The 100 Million Dollar Man
Posted by Chad Ruter on August 19, 2008
You see that face? That face that is 100% determination, 0% fear, and only 50% poor. OK, maybe that last statement was a lie, according to Cot’s Baseball Contract, CC Sabathia is making $9 million this season. His big payday, however, will be what he negotiates four months from now. That is, if that arm that is fully extended in the picture above isn’t in a sling.
My buddy Derek made a comment to me after Sabathia’s August 8th start that still rings in my ear every time the hefty lefty toes the rubber: “The Brewers are showing complete disregard for Sabathia’s health and future.” Ya know what? Derek is absolutely right!
When Sabathia was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the contending Milwaukee Brewers on July 7th, I pegged the acquisition as being a five win improvement. When I say five wins, I took into consideration that Sabathia would get 15 or 16 starts, and finish about 11-4 in those starts, while the guy he replaced in the Brewers rotation would’ve provided a record of 6-9 during that span. Five wins is considered highway robbery at the trade deadline.
So far, Sabathia has more than delivered what he was acquired to do. The numbers – simply stunning. 9 starts, 8-0 record (with the Brew Crew 8-1 in his starts – the only loss being to the Cubs), 1.60 ERA, and 69 K’s in 73 innings pitched. That, ladies and gentlemen, is getting your money’s worth.
That mind-blowing stat line comes at a price though. If you take 73 and divide in by the 9 starts Sabathia has made, that means he’s throwing 8+ innings per start. Some may call that incredible durability, but the big fella just happens to be averaging over 112 pitches per start. And for a guy that consistently throws in the mid- to upper 90’s with his fastball, that high workload could come back to haunt him in the long run.
The long run, is not something the Brewers are rolling the dice on. They want to win, and they want to win now. They play in a small market that makes it difficult to rally revenue, especially considering the subpar teams they fielded in the early 2000’s. Their top pitcher coming into the season is the oft-injured Ben Sheets, a guy that is going to command $60+ million this offseason, a bill Milwaukee might be hesitant to pay. So they grabbed him a tag team partner, rolled up their stake, and booked their first-class tickets to Vegas…errrr, the playoffs.
With no money, and no intention of signing Sabathia in the offseason, manager Ned Yost and the Brewers are going to extract every significant inning out of their high priced prize (they sacrificed one of the biggest power hitters in the minors in Matt LaPorta to land Sabathia). The question everyone is asking is if the tax Yost is putting on Sabathia’s arm, and the cost it may have for the lefty long-term and for the franchise in September and potentially October is worth some of the pointless innings he’s throwing now.
CC has thrown five complete games in nine starts for the Brewers, and should’ve only finished two of those games. In the other three, Milwaukee was winning by eight, five, and six runs and Yost should’ve saved his big gun and turn it over to his much maligned bullpen to take some stress off his ace’s arm. Yost’s argument: Sabathia will be getting extra rest between his next two starts because of scheduled off-days.
Get real here Ned. You want him in there because you’re worried about a job in 2009.
Sabathia threw 241 innings of Cy Young baseball during the 2007 regular season, only to throw up three stinkers in playoffs – looking completely burned out in the process. He went 1-2 with an 8.80 ERA in the playoffs, and got knocked out along with his Indians teammates in the ALCS by eventual champion Boston Red Sox.
In 2008, he’s on pace to throw more innings than he did in 2007, and you wonder if he will have any gas in the tank if and when Milwaukee makes the playoffs. He is going to get eight, if not nine more starts, and at pedestrian seven innings per start, would shatter the high bar he set last year.
Coming into the 2008 season, many scouts questioned whether Sabathia could recover from his season of overuse. Early on, the answer appeared to be a resounding no. A 13.50 ERA through four starts had everyone worried. Yet he persevered, and bounced back to pitch Cy Young baseball after the horrendous beginning. But will another season of overuse produce another playoff breakdown? And if he does break down during the most important three months of his life, how much money will that cost him in December and January?
The answers to these questions, will soon be answered.
One thing, however, is clear right now. Ned Yost is willing to lay Sabathia’s career on the line to save his own…
