Sabathia Struggling To Find Cy Young Form

With a Cy Young award in hand, a potentially big pay day awaiting him, and serving as the unquestioned ace of a team that was a game from the World Series a year ago, C.C. Sabathia had a lot of wonderful things to look forward to as the 2008 season began. In his first four starts of the year, nothing has been wonderful about Sabathia’s performance, as his struggles from a rough 2007 postseason have carried over into the early stages of the young season. Last year’s 19-game winner is 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA that was punctuated by his latest rough start, a four inning outing where he was charged for nine runs against the division rival Tigers, who are finally working out of their own woes.

When manager Eric Wedge finally pulled him after allowing a game breaking grand slam to Edgar Renteria, a dejected Sabathia looked rattled as he was showered with boos from the Progressive Field crowd. On Wednesday, Sabathia allowed two more home runs, bringing his season total to five already, and his five walks brought him more than a third of the way to his total from all of last year. In his last two starts, Sabathia has failed to get past the fifth inning and has allowed nine earned runs in both starts. After a truly incredible 5:1 strikeout to walk ratio last year, those numbers stand at 1:1 through the first three weeks of 2008. His struggles have been aligned with his slumping teammates, who have lost three in a row and sit at 5-10 for the year.

2007 was a career year for Sabathia, who finally made the transition from solid starter to bona fide ace with his terrific consistency throughout the year. The 19 wins, 209 strikeouts, and 37 walks were all career bests by a wide margin. At times, Sabathia’s dominance looked effortless; he was able to overpower hitters with his mid-90’s fastball, then mix it in nicely with a slider or curve that would keep hitters off balance. However, in becoming the American League’s best pitcher and putting up sparkling stats, the 27-year old Sabathia was subjected to a ridiculous workload. 241 innings in the regular season plus a pressure-filled set of starts during Cleveland’s run in October would be rough for any pitcher to overcome. Sabathia’s herky-jerky windup and 290 pound frame – heaviest of any pitcher -- make it even harder for him to bounce back. Questions about his looming free agency haven’t helped matters, although Sabathia has stated on numerous occasions that he wants to wait until the season is over before he starts discussing a contract. At the beginning of the year, that probably seemed like a smart decision, but it could turn out to be one that dooms him.

Before his horrid start to the season, Sabathia was in prime position to join Barry Zito and Johan Santana as the only pitchers ever with long term deals worth at least $100 million. His career stats pre-2008 compare favorably to Zito’s before he signed with the Giants, but his struggles early this season has the look of an Andruw Jones-like demise. Just last year, Jones was considered a lock to receive huge money as he entered his contract year, but a shockingly dismal season raised questions of his true value. After being assured of a $100 million contract, the market went cold and Jones joined the Dodgers for two years at $36 million where he continues to underachieve. C.C. could be headed for a similar fate if his numbers don’t improve fast.