Sabathia thinking beyond 2017
‘Illusionist’ convinced he can still pitch, but will it be as a Yankee?
It amuses CC Sabathia to hear he’s running out the clock on his career, just taking up roster space and $25 million the New York Yankees are itching to spend elsewhere.
Make no mistake: The Bronx Bombers love the big man, but everyone around the game assumes the countdown has begun.
This is news to Sabathia, who has no intention of retiring after 2017. His contract is expiring, but he says, “As long as I’m healthy,” he’ll be pitching next year, even if it’s not for the Yankees.
“I realize this is a business, man — whatever happens, happens,” is what Sabathia says.
There’s no defiance in his voice, no hint of a “take that” or “I’ll show you” vibe. The left-hander just disagrees with the unspoken belief that it’ll soon be time to move on. There are three reasons.
His right knee: Sabathia says it couldn’t be better. He’s running on the treadmill, participating in pitcher drills and working off the mound without pain. That’s practically a miracle, considering he has no cartilage left. Sabathia’s joints are in bone-onbone crisis but are holding up.
His fastball: It has diminished but still is highly effective now that it has been coupled with a cutter and a changeup. Few pitchers have made the transition from pure power to finesse as seamlessly as Sabathia.
His lifestyle: Sabathia has battled alcoholism to a standoff, staying sober 24 hours at a time. He is rarely alone in spring training or on the road anymore — that’s when he would surrender to the urge to drink. Sabathia’s was an inverted disease, since, for many, alcohol abuse starts with buddies in a bar and goes nuclear from there.
Today, the veteran spends his free hours with family members or friends, “just hanging out, watching sports or playing video games,” he said.
One look at Sabathia suggests a life that is indeed cleaner and more honest than it was in 2015. Those were the dark days; he told the Yankees he couldn’t pitch in the wild-card shootout against the Houston Astros because booze had swallowed up his life.
Sabathia was sick of being drunk, sick of being hung over, sick of lying about the neverending cycle. Instead of helping the Yankees get to the American League Division Series, he retreated to rehab.
The decision made no sense to anyone who knew Sabathia, the warrior.
But it was the only logical path for Sabathia, the alcoholic.
He returned to the Yankees last spring completely sober for the first time since 2012. That’s all the Yankees wanted for that big bear: happiness. Whatever happened on the field would be a bonus.
Much to their surprise, Sabathia delivered, pitching to a respectable 3.91 ERA last year. His 1.319 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched), while not great, was the lowest it had been since 2012.
Understand this about Sabathia: He has turned into an illusionist on the mound.
His fastball, down to 89.4 mph last year, according to Fangraphs, has never been slower. Watch him from the stands or on TV, and it appears he’s serving up one meatball after another. Yet the linedrive rate against Sabathia dropped to its lowest level since 2010.
Sabathia has succeeded because he has traded in his ego for outs. He has lost a full 10 mph from his prime-era fastball, enough to depress any former power pitcher.
It’s a not-so-subtle reminder to Sabathia that he’s aging (37 in July) and that nearly 3,300 innings have taken their revenge on his arm.
Yet he survives with precision on the corners and a near-perfect sequencing of his pitches.
“It shows you what kind of athlete CC is, how smart he is,” reliever Dellin Betances said.
“Me? I don’t know if I could pitch at 88-90 mph like he does. It’s pretty amazing if you think about it.”
I raised the same question to Aroldis Chapman, asking if he could subtract 10 to 12 mph from his four-seamer and still get by. We both knew the answer. The Cleveland Indians, after all, lit up the Cuban reliever when he lost a mere 4 mph in Game 7 of the World Series in October.
If Chapman were vulnerable at 97 mph, could he possibly survive at 88?
“Yes, I could do it,” he said. “I’m sure of it.” And then the closer laughed. For pitchers with elite fastballs, velocity becomes your identity; the radar gun is your friend. Sabathia used to be one of those monsters. Now he has replaced brute force with a soft, subtle touch and isn’t ashamed of the transformation. The question is whether the Yankees value Sabathia’s maturity enough to consider keeping him around.
The answer depends largely on his knee and whether he can make 28 to 30 starts. If so, Sabathia figures he’ll pitch some- where in 2018.
Whether it’s the Yankees “is up to them. That’s their decision; ask them,” he said.
In the meantime, Sabathia isn’t treating 2017 like a Yankees farewell tour. He isn’t wired for emotional farewells — at least not yet.
“Nah, just getting ready to take the ball, do my thing. That’s the way I’ve always approached it. We’ll see what happens.”