remains on the travel roster for the game against the Reds in Sarasota and he said he plans to be on the 9 a.m. bus. We’ll see. Seems likely that A-Rod could be a last-second scratch from that sheet.
– Don’t fret just yet over Joba Chamberlain’s rough inning here today. He was throwing all four-seam fastballs, and when you fire a 2-0 heater down the pipe to Delmon Young, an RBI double is a predictable result. Joba said he threw two changeups and one slider in the whole frame. For Feb. 28, he did enough. Next up for him: Team Canada on March 5.
– CC Sabathia will throw a simulated game tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. I’ll hang back and give it a look – Joe Girardi said he would as well. The Yankees are trying to limit Sabathia’s innings in the spring whenever possible because, you know, he’s thrown a ton.
– Jorge Posada will throw on Monday, Girardi said, and could resume DHing soon after that. I know the panic button needs to be pushed with every Yankees injury, especially a player as significant as Posada. But Posada himself did not seem too worried at all about this, and he’s never been exactly the world’s best actor in masking his true feelings. Brian Cashman told me that they had to have a 4-on-1 discussion just to talk Posada out of playing today.
– Hideki Matsui is running on dirt and anxiously awaiting Gene Monahan’s signal to turn him loose. Matsui needs to just be able to make the turns on the bases without soreness and could be cleared to DH late next week. Girardi said he had to corral Matsui and get him out of the outfield today. (On an unrelated note, I think I may have cut Matsui off today on Boy Scout Boulevard. Oops.)
CC is on track
Today is defense day here at Steinbrenner Field, as the Yankees are lined up in the outfield hitting cutoff men at the big ballpark while the infielders roam the back fields. Somebody forgot to pay the heating bill, also — it’s only in the 50s here, with light jackets a requirement for attendance at the park.
Didn’t get a chance to address this much yesterday, but CC Sabathia is lining up as the Yankees’ Opening Day starter — in a development that should really surprise no one. Joe Girardi hasn’t officially committed, but he’s giving every indication that the thought is on the right track.
Sabathia will start the March 6 game vs. Detroit, beginning the ‘real’ rotation, while the Yankees will piece together starters for the games that kick off Feb. 25 at Dunedin — just five quick days away.
Pettitte running out of time?
The Yankees have not pulled their offer to Andy Pettitte, though it appears the club may be preparing to complete the roster without their veteran left-hander. In the time since the Yankees offered Pettitte one year at $10 million, the club has been able to get CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira to sign on the dotted line.
But still nothing from Pettitte, who could be the odd man out as they look to complete the rotation. The New York Post reports that it is now “doubtful” the Yankees will sign Pettitte, and Newsday reports the club is happy with their team as is.
“Right now it’s doubtful on Pettitte, given where we are financially
with this stuff,” a Yankees official told the Post. “But things change,
especially here, if Hank and Hal [Steinbrenner] decide to do something.”
Pettitte wants to pitch for the Yankees, and the Yankees still would like him back – just not at $16 million. It still makes enough sense that it could happen, but reading comments like these should be a jolt to Pettitte that the Yankees are ready to move on.
Bryan Hoch
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