A tweet from a Yankees beat last night mentioned how good CC Sabathia has been against the Orioles this season. And how bad he’s been against everyone else.
The 6-foot-7, 290-pounder is 4-0 with a 2.73 ERA against Baltimore and 2-3 with a 4.69 ERA against everyone else. That looks really bad, considering the Orioles are the worst team in baseball. Should we be worried about the ace? I don’t think so. He has plenty of excuses.
- He’s had a tough schedule. Three starts against Boston, and one vs. the Rays, Tigers and Mets. That leaves three starts against mediocre teams. It’s still early, people.
- It’s been raining. I don’t have the numbers, but it has rained for many of Sabathia’s starts. Rain is no fun to pitch in. CC’s from California; he likes hot weather.
- Eight of his 13 starts have come on the road. He’s still perfect at home, folks (3-0, 2.91), it’s just the road starts that have killed him.
Some counterpoints…
- He needs to lose weight. Sure, he’s overweight, but he has been his entire career and he’s done just fine.
- He’s making $23 million. Yeah, he’s overpaid, but everything’s expensive in New York (so I’ve learned).
- He needs to get his mechanics right. This I have no counter for. The Yankees have said that was hurting him earlier this year, I haven’t seen problems at all. If this is his problem, Dave Eiland needs to come back (when he’s done taking care of whatever he’s taking care of) and get him right.
