The Curious Case of the CC Sabathia DL Trip

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the blog. Just a quick hit for you this morning concerning CC Sabathia and his sudden trip to the disabled list… because I’m not buying it. Now before I dive too deep into this I want to preface that I do believe there are processes in place that prevent a team from simply “Phantom DL’ing” someone for no reason. There is protection in place for the teams and there is protection in place for the players, but with the case of CC Sabathia and his troublesome knees it makes you wonder if the Yankees are somehow taking advantage of that.

Sabathia was placed on the disabled list with knee inflammation, a diagnosis that has cost him time a lot recently over the past few seasons in the Bronx, but I wonder just how inflamed the knee really is. I am sure at any given time, given the status of his knees, if there was an MRI or whatever test the Yankees had run on his knee that there would be inflammation in the knee. It is bone-on-bone essentially and inflammation is just going to be a thing that CC has to deal with for the rest of his life, period. It makes you wonder if the Yankees are taking advantage of that and placing him on the disabled list now before the stretch run of the season.

What benefit would the Yankees get by placing CC on the DL with a phantom ailment? Well, looking at the Yankees schedule you see that the Yankees have a couple of days off going forward that may have factored into the decision. CC last pitched on August 12^th against the Texas Rangers firing six innings of one-hit ball in a victory meaning that he would not be in line to start again until August 17^th against the Toronto Blue Jays, a start that Luis Cessa will make according to Aaron Boone. After that start though the Yankees have an off day on August 23^rd (CC’s next scheduled start) giving the Yankees the ability to “skip” his start and let the rest of the rotation pitch on normal rest. The Yankees may have just found a way to manipulate the disabled list process and given CC at least 10 days’ worth of rest while still allowing him to only miss one start against a sub-.500 team.

I am sorry, but something just seems off here. I am not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but this just doesn’t seem right. Look at the way CC pitched in his last start, that is not the way you pitch when your weight-bearing knee is inflamed to the point to where you need to go on the disabled list. It just doesn’t add up. Something else is up here and I think that something else is the Yankees are taking advantage of the system to give CC some extra rest down the stretch.

I’m not saying that I am not okay with it, but I am saying that if it looks like fish… and smells fishy…

Hello… Aaron Hicks Should be Back Tuesday!

Good morning everyone and welcome to the weekend. While my lovely girlfriend had to roll out of bed and go to work this morning, she works in an accounting office so tax season is her busy season, I lay here wondering and pondering the ways of life. Why are we here? What are we meant to do? Etc. and the only answer I have is we are all here to be happy. How you get there and what you have to do in order to get there varies from person to person, but happiness is why we are all here. We are all here for a good, not a long, time… so enjoy the day and enjoy what you’re doing with your life. Don’t try and live up to other people’s expectations and don’t try to be what everyone else wants you to be. You be you, and I’ll be me. Happy. I love you my sweet, gorgeous and so kind Kari Ann. Always have, always will.

The Yankees center fielder that is currently on the disabled list, Aaron Hicks… not Jacoby Ellsbury, is presumably pretty happy this morning after hearing the news that he will likely be back on Tuesday before the Yankees open a series in Fenway Park with the Boston Red Sox. Hicks was placed on the 10-day DL last Friday due to an intercostal muscle strain and has been working his way back to the field since he began limited baseball activity on Tuesday.

Hicks took in some tee and toss this week and is expected to face live pitching this weekend down in Tampa before the decision is ultimately made, but he feels good about his progression and the possibility of returning for the big series with the Red Sox at the beginning of next week.

The Yankees are already scary so imagine how scary this team will be once everyone is hitting, and everyone is healthy. Watch out Boston, you could be in for a massacre.

CC Sabathia: “I’m Ready”

The New York Yankees have been hit by the injury bug more than most teams this season but if you read my “So it Seems” on Friday you saw that the Yankees are as resilient as any team in the league. This team has hung around despite the injuries and I predicted that when the team gets some of their stars back off the disabled list that they could be a scary team to keep an eye on going forward in the second half this season. The first wave of reinforcements could be on the way soon though for the Yankees, especially if you ask a certain somebody.

CC Sabathia, in an interview recently, told reporters “I’m ready.” Sabathia went on to say that “I feel like I’m ready to go” after throwing a 50 pitch simulated game on Thursday. Sabathia simulated three innings and believes he can avoid a minor league rehab start or two despite being on the disabled list since June 15 with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring.

Naturally the Yankees and their manager Joe Girardi are being cautious with Sabathia, and I guess for good reason although my fandom and my patience sometimes blind me of that fact, and will wait for Sabathia to throw another bullpen session today before deciding the next step for the left-hander.

So how will it go today and when will Sabathia be back in the Bronx? Stay tuned. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox 6/29

The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox have played three times already this week so what’s one more, right? So these two teams will complete their four-game set this week with their contest today that will showcase Luis Cessa for the Yankees and James Shields for the White Sox as the pitching matchup. This leaves me wondering if today’s contest counts as a ‘big game” for Shields or if the fans have gone past that nickname in recent years, for obvious reasons.

Cessa will be making his third start of the season tonight in place of injured lefty CC Sabathia and will be looking for his first win of the 2017 season. Cessa hasn’t looked great in relief of Sabathia pitching to a 0-2 record and a 6.57 ERA that included his last start against the Texas Rangers where he struck out eight batters in five innings of work.

Shields has made two starts since coming off the 10-day disabled list and the right-hander has been hit hard in both of them. In Shields’ last start the righty gave up six runs in three-plus innings of work while allowing multiple home runs in a start for the first time all season.

The game will be played at 8:10 pm ET inside Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast which features Mr. and Mrs. Baseball, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Enjoy the game and go Yankees!!!