What’s Up With CC?

There’s struggling, there’s slow starts, and there’s a complete fall from grace.  CC Sabathia has not only fallen, every bat in the clubhouse has hit him on his way down.  No other Cy Young winner has gotten off to a worst start.  Also, no other Cy Young winner has been so disrespected and underappreciated by his club.  How did this happen?  Has his contract situation gotten to him, is it the increased workload, or are his mechanics just screwed up?  There’s no way to know, but one thing is for sure, his situation has gotten ugly.  Real ugly.

It’s so bad, in fact, that some people have gone so far as to say that he is throwing games to get back at the organization for giving Fausto Carmona a contract extension and not him.  It would be preposterous to suggest such a thing if we were talking about a lesser pitcher, but his struggles are so perplexing that people are grasping at straws to find an explanation.  I refuse to even consider this scenario, but in a way, it puts everything into perspective.

First and foremost, it’s become obvious that CC is frusterated with his current situation in Cleveland.  Most organizations would be rolling out the red carpet to keep such a talent in town, yet, for some reason, the Indians have made minimal effort to try and retain him with free agency looming at the end of the season.  His price tag is likely way out of their league but, from the outside looking in, it appears as though they have already decided to show him the door when the season is over.

There’s no other way to interpret it, and Sabathia is likely well aware that this is his farewell tour.  Giving Carmona an extension was a wise move on General Manager Mark Shapiro’s part, but his timing couldn’t have been worst.  It just seems odd considering that he set a February 15^th deadline for extending Sabathia’s contract, yet he had no problem negotiating with Carmona during the season.  Why is it okay for one, and not the other?  Granted, Sabathia stated that he didn’t want to negotiate after the season started, but after Shapiro announced that he would be open to a deal involving the defending Cy Young winer, you have to imagine that he isn’t too happy right now.

“We don’t have a lot of excess in starting pitching, but if it’s a deal of impact, yes, I’d think about it,” said Shapiro. “I can’t see a scenario where we’d give up more than one. Beyond our first seven, I’m not sure who that next guy would be. I hope it’s Adam Miller or Chuck Lofgren, but I just don’t know right now.”

I could understand all this if we were talking about Paul Byrd, but we’re not.  Sabathia is the first Cy Young winner this city has had since Gaylord Perry won the award in 1972. He deserves better than this, outside of LeBron James, CC is the face of this city.  He deserves better than this.

 Regardless, this alone wouldn’t be enough to cause to struggle like he has.

My natural inclination is to say that it’s early in the season and that it’s a little premature to start worrying, but after looking at his numbers it’s clear that there is something seriously wrong here.  Hitters are teeing off to this guy to the tune of .390/.475/.695, and through his first 18 innings he’s already given up more earned runs (27 to 12), home runs (5 to 4), and walks (14 to 8), along with just five less hits (32), than he did in all of April last season. 

So what happened?  Could it be all the innings he pitched last season?  In 2006 Sabathia appeared in 192 innings.  The general rule of thumb is to never allow a pitcher to increase his workload by more than 30 innings. Last season Sabathia exceeded that total twice. It was only the second time in his career, and the first time in four seasons, that he went over the 200 inning barrier.  If you count the postseason, he appeared in 256.1 innings, so it’s safe to assume that his body wasn’t prepared for the increased workload, and he could still be recovering from all the wear and terror.

Considering that he’s in a contract year, it’s a little – well - insane, to suggest that he is throwing games to send a message to the front office.  In such a scenario he’d only be hurting himself.   If he wants to stay in Cleveland he doesn’t have to literally lower his stock, all he’d have to do is sing on the dotted line for a discount, not serve up gopher balls.

This isn’t new though, his struggles started last October.  He got shelled by Boston in the ALCS, posting a 10.50 ERA, and never lasted more than 6 innings in both of his starts.  He’s never gotten back on track.

He’s still throwing the ball 96 mph as he has throughout his career, but something is wrong.  His control has gone out the window and it seems that he’s lost the ability to strike hitters out.  One scout recently told The Sporting News that he believes that Sabathia is tipping his pitches.  It’s impossible to know, but Sabathia is quick to dismiss such a suggestion.

“It’s not mechanical,” Sabathia told reporters. “My velocity is fine. I just can’t command both sides of the plate.”

He’ll bounce back, he’s 27 years old and is entering the prime of his career.  It’s just a matter of when, and if it will be too late to salvage his stock or the Indians season.