MLB

Yankees’ Sabathia admits he has work to do

CC Sabathia still considers himself the ace of the Yankee staff even after his performance last season, a year he admitted was terrible.

Through his first five starts of 2014, the lefty has resembled the pitcher he was a year ago more than he has the guy who won 60 games in his first three years in pinstripes.

So while the jury is still out as to just what Sabathia is, the 33-year-old is encouraged by what he’s been able to do lately.

“I feel like I’m getting there,” Sabathia said. “I’m still not where I want to be, but I’m pretty happy with how I’ve felt and how I’ve pitched the last couple of times out.”

After giving up at least four runs in each of his first three starts, Sabathia has been solid in his last two, giving up just one earned run to Tampa Bay in a 10-2 win and following that with a six-inning, two-run showing at Fenway Park last week.

He’ll get a chance to make it three straight Tuesday night when he faces the Mariners.

Sabathia has been particularly dominant against the Mariners at home, going 8-0 with a 1.36 ERA in his last nine starts. This time, though, he’ll be facing his ex-teammate, Robinson Cano.

His ERA of 4.78 matches what he had last year, although he does have some numbers that give the Yankees cause for hope.

After seeing his strikeouts per nine innings dip to a career-low 7.5 in 2013, Sabathia has improved that to 9.8, which is higher than any rate he’s had over the course of an entire season.

The transition from pitching with a mid-90s fastball to topping out at 89-90 mph is ongoing.

As for the ace title, Masahiro Tanaka has shown he might be up to the task in his brief tenure with the Yankees. He is 3-0 with a 2.27 ERA in five starts.


The Yankees will honor legendary broadcaster Bob Wolff before Wednesday’s game. Woolf is in The Guinness Book of World Records as having “The Longest Career as a Broadcaster.”