Worry About CC Sabathia?
April 17, 2008 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Stats and Analysis
CC Sabathia, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, is off to an absolutely dreadful start to the season. On Wednesday, he allowed nine earned runs for the second consecutive start. His ERA now sits at 13.50.
Last season, Sabathia was lights out. He was 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA as he dominated in his best season to date. He was particularly dominant after the All-Star Game, posting a 2.76 ERA in 15 starts.
Is it time to worry about Sabathia?
Well, first before we worry, we should try to figure out what is wrong with him. The first thing everyone thinks of is his contract situation. Sabathia can become a free agent at the end of the season. If he has a good season, Sabathia can become a very, very rich man. Is the pressure getting to him? It’s certainly possible.
Another possibility could be wear and tear. Last season, Sabathia pitched a baseball high of 241 innings, plus 15 more in the postseason. That’s a whole lot of innings, especially for someone who had pitched more than 200 innings only once in his career. Could the extra innings be the cause of his problems?
Again, it’s possible. In 2006, Bronson Arroyo led the majors in innings pitched and had an off season last year. Livan Hernandez led the majors in innings pitched in 2005 and played worse in 2006. In 2004, Randy Johnson pitched 245 innings and struggled the next season. While obviously this is a small sample size to look at, Sabathia carrying the load last season may be catching up to him this year.
So, should we worry about Sabathia? If it’s contract related, that’s something he should be able to get over once he relaxes (or signs an extension). However, if it’s wear and tear, this could very well be an off year for Cleveland’s ace. Not 13.50 ERA bad, however.
His next couple starts will be key. If Sabathia can’t show signs of turning it around, the Indians should consider putting him on the DL while they delve more into this issue.
Image details: Cleveland Indians Media Day served by picapp.com
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Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] CC Sabathia was struggling earlier in the season, but he has turned it around. He started the streak and he’s the one who pushed it to 43 1/3 on Wednesday. After starting the season off horribly, CC Sabathia now has a 5.47 ERA and has only allowed one run in his last 16 innings. [...]
[...] Sabathia struggled mightily to begin his 2008 campaign but has bounced back nicely. After posting a 7.76 ERA in April, Sabathia had a 2.44 ERA in May and so far in June has a 2.74 ERA. Sabathia, who won the Cy Young Award last year in the AL, seems to be back on top of his game. [...]