Sabathia brings balance, calm to up-and-down Yankee rotation

To say the Yankees needed C.C. Sabathia at this time is a huge understatement.  No amount of skill or talent can replace a championship pedigree, and that’s exactly what C.C. Sabathia has brought to the Yankees’ rotation now that he’s back in the fold.

Sabathia, recovering from heart surgery and coming off both the Injured List and a five game suspension, came back on Saturday night to the tune of five scoreless innings pitched and one hit given up.  The man pitched a shutout against the White Sox in the Yankees’ 4-0 victory over the Sox.

It was a victory that was very much needed and it was a bit poetic that Sabathia got it, considering he was the stop gap on the 2017 team that made it to the ALCS and also a key part of the Yankees’ 2018 run.  Sabathia didn’t record the win but he deserved it, showing the same poise that he’s shown during his eleven seasons as a Yankee.

Sabathia will never again be the ace he once was, nor will his velocity ever return, but he can still pitched.  He’s learned to rely more on his breaking pitches and instead of leaning on his speed, he’s learned to hit every corner in the book.

Sabathia is going to have to pitch well for the next month or so with Luis Severino out and the only other consistent pitching coming from Domingo German.  Masahiro Tanaka was great but shows his bad side everyone once in a while, Luis Cessa is shaky at best, JA Happ has been terrible so far, and James Paxton has been a dud in his first few starts in pinstripes.

C.C. will not be relied upon as the workhorse of the group but rather the calming force.  He’s been through the good times, the bad times, and everything in between.  The Yankees need him desperately to be the voice of reason in these tough times.  The Yankees will be just fine but the confidence of these pitchers may be shaken forever if things don’t start to change.  It all starts with the big man.