CC Sabathia is back from a quick DL trip to nurse his knee. He has been activated in time to pitch Friday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.
CC went on the DL in what seemed pretty clearly like a maneuver to steal him some extra rest before the playoff push. He’s pitched really well all year, but particularly in his last two starts, combining for 19 strikeouts in 11.2 innings against the lowly Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers.
Overall, though, he has pitched to a formidable 3.32 ERA in 119.1 total innings (22 starts). He’s been mostly consistent, too, with his biggest transgression being that he doesn’t give as much length as he did in his younger years.
In his absence, the Yanks gave Luis Cessa the start. I hope that it’s his last one ever because he isn’t good at it. Cessa went 3.1 innings and allowed 5 earned runs, raising his season ERA to 5.60 in the loss. I don’t really ever want to see Cessa again at all, but if I do, it better be out of the bullpen. Maybe they can make him into a Chad Green type. I have no confidence that he’ll succeed at that, but it has a higher likelihood than him ever being a serviceable starter, based on what we’ve all seen so far.
I’m very glad CC is back and hopefully, his knee is a bit healthier now and he can turn it up another notch and be a real weapon down the stretch. I also just have a huge soft spot for the big fella.