And He Was Left Off the All-Star Roster?

7 of CC's 11 Strikeouts were from his Slider

Last night CC Sabathia faced off against the Cleveland Indians and got his 12^th win of the season.  CC is now the first pitcher in MLB this season to get 12 wins.  But his 12^th win wasn’t the real story of the night as CC’s performance was outstanding.  He was throwing some serious heat up in the high 90’s throughout all 7 of his scoreless innings pitched, and using a slider that was absolutely devastating to batters.  Not only would he throw his slider down and away to batters with 2 strikes, but he was also throwing the slider up and in to lefty hitters as the ‘out’ pitch.  It was truly an awesome spectacle to watch Sabathia last night.  His command was perfect and he struck out 11 batters.  Even more impressive was than even when CC put runners on base in scoring position – Nobody ever scored.  In fact, all seven batters who came to the plate with runners in scoring position for the Indians, were struck out by Sabathia. Following the game, Curtis Granderson said “It’s not even fair” referring to a batter facing CC last night.

Granderson is right as CC has gotten hotter and hotter as the season has gotten going.  Over Sabathia’s last three starts, he has pitched a total of 22.2 innings.  Over those past three games, CC has only given up 1 run = .40 ERA & his season ERA has dropped to a 2.90.  He now has won 5 in a row and 9 of his last 10 games.  About a month ago, Girardi said that “CC Likes It Hot” and he wasn’t kidding as CC’s numbers just get better as the summer continues.

Right now, it would seem that CC would be in the lead for winning the Cy Young award at the end of the season.  Verlander had been my pick this year, but CC has been absolutely dominant and he continues to get better.  Not that it matters because CC wouldn’t be eligible to pitch, but how can a guy like this be left off the All-Star roster?

SIDE NOTES:  Derek Jeter got hit first two hits last night since coming off the DL.  The first hit wasn’t especially impressive as it was an infield grounder up the third base line for a single, but his second hit was impressive.  Jeter was facing off against Carrasco in the 2^nd inning with two men on base and two outs.  Carrasco threw a fastball which Jeter drilled to left center for a 2 run double.  Jeter only needs 4 hits to hit 3000!.

The last hit that Derek Jeter had before going on the DL was against Carrasco on June 13, before he was pulled with the injury.  During that game, the Yankees made Carrasco look like a Cy Young candidate.  Carrasco pitched 7 innings and only allowed 5 hits and no runs while striking out 7.  Last night he pitched only 4 innings and allowed 10 hits and 6 earned runs.  I think it’s fair to say that last night’s Yankee performance was a bit better than last time against Carrasco.  Always good to see the Yankees making improvements – that is what separates the good teams from the great teams!