TAKE IT QUEASY: CC Sabathia was not hitting the high notes on the radar gun last night, and the Rays made him pay with a 5-1 victory over the Yankees last night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Here’s the count on CC Sabathia:
Three winning starts.
Two losing starts.
One missing heater.
Add them up and you get, to steal a “Seinfeld” line, a pretty big matzo ball hanging out there.
Sabathia’s substandard velocity, a curiosity that could be excused in his three prior outings, again became a primary item of conversation last night, as the Yankees and their ace suffered a 5-1 loss to the dangerous Rays at Tropicana Field. The big lefty gave up a season-worst five-runs, including a season-worst three home runs, as the Yankees fell to 10-8 on the season. Four of the runs came in the first inning, putting the game out of reach as the Yankees’ bats could do little against Tampa Bay’s dynamite southpaw Matt Moore.
“I feel fine,” said Sabathia, whose ERA rose from 2.57 to 3.34. “I just need to pitch better. Bottom line.”
“In the past, when I used to catch him, he was throwing 95, but if he misses, he’d get hit,” Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli said. “It’s the same. You’ve just got to hit the corners and make the hitters uncomfortable.”
This isn’t personal. Sabathia is among the toughest, most intelligent pitchers in the game. There’s reason to think he can work through life at about 90 mph. After all, he won his three prior starts throwing at this velocity. Even last night, he hung around through the seventh inning, sparing the Yankees’ bullpen, and put up eight strikeouts against two walks.
Nevertheless, we’re discussing a very simple premise: The harder you throw, especially with the command Sabathia routinely possesses, the more room for error you create. And when you throw a four-seam fastball at 89 mph, as Sabathia did to Yunel Escobar in the first inning and again to Ryan Roberts in the third inning, the ball has a better chance of leaving the yard, as it did in both of these instances. Roberts also took Sabathia deep in the first on an 0-and-2 hanging slider.
I just wasn’t aggressive from the start,” Sabathia said. “I was telling myself, ‘Just be nice and easy.’ I think that took some of my aggressiveness away. Coming after guys, not letting the ball go.”
That odd approach stemmed from mechanical issues, Sabathia said — his front shoulder was flying open, a common pitcher’s malady — and after the third, he threw a handful of fastballs that registered 92 mph on MLB.com’s radar gun while shutting out the Rays. According to Brooks Baseball’s Pitch FX Tool, Sabathia’s four-seamer averaged 91.14 mph, his highest reading of the season. Last year, he averaged 93.04 mph.
“I think it’s going to go up some,” manager Joe Girardi said.
It very well might; it historically has for Sabathia, although it understandably didn’t go up as much last year as he battled left elbow difficulties. Those difficulties led to offseason surgery, which has further intensified the scrutiny of Sabathia.
The 32-year-old, in the spirit of his currently absent teammate Derek Jeter, has never cared for such scrutiny. He told us he was fine late last year, even as it grew obvious that something was wrong.
“It felt good,” said Sabathia, who has a career 4.07 ERA in 15 starts at the Trop. “I had no problems. Next start, I’ll just try to be more aggressive, let the ball go.”
The Yankees will gladly accept this 3.34 ERA for the entirety of the season. Right now, though, with Jeter and three other regulars on the disabled list — and Kevin Youkilis out last night with an achy back — the team has less room for error.
They’ve handled the adversity quite well so far, with newcomers like Youkilis, Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner quickly blending in and Robinson Cano stepping up as the team hoped. Yet the American League East is so competitive, with the first-place Red Sox prevailing again last night and the pitching-rich Rays owning a four-game winning streak, the Yankees’ encouraging start could quickly dissipate into panic and despair.
His history and his character make you think Sabathia will get through this. If you’re a Yankees fan, though, your spirits will pick up in correlation with your main guy’s velocity.