Will Sabathia pay price for last season?
Posted: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 5:58 PM
Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia tossed a silencer last night in Kansas City: Six shutout innings and 11 strikeouts in picking up his first win of the season.
Questions surrounded Sabathia after Detroit pounded him 13-2 last Wednesday. That loss left last year’s AL Cy Young winner with a 0-3 record and an astronomical 13.51 ERA. To make matters worse opposing batters were hitting .390 off of him.
Questions about his health and Sabathia replied he was fine. Questions about his impending free agency (his deal with the Indians ends after this season) and in response he stated the only thing he can -- that he hasn’t thought about his contract. Questions about where his head was at and to those his manager Eric Wedge contradicted Sabathia’s claim in a small way by admitting that the pitcher was “putting some heat on himself.”
Sabathia said his struggles were about his command of both sides of the plate. Detroit’s right-handed hitters were 8-for-20 against Sabathia. Against Kansas City, Sabathia was clocked at 94 and 95 mph in the first inning, 91 in the sixth. His fastball had life and his “slurve” was terrific. No problem with righties as he struck out Jose Guillen three times.
So what is there to take away from C.C.’s work so far this season? One obvious concern about Sabathia is fatigue. Last year he worked 241 regular-season innings, then 15 more in the postseason and a lot of them were under pressure. Many in the game, with good reason, believe there is a “hangover” effect after something like that. In Boston, Josh Beckett (who also had a very heavy workload last season), has overcome back spasms and is working on disproving that theory.
What surprised most about Sabathia’s horrid start to this season was his walk count, 14 in just 18 innings. That, too, was rectified Tuesday night and everyone around Sabathia, including his agents, will hope his early-season slump was just that – a slump – and that it is now over.
Just as Barry Zito’s contract with the Giants ended Johan Santana’s tenure in Minnesota, Santana’s deal with the Mets has created an expiration date for Sabathia’s stay in Cleveland. Can the Indians match Sabathia’s likely market value? Nothing in their recent actions would lead one to answer yes. And the Indians sent a signal in their recent signing of their other ace Fausto Carmona, who received a four-year deal before he was even arbitration-eligible. The move can’t help but serve as a signal that the Tribe is ready for life after Sabathia.
FIVE MORE SWINGS
1. Other struggling starters: Roy Oswalt has righted himself with consecutive wins, Ted Lilly had six strong innings against the Mets to earn his first win, Justin Verlander did the same against Texas for his first victory, Mark Buerhle has a horrid 1.8 WHIP and Kenny Rogers faces Texas tonight.
2. Then there’s Barry Zito. The Giants scored three early runs off Brandon Webb last night, but Zito (0-5) couldn’t finish the fourth. To be fair, he has drawn tough mound opponents but the truth is crystal clear -- were it not for Zito’s contract, he would be out of the rotation if not trying to find himself in Triple-A. We are used to radar gun readings on all MLB telecasts. Giants’ television production had no radar on its telecast last night. With Zito’s fastball barely breaking 80 mph, is the absence of radar a mere coincidence?
3. A follow on the recent release of Frank Thomas by the Blue Jays. The Bay Area vibe is that the A’s will discuss bringing back Thomas, a huge power presence in their 2006 playoff season. Jack Cust has been an April bust at DH and Mike Sweeney has shown no signs of recapturing his long-lost power. If Thomas signs in Oakland, listen for the wailing from the Barry Bonds camp.
4. The Phillies learned how to survive injury last year when Chase Utley missed a month late in the season. Now with Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino on the DL, Utley is having a monster April. But no one has been bigger than Pat Burrell. His game-winning ninth-inning double last night gave him 19 RBI in 21 games. At $14 million in the last year of a six-year deal, Burrell is both needed by his team and immensely motivated to cash in on his long-admired potential.
5. Kudos to John Smoltz. The Braves have heavily promoted Smoltz’s match to 3,000 strikeouts. That seems strange until you think about the career twist Smoltz accepted at the request of his team, going to the bullpen for a significant stretch cost him a shot at 300 wins.
Smoltz has had a Hall-of-Fame career but 3,000 strikeouts is the best milestone he will reach. At 41 (next month), he is still a power pitcher with health that has surprised even the greatest optimist. Even though his regular-season win total will end shy of 250, always remember his 15-4 postseason record with four saves. At 24, he pitched seven shutout innings on the road in a World Series Game 7. This man is a Hall-of-Famer in every sense.
