I realize CC Sabathia has another turn in the rotation before the ALDS starts (which makes sense–you want to keep him sharp, afterall) but now that he’s pitched his final game in September, it’s a good time to take a look at his season as a whole.
If you go by ERA, CC had two clunker (for a guy of his skill level) months and the same with FIP. Everybody has their ups and downs, but CC was generally good with quite a bit of excellent thrown in.
CC’s K/BB numbers give a clear idea of when he excelled and when he was struggling at times. You could say he was pretty damn good in August.
July’s a bit painful, huh? He had two starts where he gave up 5 runs, and one where he gave up 6 that month.
Through the end of September, CC has pitched 25 2/3 innings less than he did last year with two less starts than 2008 and with his last start of the year it will probably even out at about twenty.This includes the 1.1IP “start” in Florida where he got pulled early because of arm cramps, so in a way it’s really three less starts.
It’s not a huge difference in the grand scheme of things but it’s still significant going into the postseason. Looking at it another way, he’s only averaged about 1/3 of an inning less an outing this year but it adds up in the end. If you take out the 1.1IP start in Florida, that gap gets a bit smaller but again all the little parts things add up in the end.
good stuff…love your comments