BRADENTON, Fla. — The last time CC Sabathia worked a regular-season game, on Sept. 20, no one knew it would be his final assignment of the 2013 season due to a left hamstring injury.
The next time the Yankees ace is on the mound when it counts — Tuesday night in Houston — they need it to be the first of many solid outings for the team to contend in the stocked AL East.
Every pitcher has a question mark attached to him because of the fragile nature of the position and Sabathia is no different. A year after having a bone spur removed from his left elbow, Sabathia, deleting pounds and learning how to pitch without a mid-90s fastball, went 14-13 with a hefty 4.78 ERA.
This year, his elbow is fine, his body has been toned and the questions buzzing about his 6-foot-7 body aren’t as big as those belonging to the other Yankees starters.
Sabathia had no trouble blaming himself for the Yankees failing to reach the postseason a year ago. If he is good, they have a chance this season. If not, they are in trouble.
“Every year is different, and I will never forget how bad I pitched last year,’’ the 33-year-old said after throwing four scoreless innings against the Pirates at McKechnie Field on Thursday in his final spring outing, a 4-2 victory. “I put it in my memory bank to make sure I don’t get caught up in some of the things I did last year. Keep going forward, using all my pitches and having a good mix.’’
Joe Girardi and Sabathia have put the declining velocity issue to bed even if outsiders can’t let go of a pitcher throwing in the mid-80s when the speed gun regularly used to spit out 95 mph.
Thursday, Sabathia’s fastball hovered between 86 mph and 88 mph. If that’s where it sits all season, Sabathia is confident he can win because he believes the changeup that never arrived last season is back to baffle hitters. And it’s not as if Sabathia has gone from Nolan Ryan to Jamie Moyer.
“I don’t think I threw it enough to overthrow [it],’’ Sabathia said of the changeup, a staple of his big league success. “I kind of lost it, I didn’t have a feel for it. I can’t tell you about last year’s changeup because I really didn’t have one.’’
During offseason workouts, Sabathia noticed the changeup reappeared and wasn’t cutting on its own like a year ago. In five exhibition starts, he has been very pleased with the action on the change. And with the help of Andy Pettitte, Sabathia has added a cutter. He estimated he threw five to 10 Thursday.
Often when a pitcher loses the ability to blow hitters away with four-seam fastballs, he attempts to nibble at the corners because he fears getting hit. That approach is often disastrous and one Sabathia said he will avoid.
“I don’t think it’s going to change the way I go at hitters,” Sabathia said. “I will still attack the strike zone and try to get swings early in the count.”
Sabathia will make his 11th career Opening Day start and sixth with the Yankees after going 3-1 with a 1.29 ERA in five exhibition starts in which he worked 21 innings, allowed 13 hits, walked three and fanned 16.
“I am transitioning to an older pitcher, I guess,” he said. “It is what it is. The stuff I got I will go out there and compete with.”
Sabathia underestimated what shedding 30 pounds would do to his body last year and how it would sap his strength. With the weight still off this past offseason Sabathia worked on strengthening his body. That presumably included his broad back, because he is going to be asked to carry the Yankees’ postseason hopes on it.