The starting pitching for the NY Yankees has been awful the last two weeks, marking the ugliest stretch in franchise history. To complicate matters, veteran lefty CC Sabathia headed to the IL for a third time this season with knee inflammation.
The big-framed Sabathia struggled with knee problems since 2013. He typically spent a short stint on the disabled list in previous summers. In the past, he has his knee drained or given cortisone shots while resting up.
“Been a little cranky lately, and this is obviously something we deal with CC,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “Hopefully it’s something that this time out will be good for him.”
Sabathia already had a stint on the IL to address his knee earlier this season. He started the season on the IL recovering from minor heart surgery. During Spring Training, Sabathia announced he would be retiring after the end of the season. However, this was not the kind of final year he had hoped for even though he won his 250th game and recorded 3,000 strikeouts.
Sabathia is the third member of the Yankees to hit the IL this week. The Bronx ER is full once again after LF Brett Gardner went on the IL with a sore knee. All-Star catcher Gary Sanchez went on the IL with a minor groin pull.
Banged Up CC
In only 17 starts this season, Sabathia is 5-6 with a 4.78 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. CC looked banged up his last few starts. He’s 0-2 in his previous three starts with a ridiculous 8.79 ERA. The Yankees hope the tune up on his knee will allow CC to finish the season on a strong note.
During an ass-whopping against in Boston, the Red Sox tagged CC for five runs, nine hits, and two dingers in only 4.1 innings of action. Sabathia failed to get out of the 5th inning for third time in his last 7 starts.
“Just didn’t make enough pitches,” said Sabathia, who refused to blame his knee. “That’s a good lineup over there, and left too many pitches over the middle.”
Bronx Help Wanted: Starters
The Boston Red Sox beat up on the Yankees this weekend taking three out of four games in Boston. The Yanks allowed 44 runs during the four-game series. In a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, the staff allowed 27 runs. That’s 71 runs in 7 games.
The Yankees failed to acquire Marcus Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays wanted Gleyber Torres and were not interested in Clint Frazier. Instead, the Jays dealt Stroman to the NY Mets for a couple of minor league prospects.
The Yankees would love to snag Noah Syndergaard. The Mets put Thor on the trading block last week. However, GM Brodie Van Wagenen does not want to give up his star pitcher to the Yankees.
Yanks GM Brian Cashman is running out of options. Trevor Bauer is the best pitcher available, but he’s an admitted head case that loves to stir the pot on Twitter. In what might be his last start for the Cleveland Indians, Bauer chucked a ball out of park to deep center field after he got rocked by the KC Royals.
That leaves Madison Bumgarner at the top of Cashman’s list. Now the SF Giants are in the middle of their best winning streak in years, the Giants are reluctant to trade Bumgarner.
With the trade deadline quickly approaching, the Yankees need to make a big move quickly. Otherwise they will have to figure out who will make the postseason rotation between unreliable James Paxton, inconsistent JA Happ, and CC Sabathia and his creaky old knees.
According to William Hill, the NY Yankees (67-38) are 3/2 odds to win the 2019 World Series.
