CC lashes out at Tex, stands by old pal Cano

CC Sabathia didn’t defend Robinson Cano on the day Cano was hit with an 80game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use, but now that a former teammate has spoken, the Yankees pitcher is clapping back.

A week after Mark Teixeira said he wasn’t “surprised” by Cano’s suspension, Sabathia responded to his former teammate’s take.

“I don’t want to get into what Tex said, but I’ll just put it like this: I’m not surprised he said that, coming from him,” Sabathia said Thursday on CBS Sports Radio’s “Tiki and Tierney” show.

Sabathia, who is close with Cano, added it “was disappointing and a little sad” the Mariners second baseman violated MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

“You just never know anymore,” Sabathia said. “Guys’ bodies don’t change [like they did back in the PED era]. Hopefully he can bounce back from this and continue from this.”

Sabathia said last week, when asked about Cano “after the Ryan Braun thing, nothing’s surprising for me,” referring to his former Brewers teammate’s ban for PED use in 2013, but it was clear the veteran lefty had a bone to pick with Teixeira’s opinion, almost reusing the retired first baseman’s exact quote.

“I really don’t want to get into too much detail. I love Robbie. But, yeah, I’m just not surprised,” Teixeira, now an ESPN analyst, said last week.