TAMPA – CC Sabathia arrived to the Yankee clubhouse Monday carrying a carton of almond milk, yet another symbol — as if his more streamlined body were not enough — that he is walking the lighter walk.
For the record, he likes the almond milk in his smoothies and he loves toting around less weight. One repeated storyline of this early camp is Sabathia believes he dropped too much weight too quickly last offseason, which combined with limited ability to prep his arm properly following elbow surgery led to weakness of body and arm, a diminished fastball and his worst season.
This year, he believes less is more. Not only is he slimmer, but his body and arm have now been built up. He anticipates a few mph to return and a few digits on his 2013 ERA of 4.78 to decrease.
But after a bit of an exchange on the almond milk, I asked Sabathia: What if it doesn’t? Or, more to the point, with all the problems last year, Sabathia still averaged 91.1 mph on his fastball, about the same as fellow lefties Cole Hamels, C.J. Wilson and Madison Bumgarner. Shouldn’t a lefty throwing in the low 90s who has Sabathia’s other attributes — athleticism, competitiveness, good control and strong secondary stuff, notably a cutter and changeup — still be a really good pitcher?
Sabathia’s answer: “Absolutely. Of course. Wasn’t Andy Pettitte successful?”
Sabathia mentioned how much he depended on Pettitte for wisdom and friendship, and how much he is going to miss the retired lefty. But Sabathia also pointed out that with location and a variety of weapons, he should win, just like Pettitte did right to the end with a fastball that didn’t average above 90 mph for most of his career.
“You have to be smarter, but this is my 14th year, so I have a good idea what gets hitters out,” Sabathia said. “I do have other pitches. I watched Andy do his thing for a number of years. I am not really concerned. I am healthy and ready to go.”
Sabathia insists, “I was not stubborn last year.” He did not try, in other words, to reach back and get fastballs from a bygone day. He conceded knowing in many starts last year that he just did not have a good fastball, certainly not the one that has distinguished his brilliant career.
His fastball, after all, was once among the most devastating of weapons. Fangraphs began tracking velocities in 2002, Sabathia’s second season, and among lefties who qualified for the ERA title, only Randy Johnson averaged more than Sabathia’s 92.3. Then, from 2003 though his first Yankee season in 2009, Sabathia led every southpaw in average velocity, peaking at 94.7 in 2005, but still humming at 94.2 in ’09. He was third in 2010 and 2011, eighth in 2012 and tied for 12th among lefties last year — 3 mph short of his Yankee debut.
But here is what might have been lost in that previous paragraph: Sabathia has qualified for the ERA title every year since his 2001 debut. You can play the when-men-were-men game and they pitched in four-man rotations and through injuries, but know this: Sabathia’s 2,775 1/3 innings are the 32nd most ever through an age-32 season. Since the advent of the DH in 1973, only Greg Maddux (2,849 1/3) had thrown more innings through age 32 and Maddux spent his entire career in the NL, whereas Sabathia has been in the AL for his entire career, but for a Brewers pit stop in 2008. You can also add another half-season of work (107 1/3 innings) in the postseason — and, of course, those are innings thrown under the most duress when the arm is most broken down.
Still, with all he didn’t have, Sabathia still logged 211 innings last year, emblematic of his sense of responsibility, accountability and fortitude. He essentially blames himself for the Yankees missing the playoffs in 2013. It all accentuates why the respect and admiration for him on this team is so strong, why he is such a vital transitional player with Pettitte and Mariano Rivera gone and Derek Jeter on his way out.
Of course, it is easier to lead with success, and Sabathia says he feels 2012 vitality in his arm, renewed vigor in his whole body. He believes he can win at any speed, but expects more of it to return this year.
When it comes to what he expects, CC Sabathia is no lightweight.
Rothschild’s new strike-zone drill
In bullpen sessions this year, pitching coach Larry Rothschild has introduced a technique he used in previous locales, but not with the Yankees — he has a yellow string that crosses the bottom of the strike zone and he actually is encouraging his pupils to hit the string.
Rothschild said he does not believe most pitchers have a good idea of just how low down they could go and get a strike, and this provides a visualization. He added it also helps with the fundamental of finishing pitches with the right mechanics — full-extension follow-through — necessary to drive the ball to the lower part of the strike zone consistently.
Sleeper candidate for Yankees bullpen
Joe Girardi admits he is going to be doing a lot of experimenting to try to determine the best way to assemble his pen. He said besides David Robertson closing and Matt Thornton as his main lefty specialist, few other items are established. Shawn Kelley likely will pitch late in games, and both David Phelps and Adam Warren could make the pen if Michael Pineda wins the battle for the No. 5 spot.
But if you are looking for an intriguing candidate who could emerge, watch for 24-year-old righty Jose Ramirez, who was 2-6 with a 3.67 ERA between Double- and Triple-A last season in 17 games, 16 of which were starts. The Yankees still think he has a major league future in a rotation, though a few outside executives project his future is in the pen.
The Yanks believe to pitch late in games you have to have a swing-and-miss pitch, and Ramirez’s changeup could qualify to go along with a strong fastball. The Yanks are going to at least keep an open mind about whether Ramirez could be of use in the pen this year.
Why Braves are hesitant about Simmons
When February began, the only Brave locked up for 2017 — when the team will be entering a new stadium — was B.J. Upton, who will on the final season of what now looks like a poor-judgment five-year, $75 million deal.
But in the past two weeks, Atlanta has done long-term deals with the homegrown Freddie Freeman, Julio Teheran and Craig Kimbrel. The Braves front office has some regrets about not being more aggressive last year when the prices might have been even lower. Armed with that and the promise of more dollars coming with the new stadium, the Braves have gotten aggressive about trying to lock up core pieces.
So far, though, they have been frustrated in attempts to work a long-term accord with Andrelton Simmons. The shortstop is 24, might be the best defender at any position in the game and hit 17 homers in his first full season last year. However, he hit just .248 with a .296 on-base percentage, and the Braves believe big money is reserved for high-end offense, not defense. For now, anyway, Simmons is a guy who will hit neither at the top nor the middle of a lineup.
Simmons, for now, is a younger, better defensive version of Baltimore’s J.J. Hardy, who in his three Orioles seasons has won two Gold Gloves, hit 77 homers, but batted just .256 with a .298 on-base percentage. That is who Hardy is. But Simmons still can grow into much more if he can get his on-base percentage up, and last year was just a hint of the power to come. Which is why his agents do not want to undersell him.
In addition, Simmons will finish next year right on the borderline of being Super Two eligible, so he either will be arbitration-eligible for the first time or just miss and be subject to one more contract near the minimum wage. That also is impacting just what to pay the shortstop on a long-term deal.