Report: Microfracture Surgery Possible For CC

Remember that thing I said a month ago about the comparisons between CC Sabathia and Amar'e Stoudemire when it came to their knee injuries?  It sounds like those comparisons could get even stronger after CC's latest setback with his swollen, degenerative right knee.  The knee didn't hold up to 55 pitches (on early rest) earlier this week, and now the plan is for CC to see Dr. Andrews again on Monday for a follow-up evaluation.  The possibility of microfracture surgery is on the table, which would end CC's season for sure and possibly even his career.

Joe alluded to both of those possibilities when he spoke to the media before yesterday's game, saying "I think that's fair to say, yeah" when asked if CC was done for this season, and "whenever you have degenerative issues that cause surgery or things like that, there's always a little question, yeah" when asked if this latest setback was career-threatening.  He clearly doesn't know what to expect except to expect nothing more from CC this season.  As bad as CC was before he hit the DL, I think Joe was looking at him as a slight upgrade over Nuno and Whitley.  Not anymore.

With CC gone, Pineda still setting back, and Billy Beane taking his nuts out and slapping the rest of MLB with them by trading for Jeff Samardzija AND Jason Hammel yesterday, the Yankee rotation situation has grown even more grim.  Next year ain't looking so hot either if this microfracture surgery happens.

BREAKING: Sabathia Has Fluid On His Knee, Going For An MRI (UPDATED)

Girardi just said on WFAN that Sabathia woke up today with fluid in knee and prob headed for MRI. Unsure what's next for him. #yankees
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) July 3, 2014

That's the whole story as far as we know right now and it isn't good.  After pitching on short rest and throwing 55 pitches in his second MiL rehab start last night, CC Sabathia woke up this morning with fluid in his surgically-repaired and recently stem cell/cortisone-injected degenerative right knee.  He's going for an MRI to assess the level of damage and severity and as of right now his comeback plans are on hold.

More on this story as it comes out...

** 4:49 PM- Via multiple beat guys and gals, Girardi said there was "swelling" in CC's right knee as well.  This doesn't sound at all like it's going to have a happy ending. **

Sabathia Watch: Getting Roughed Up In His Second Rehab Start

Originally scheduled for today, CC Sabathia had his second MiL rehab start moved up to last night.  Pitching for Double-A Trenton, he went 3.2 innings, throwing 55 pitches and allowing 5 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2.  Like in his first start, his fastball was sitting high 80s-90 and touching the low 90s on occasion.

I haven't seen any reports on the outing or quotes from Sabathia on how he felt, but if something had gone wrong with his knee I'm sure that would have made its way out.  I did find it somewhat surprising that the Yankees elected to move this start up and pitch CC on 3 days' rest.  For as slowly as they took the rest and early workout portions of his rehab, pitching him on short rest in his second game back seems unnecessarily aggressive.  Whatever, I'm sure they had their reasons.  With July 27th set as his activation date and Joe saying he will work on regular rest from here on out, there's time for him to make 4 more starts.  We'll see if the Yankees use all of them.

Sabathia Watch: Throws First Rehab Start For High-A Tampa

Start the countdown clock to July 27th, because CC Sabathia made his first Minor League rehab start yesterday.  He threw 2.1 innings for High-A Tampa, giving up 2 earned runs on 3 hits while striking out 2 and walking 1.  Of his 36 pitches, 24 were strikes and according to Erik Boland, a scout had him sitting high 80s with his fastball and touching 90 once or twice.  The scout said it "looks like Spring Training", which is not a huge surprise considering Sabathia's age, the injury, and the slow-paced nature of his rehab schedule.

Also not surprising was CC's take on his outing.  He said he "couldn't be happier" with the way he felt.  This is the same thing we've heard for every other injury rehab, so take it with a grain of salt, but at least it's better than him saying he felt pain or discomfort in the knee.  No word yet on when or where his next rehab outing will take place, but signs point to it being sometime next week for Double-A Trenton.

Sabathia Watch: 2-Inning Sim Game; GCL Start On Saturday

Next step in the CC Sabathia rehab plan has officially been taken.  The big guy threw a 2-inning simulated game at the team complex yesterday, 34 pitches in all, and came through the outing with no issues or pain in his knee.  The plan for the rest of this week is a bullpen session sometime in the next day or 2 and then a start for the GCL Yankees on Saturday.

This would be the official beginning of the CC's 30-day MiL rehab stint, an important milestone because it's one that allows us to start figuring out his eventual return date.  If the plan for him to pitch Saturday holds, we're looking at a late July return, Monday the 28th to be exact.  Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves just yet though.  There's a lot that can happen in that time and the whole thing goes out the window if Sabathia starts to feel something in his knee.  For now, let's worry about getting him to and through Saturday.

Sabathia Graduating To Live BP This Week

The rehab process for CC Sabathia and his degenerative right knee took another step forward over the weekend and could take another step or 2 forward this week.  Sabathia threw a 36-pitch bullpen session at The Stadium before Saturday's game, at what sounds like full strength.  Sabathia said he "got after it a little bit" when he was throwing and that he was trying to really test the strength of his knee to make sure it will hold up.  For what it's worth, he said the knee felt good after he finished.

From there, Sabathia is heading to the team facility in Tampa this week, where he will move to throwing live batting practice tomorrow.  If he comes through that well, the tentative plan is to have him pitch in a MiL game on Saturday.  The decision on what level won't come until later in the week, but I wouldn't be surprised if the team tries to get creative and get him in a few unofficial games so as not to start his 20-day MiL clock early.  We're still 3 weeks away from the All-Star break and the plan was to bring him through a full ST simulation to get him stretched back out.  Regardless of how good he feels and how poorly Vidal Nuno is pitching, there's no reason to rush that.

Report: CC Returns To The Mound

CC Sabathia threw 25 pitch bullpen yest. (just fb/change up) Will throw another pen tomorrow (all pitches) & reevaluate from there #Yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) June 17, 2014

It's been 2 weeks since CC Sabathia began rehab work on his right knee in the form of low-impact treadmill walking and playing catch.  Via Meredith Marakovits, that rehab schedule took a major step forward when he got back on a mound for the first time yesterday to throw a bullpen session.  Per Marakovits' report, Sabathia said he was encouraged and that his knee felt good.  If that holds through today's off-day and tomorrow's scheduled 'pen sesh, the next steps in the comeback plan can start to come together.

Cash declared CC out "until at least July" back on May 19th.  4 weeks and a day have passed since then and this is the first real significant progress CC has made.  I have to think the team is going to take it extra careful with him from here as they start to work him back into game shape, perhaps even more carefully than they're taking it with Pineda.  With the years and money still owed to him, that would be a wise move.

The Looming Albatrossity Of CC's Contract

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

After a rough patch there for the better part of the last 2 weeks, it looks like the Yankees' injury fortune may be changing for the better.  They could get Carlos Beltran back by the end of this week, maybe Shawn Kelley next week, and Francisco Cervelli has been playing in ExST games.  Michael Pineda's latest setback wasn't the worst case scenario, so there's still hope that he can come back and help at some point, and Mark Teixeira returned from his latest bout of wrist inflammation to go 2-5 with a HR and be the only player in the lineup responsible for driving in runs last night.  Everybody (knock on wood) seems to be coming around nicely.

Except for CC Sabathia.

Cash Says CC Will Be Out Until July

Confirming what most of us already suspected was the case, Cash told Joel Sherman earlier today that CC Sabathia is going to be out "until at least July" because of  the degenerative condition in his right knee, saying CC's return date "will be no sooner than 6 weeks from now."  According to Sherman's report, Cash said the 6-week timetable is the result of the stem cell injection CC was given by Dr. James Andrews last week and includes recovery and rehab time.

David Waldstein has confirmed Sherman's story and also that the 6-week timetable is from last Thursday, the date of the stem cell injection.  Sabathia was supposed to get off his crutches today and begin pool therapy work tomorrow, according to Cash, and I suspect today's follow-up with the team doctor is to confirm that CC can stay on that schedule.

Obviously this ramps up the Yankees' search for rotation help, which Cash also confirmed to Sherman, but right now there isn't much out there.  While we wait for that market to materialize, we might as well start waiting for the eventual report that Sabathia is behind schedule and will not be back in 6 weeks.  This whole thing has that kind of feel to it.  Hard to expect that 1 injection will be enough to overcome that many years of wear and tear on that knee.

CC To Be Reevaluated Today, Will Miss More Than 15 Days

This was the most likely outcome given last Thursday's diagnosis of "degenerative changes" in CC Sabathia's twice-surgically repaired right knee, but Joe made it official after yesterday's games that CC is going to be out longer than the minimum 15 days.  He will be examined again by the team doctor today in an attempt to come up with a rehab plan, but for now there is nothing planned until Dr. Ahmad gets another look at the knee.

Sabathia has been on crutches since the knee inflammation was first diagnosed and I imagine there's a chance that today's examination determines he needs to stay on them for a while longer.  Joe's statement to the media yesterday conveyed how unsure the team is about his condition and how serious a problem it could become:

"Is it a 15-day DL?  It’s going to be more than that, I can tell you that. When we’ll get him back, I don’t think any of us really know, because this is not something that’s done very often."

For now, I guess we just wait and see what comes out of today's reevaluation.  An official announcement from the team should come later today or sometime before tomorrow's game.  I'm not expecting it to be a positive one.

"Degenerative Changes" In CC's Knee? That Doesn't Sound Good

Cashman: CC has degenerative changes in knee... Will have cortisone shot with stem cells tomorrow ... No timetable yet #Yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) May 14, 2014

The small bit of good news that came from Dr. James Andrews confirming the initial diagnosis on CC Sabathia's knee of inflammation and fluid was dealt a blow later in the day yesterday when Cash elaborated on the situation to the media.  As I've said before, I'm not a doctor and have never worked a day in the medical field, but the phrase "degenerative changes" being used in relation to the twice surgically-repaired plant knee of a mid-30s MLB pitcher who's spent the entirety of his career pitching at or around 300 pounds cannot be a good thing.  At all.

Sabathia was set to get a cortisone/stem cell injection in his right knee today, and at some point in the next few days he'll have it drained, but this new description of the knee's condition does not give me a warm and fuzzy.  As of right now, I'm counting on him missing more than the minimum 15 days and most likely spending another 15-day stint on the DL for this knee later in the season.

P.S.- 2017 now seems like a reeeeeeally long way away, doesn't it?

Already Broken News: Sabathia To The 15-Day DL

Didn't even see this yesterday before I passed out, but the Yankees put CC Sabathia on the disabled list with fluid in his right knee.  He went for an MRI after his start on Saturday night, which showed the fluid in the knee, but fortunately there's no structural damage.

For that reason, the team is optimistic that CC will be out for the minimum of 15 days, but you never know with older pitchers.  Even if it is a simple drain and rest and he misses the minimum amount of time, this is an area of concern moving forward.  Sabathia has battled health problems over the last 2 plus seasons and his right knee is his plant knee.  If there's fluid buildup now, it seems likely that there will be more or possibly more severe issues there later in the year.

The only good news here is that maybe the time off will give CC a chance to correct his fastball command problems.  They've been the bane of his existence this year.  The bad news is that now the Yankees are without 60% of their Opening Day rotation.  Alfredo Aceves is expected to take CC's spot in the rotation, and it seems like Chase Whitley will get called up to take Al's spot in the bullpen.

Maybe It's Time For A New Strategy, CC

The curse of the one bad inning continued for CC Sabathia yesterday.  This one was particularly bad because of the Brendan Ryan error that allowed the inning to continue and the back-to-back jacks that followe.  After the game, CC talked about what he was trying to do in the at-bat against Jonathan Lucroy:

“Just trying to throw a comeback sinker.  Ended up middle, didn't get in enough, and he put a good swing on it. Just a mistake."

Far be it for me to question a guy who's pitched for as long as CC has, but maybe throwing a sinker in an 0-2 count wasn't the best decision.  He's been so inconsistent with command of both of his fastballs this year and at 89-90 MPH, they aren't swing-and-miss pitches anymore.  In that situation, I would have rather seen another slider to try to get the strikeout.  Hell, waste one way down in the dirt and see if you can get Lucroy to chase.  That's way better than throwing a hittable fastball anywhere in the strike zone, regardless of whether you hit your spot or not.

I don't know, maybe I'm off base here.  It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me to throw your weakest pitches in a pitcher's count.  If the sinker was 92-93 with consistent movement, it'd be a different story.  But it's not and CC's not locating where he wants to, so why throw it and give the hitter a chance when you've already got him in an 0-2 hole?

CC And His Battles With The One Bad Inning

(Courtesy of the AP)

CC Sabathia has made 6 starts in the month of April.  He's pitched 37 innings in those starts and given up 21 earned runs in those innings for a pretty bad 5.11 ERA.  As a whole, CC's performance has been subpar this year, but looking start by start it's been the 1 bad inning that's really killed him.

• 4/1- 6 IP, 6 ER; 1 bad inning (btm 1st), 4 ER
• 4/6- 6 IP, 4 ER; 1 bad inning (btm 6th), 3 ER
• 4/11- 7 IP, 4 ER; 1 bad inning top 6th), 4 ER
• 4/17- 7 IP, 1 ER; no bad innings
• 4/24- 6 IP, 2 ER; 1 bad inning (btm 3rd), 2 ER
• 4/29- 5 IP, 4 ER; 1 bad inning (top 5th), 4 ER

He's had 1 bad inning in 5 of his 6 starts and he's given up 17 of his 21 ER in those 5 innings (30.60 ERA).  In his other 32 IP, he's given up 4 ER (1.13 ERA).  On the one hand, this split shows that Sabathia's overall performance has not been as bad as his ERA would lead you to believe.  On the other, it shows how much CC is struggling to adjust to life as a finesse pitcher.  His bad innings have been defined by an inability to locate pitches down in the strike zone, an inability to put hitters away with 2 strikes, and an inability to finish off innings with 2 outs.  The Yankees need Carsten to be better with Nova and Pineda both on the shelf for the foreseeable future.  To be better, he needs to find a way to limit damage and eliminate the 1 bad inning every time out.

That Damn 6th Inning

(Courtesy of the AP)

I obviously didn't get to the recap of last night's game this morning, but there's really only 1 thing you need to know about it and that's the 6th inning.  CC Sabathia was absolutely dominant from the 1st through the 5th and equally so in the 7th.  It was vintage CC, more than good enough to carry an offense that only gave him 1 run of support.  But just like his last time out, it all fell apart for him in the 6th.

It started with a Jonny Gomes leadoff home run on a misplaced 4-seamer.  It continued with a pair of GB singles.  It ended with a Grady Sizemore 3-run shot to right on a misplaced slider.  2 bad pitches to make 1 bad inning and that was that.

Other than the 6th, CC looked great.  He was locating his fastball, his sinker had great movement, and he was getting a ton of swings and misses on his slider.  He looks like a much better pitcher than he was last year, much more comfortable with what he's doing out there.  But these bad innings are absolutely ruining his outings and making his stat line look much worse than it rightfully should be.  It's something CC either has to figure out or it's something we have to learn to live with now that he's reached his mid-30s.

A Reason To Not Be Concerned About CC's Start Yesterday

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Besides the simple and obvious one that he's had a poor Opening Day track record, of course.  CC Sabathia was bad in his first 2 innings last night, giving up all 6 of his runs in those frames before settling down and making it through 6 without further damage.  He and Joe said his early struggles were due to his pitches cutting, and after the game CC had an explanation as to why:

“I wanted to try to back off and not overthrow.  When I do that, I tend to cut myself short and that’s when the balls cut. My changeup cuts, my fastball was cutting. It’s just me not really getting extended and letting the ball go out in front. It’s just cutting it off and that’s what makes it cut.”

Whatever mechanical adjustment he made to counteract the early cutting problem worked for him over the next 4 innings, as did the addition of the cutter to his pitch mix in the 4th.  While it's never good to see the big guy struggling, it's reassuring to read that he knew what was wrong and made a change to correct it.  That's way better than the lack of answers he had for most of last season and should provide confidence that Sabathia will be fine going forward.

A Tale Of Two Adjusting Pitchers

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It was another tandem activity day for CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka yesterday, in what may or may not be a strategic move by Joe.  Flip-flopping the plan from last Thursday, when Sabathia threw a sim game and Tanaka got the Grapefruit start, it was Tanaka who threw the sim in the morning and Sabathia who took the hill against real competition in the afternoon.  Their results and the manner in which they achieved them could not have been more different and provide a perfect view of 2 divergent pitching career paths.

And The Left-Handed Jedi Passes On His Greatest Lesson...

Via George King, it sounds like there was a very specific purpose for Andy Pettitte's ST guest instructor visit this year:

“I always have conversations about pitching [with Pettitte],” Sabathia said of the retired left-hander who was in Yankees camp this week and threw batting practice. “He showed me the grip for the cutter. I used it [Thursday in a simulated game] and I am going to take it into the game.’’

Awesome.  Love it.  Regardless of whether the velocity comes up from 88 or not, adding a cutter should help keep hitters honest against CC's fastball this year and thereby make his slider and changeup more effective.  If it proves to be an effective pitch for the big fella, the Steinbrenners might have to give Andy another few million just as a thank you.

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."

It's Way Too Early To Worry About CC's Velocity

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It was quite the weekend for the Bronx Bombers in the Grapefruit League.  The beat the Phillies on Saturday and the Blue Jays on Sunday by a combined score of 12-2, showcasing solid pitching from the top of their ST staff to the bottom and plenty of power from both sides of the plate.  Of course wins and losses in ST games are the least important things to come out of said games, but winning still beats losing and the Yanks looked good as a team over the last 48 hours.

The highlight of the weekend was the triple-headed 2014 pitching debut of the top of the starting rotation.  CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Masahiro Tanaka all threw 2 scoreless innings on Saturday, with Kuroda looking very sharp and efficient in his outing (he only threw 17 pitches) and Tanaka giving everybody a peak at his impressive array of offspeed pitches and plus fastball command on the corners.  The only pitcher who wasn't generating positive buzz after the game, despite almost identical results, was Sabathia.  In his first game action since last year's disastrous season, Sabathia's fastball lived in the mid-80s and topped out at just 88 MPH.  This sent up the emergency alarm in the form of a tweet barrage from the beat writers and set the stage for another spring of hand-wringing over the big guy's velocity.  Before everybody starts freaking out, I'd like to kindly ask that you take a deep breath, spend the next 5 minutes reading the rest of this post, and relax.

On CC's Weight

(Courtesy of Deadspin)

Last week this picture of CC Sabathia at a Knicks game made its way around the interwebs and naturally people started talking about it.  Sabathia's weight has been an increasingly popular topic of conversation over the last few years, as he's made more of an effort before seasons to drop a few pounds and then usually ended up putting them back on by the end of the year.  This offseason Sabathia made a concerted effort to not only lose weight but tighten up the rest of his body, and this picture provided some insight as to how much those efforts worked, as did his ST weigh-in result of 275 pounds over the weekend.

The major loss in poundage and somewhat gaunt appearance in that picture have caused a bit of a stir in the NY sports world and parts of the Yankosphere.  The feeling has apparently shifted from "good for CC for trying to lose some weight" to "jeez, look at how much weight he's lost!  That can't be good" and for the life of me I can't figure out why.  Yes, that picture does make CC look like a combination of Forrest Whitaker and E.T. when he get sick and pale and Elliot finds him lying by the river, but it's just 1 picture.  The shots of him in camp show that he's still a big dude, and even if he wasn't that's no reason to speak or think negatively about his attempts to get into better shape.