Is Something Bothering Sabathia?
Posted by Steve L. on October 20th, 2010 · Comments (1)
So, here’s the question: Has CC Sabathia been “the same” since he had that pitcher’s duel with David Price down in Tampa? See these stats – with that Rays game, in question, first, and all the starts made by CC since that time – including this post-season:
| Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | HBP | BF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 13 | NYY | @ | TBR | L,0-1 | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 29 |
| Sep 18 | NYY | @ | BAL | W,11-3 | 7.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 28 |
| Sep 23 | NYY | TBR | L,3-10 | 5.1 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 27 | |
| Sep 28 | NYY | @ | TOR | W,6-1 | 8.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 30 |
.
| Series | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | ALDS g1 | Oct 6 | NYY | @ | MIN | W,6-4 | 6.0 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 27 |
| 2010 | ALCS g1 | Oct 15 | NYY | @ | TEX | W,6-5 | 4.0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 21 |
.
If it wasn’t for that game on September 28th, I would suggest that this may be the case. But, for sure, he wasn’t hurting on that day.
In any event, based on the way he’s pitched lately, overall, what kind of performance do you think Sabathia will give the Yankees today?
I don’t think there’s anything in the regular season numbers to suggest that something changed after his 9/13/10 duel with David Price in Tampa.
If you look at his 2010 season, he was good but not outstanding all year. His K/9, BB/9, HR/9 all regressed from 2006-2009 levels and his ERA (3.18) somewhat hides his FIP/xFIP/tERA (3.54/3.78/3.44) numbers. In all, I just think Sabathia had a dip in performance that manifested itself at times throughout the year.
As to what I expect for tonight, I’d say I expect the Yankees to lose and for Sabathia to continue his poor playoff pitching. Why would I (or anyone) expect something different after what we have seen thus far?