Suffering another loss, C.C Sabathia once again fails to bounce back from arguably his worst consecutive three starts in his career.
Here’s how he performed in those last 3 games:
- 22 Runs (Earned + UnEarned)
- 26 hits
- Only 14 Innings pitched
Anyone who follows the Yankees can agree that it has been a roller coaster season and seemingly unpredictable. In the upcoming month, Jeter, Granderson, Youk, and A-Rod should all be back in starting lineup depending on if their rehabs go as planned. That should solve the problem the Yankees faced the most this season, which has been the capability to score runs. On the other hand, the Yankees and Sabathia himself need to work on another problem; Getting CC back to CC. The body language given off by the lefty has been clearly discouragement, frustration, and disappointment so obviously he is concerned about his pitching. But, without any diagnosed injuries or any discomfort for CC, there’s no excuse, but a pitching slump.
The questions that should be put in consideration are:
- How long will his “slump” last?
- Is it a “slump,” or a flaw in his mechanics?
- Should Cashman shop for more pitching before the trade deadline?
In my opinion:
- He’s in a slump ( It happens to everyone)
- His mechanics are fine, his confidence level has dropped, and he should be scratched from his next start to clear his head and really work hard on his location and velocity of his fastball.
- Before the pitching problem gets any worse, Cashman needs to plan ahead before it’s too late and the trade deadline passes. The Phillies are listening to offers for starting pitcher Cliff Lee so NOW is the time for the Yankees to take the initiating action. Although Kuroda has been lights out lately, this would be a perfect time to add to the questionable 5-man pitching rotation and create more depth behind CC, Kuroda, and Pettitte.
Here’s something to remember: Like George Steinbrenner use to say, “There’s no such thing as too much pitching.”