Tag Archives: CC Sabathia

July 27, 2025

Hall of Fame Day

The Hall of Fame welcomes five new players Sunday:

Dick Allen, Dave Parker, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner will achieve baseball immorality on Sunday when they are inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Their achievements on the field show the honor is well-deserved.
SI.com

To me the most impressive feat belongs to Suzuki, who came to the majors at seasonal age 27, the peak year for athletic performance, and still managed to amass 3089 hits. (Note that Pete Rose collected 3357 hits starting with his age 27 season.)

Also, photo of the weekend:

My guy Reggie!!! @mroctober pic.twitter.com/AoiJEuOA8o
— CC Sabathia (@CC_Sabathia) July 26, 2025

While he may have shrunk a bit with age, Reggie Jackson is not a small person. It’s a nice perspective on CC Sabathia’s size.

Congratulations to all the Hall of Famers!

January 21, 2025

Three Make the Hall

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The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) elected Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner to the Hall of Fame. Suzuki and Sabathia were on the ballot for the first time, Wagner for the tenth and final time. Congratulations to all three!

Suzuki joins Derek Jeter as players who fell one vote short of a unanimous election. I was discussing why some players fall just a few votes short of unanimity. I suspect at some point, the player really made the writer angry. The writer then thinks, “This player will get elected with or without my vote, so I’m going to prevent a perfect election.” Mariano Rivera was such a good person, I can believe he never made a writer angry.

Wagner will be the controversial choice, as there are strong feelings about relievers pitching enough to make the hall. On the broadcast this evening, there was talk about his efforts in high leverage situations. In 881 PA with men in scoring position, Wagner struck out 301 batters, 34.2%. That’s a bit better than his 33.2% in against the 3600 batters he faced overall. He did pitch better with men on base, but not a lot better.

Carlos Beltran pulled 70% of the vote, as it looks like a good fraction of the voters are not happy with the cheating scandal. He is up significantly from last year. Andruw Jones rose as well, from 62% to 66%. I suspect we’ll see a campaign for Jones similar to the one for Bert Blyleven that will eventually put the outfielder over the top.

January 21, 2025

Hall of Fame Day

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It’s looking like three to four veterans will receive a call to the Hall of Fame Tuesday evening. Ichiro Suzuki remains unanimous with a little over 50% of the ballots made public. CC Sabathia remains over 90%, with Billy Wagner at 84.5%. The question makr is Carlos Beltran at 80.5%. It’s his third time on the ballot, and he seems to have been forgiven for his part in the Astros cheating scandal.

The results so far look like good news for Andruw Jones, who is on a pace to do a bit better than in 2024. He’ll have two more chances after this season.

January 5, 2025

Laurila and the Hall

Naitonal treasure David Laurila discusses his Hall of Fame ballot. Here is the picture:

My HoF ballot. Explanation coming in tomorrow’s Notes column. pic.twitter.com/HFu8NGSbx8
— David Laurila (@DavidLaurilaQA) January 5, 2025

One of the nice things about the Hall of Fame ballot is that you can vote for a favorite even though there is little chance of that person reaching the hall. I would probably give a vote to Dustin Pedroia, too, as one of the great short players.

As of this writing, the Hall of Fame tracker makes it look like the voters will select Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia for enshrinement. Ichiro, so far, recevied all reportd votes.

Billy Wagner, who just missed in 2024, is also doing well. The big hall voters, however, tend to go public early, so the percentages go down as all the ballots are counted, and Wagner may just miss again. I know people with very strong feelings against closers in the hall, due to their lack of innings. My own feeling is that closer is now a legitimate role in the game. I have no problem with a closer going into the Hall, but it has to be a much higher bar than a more used player. The same applies to designated hitters. Maybe one a generation should go into the Hall.

December 29, 2019

The Dogfight Decade

The series on visualizing Bill James Starting Pitcher Ranks continues with the ten year span starting in 2004 and ending in 2013. The 1984-1993 span represents the Roger Clemens era, as his career started in 1984. The 1994-2003 span represents the Pedro Martinez era, as Martinez fully moved into the role of starting pitcher in 1994. The 2004-2013 era is more difficult to name. It’s probably the Justin Verlander era, but it could just as easily be the Johan Santana or Felix Hernandez or Roy Halladay or CC Sabathia era.

The spreadsheet shows the daily scores for the ten years of any pitcher who occupied the top slot in ranking for at least one day. The graph shows, for the group, how they moved against each other over time.

For the previous decade, only five pitchers obtained the top slot, with the fifth (Curt Schilling) not beating out one of the other four until the very end. The latest stretch saw fourteen different pitchers earn top honors. The era contains a nice mixture of pitchers with long runs of domination, and pitchers who burned brightly for a short time.

There are also a number of instances when a few of these pitchers are grouped very closely around the number one slot. The 2004 season picks up where 2003 ended, with Shilling, Martinez, and Randy Johnson fighting for the top slot, but now joined by Jason Schmidt. Schmidt is one of the pitchers with a bright but short lived burst. He pitched okay for a bad Pirates team in the 1990s, then joined the Giants in 2001 and took his game to another level, greatly increasing his strikeout rate. He reaches the top in July of 2004, then starts to fall and is pretty much done by the start of the 2007 season.

In September 2005, Santana joins the battle with Martinez and Johnson, while Roger Clemens makes his last appearance as the top starter in the game. Clemens reached number one in three decades. Santana would win the battle. Martinez fought Santana for the stop slot in 2006, but the Twins ace would dominate until the 2008 season.

At the end of 2008, two challengers arise to Santana. The Indians trade Sabathia to the Brewers, and Sabathia goes on a tear than nets him a 1.65 ERA in 17 starts. Brandon Webb reaches the pinnacle of his great but too short career. Sabathia and Santana end the season with Santana leading by about 0.3 points.

Santana starts 2009 strong, but by July there is another inflection point. As of the morning of July 8, 2009, Dan Haren sits on top with a small lead over Tim Lincecum and Sabathia, with Santana in fourth place and Halladay in fifth, fifteen points separating the lot. Sabathia and Lincecum would emerge from this scrum as the top two pitchers, Sabathia finishing at the top of the pack that year.

Sabathia and Lincecum continued to go toe-to-toe at the start of 2010, but Roy Halladay zoomed past both. Sabathia caught him briefly, and a great spurt by Hernandez brought King Felix briefly to the top*.

*And now an interlude to explain something that is lacking in my calculation. The rankings as defined by Bill James use post-season data. The Day by Day Database only has post-season data going back to 2002. When I have the data, I use it in the calculations, which is why you might see different numbers if you look at rankings on the Bill James site and Baseball Musings. Most of the time, it doesn’t make a lot of difference in the rankings, but twice it helps Roy Halladay.

At the end of the 2010 regular season, Hernandez holds about a seven point lead over Halladay. Then Halladay throws a no-hitter. Hernandez is not in the playoffs, so his score starts to decay. Halladay pitches decently in two more starts, and stays on top over the winter.

In 2011, Halladay continues to pitch well, but Justin Verlander comes into his own and blows past Halladay in July. Verlander finishes the regular season on top, but pitches poorly in the post-season, while Halladay makes two good starts. Once again Halladay spends the winter on top, interrupting what could have been a straight two years of domination for Verlander.

Verlander’s reign ends on 5/17/2013, when Clayton Kershaw takes over the top slot. As a coincidence, both Verlander’s and Kershaw’s line are colored a shade of yellow. The two have similar rises to the top, but Kershaw’s slope is a bit higher, so he reaches the top quicker.

Pitcher of that decade goes to Santana, who controlled the top from end of 2006 through the end of 2009, and continued to be in the hunt through 2010. I do like that we had three pitchers who were briefly the best, Schmidt, Webb, Haren. There were lots of different pitchers to like and plenty of arguments about who was the best of the bunch.

October 18, 2019

So Long CC

CC Sabathia‘s career is officially over:

The 39-year-old lefthander, who announced his intent to retire last November after signing a one-year contract with the Yankees, was replaced on the 25-man ALCS roster late Friday morning after suffering a subluxation (partial dislocation) of his left shoulder joint.
NewsDay.com

He finishes his regular season career with a 251-161 record, a .609 winning percentage, and a 3.74 ERA. He walked just 2.8 batters per nine innings pitched. He added a 9-7, 4.34 ERA post-season to that.

October 17, 2019

Sabathia Finished

CC Sabathia comes on to pitch in the top of the eighth inning after the first two Houston batters reached. He faced four batter, recording two outs, but leaves the game with an injury. He did allow an inherited runner to score. I’m sure it’s not the way Sabathia nor the Yankees fans wanted his career to end. The Astros lead the Yankees 7-3 in the middle of the eighth inning.

July 22, 2019

Games of the Day

The Reds send Sonny Gray against the Brewers and Chase Anderson. Gray pitched 27 fewer inning than last season, but is only three strikeouts behind his 2018 total. Anderson owns a 6.75 ERA this season in two starts against the Reds.

The Yankees visit the Twins in a clash of first place teams. CC Sabathia takes on Martin Perez. Sabathia gives up power, and this may be the most powerful Twins team ever. They’ve hit 182 home runs so far this season, their ninth highest season total. They are well on their way to breaking their 1963 team record of 225 home runs. Perez lowered his ERA over two runs from last season by cutting his home run rate by more than half.

Enjoy!

June 19, 2019

Sabathia at 250

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CC Sabathia allowed one run and three hits in his six innings of work Wednesday afternoon to earn the 250th win of his career. Sabathia came up in 2001, and is by far the win leader in that time frame. Only Justin Verlander and Mark Buehrle reached 200 wins during that period. With a 3.71 ERA, Sabathia’s high winning percentage was helped by his teams, but he also did well in those years when Cleveland wasn’t making the playoffs. We will see how that ERA plays into his Hall of Fame chances.

June 14, 2019

Games of the Day

The Diamondbacks try for another great pitching performance against the Nationals as Robbie Ray takes on Max Scherzer. Both pitchers blow away batters, but Ray is hurt a some by his walk rate, while Scherzer is great at all three-true outcomes.

The White Sox try for a second win against the Yankees in Chicago as CC Sabathia faces Lucas Giolito. The pitchers are moving in different directions. Sabathia struggled in his last three starts due to five home runs allowed in 16 innings. His walk and strikeout rates remain outstanding however. Giolitio turned out to be worth the wait for the White Sox, as he is now a legitimate Cy Young Award candidate. He posted a 1.22 ERA in his last nine starts with just two home runs allowed in 59 innings.

Finally, the Cubs and Dodgers meet in Los Angeles with Kyle Hendricks facing Rich Hill. Hendricks owns a high ERA on the road this season, 4.89, due mostly to five home runs allowed in 35 innings. Hill allowed eight home runs in 45 innings this season, but holds batters to a .135 BA with runners in scoring position to keep his ERA low.

Enjoy!

June 2, 2019

Games of the Day

Max Scherzer and Sonny Gray square off as the Nationals and Red play the rubber game of their series. Scherzer appears to suffer bad luck this season. His three-true outcomes are all good to great, but he allowed a high number of hits despite a high strikeout rate. The opposition owns a .359 BABIP against him, when his career average is .290. It looks like his defense lets him down. Gray found himself again in Cincinnati, where his high K rate did lead to many fewer hits.

The Pirates try for a split of their four game series with Milwaukee as they host the Brewers in Pittsburgh. Zach Davies takes on Jordan Lyles. Davies sports a 2.19 ERA and is undefeated in 11 starts. He is 5-0 while the Brewers are 7-4, not scoring much in the losses. Davies low ERA is mostly due to being stingy with men on base, allowing a .218/.252/.317 slash line. He doesn’t give up the extra-base hits that move runners to the plate. Lyles 3.09 ERA comes from simply limiting hits and walks.

Finally, a pair of veteran left-handers take the mound in the Bronx as David Price battles CC Sabathia as the Yankees go for a sweep of the Red Sox. This will be the eleventh time they started against each other, and Price has dominated the match-up. He is 6-2 with a 3.06 ERA, while Sabathia is 2-6 with a 4.16 ERA. They have not faced each other since 2014, however.

Enjoy!

May 23, 2019

Kneed for a Win

CC Sabathia pitched through pain Wednesday night to earn his 249th career win. With his knee this balky, I suspect he doesn’t know which win will be his last:

He was leaking oil, pint by pint, pitch by pitch, his right knee screaming at him every time he fell on it. All 6-feet, 6-inches and 300 pounds of CC Sabathia crunched down on the leg, on the knee, a sharp ache that started with his first pitch of the night and stuck around for all of the 87 that followed.

“It makes it hard to land,” Sabathia would say later. “It’s a shooting pain that goes through me every time. It makes it hard to finish pitches.”
NYPost.com

Sabathia needs the knee drained now, so it will be awhile before he goes for win 250.

May 11, 2019

Games of the Day

The Brewers try to make it eight wins in a row as they send Zach Davies against Cole Hamels and the Cubs. The teams are tied for first place in the NL Central. Davies is a successful low-strikeout pitcher, as he does not allow that many hits. He does a good job of keeping the ball on the ground. Hamels pitched extremely well since joining the Cubs, and looks like he deserves more wins than his 7-3 record in 19 starts indicates.

The Yankees and Rays continue their battle for first place in the AL East with CC Sabathia facing opener Ryne Stanek. Sabathia stands two wins away from 250 for his career and 4 2/3 innings away from 3500 for his career. Here are the leaders in the low mound era. In his nine openings this season, Stanek owns a 1.98 ERA, with 16 K and just two walks in 13 2/3 innings. He’s doing his job, and clearing out the top of the order once through the lineup.

Enjoy!

May 6, 2019

King Me!

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The Yankees are having a royal time against Felix Hernandez, leading the Mariners 6-0 at the end of two innings. The Yankees already hit three home runs, including the first by rookie Thairo Estrada. Meanwhile CC Sabathia retired all six batters he faced.

May 6, 2019

Games of the Day

A match-up of great veterans takes place in New York where Felix Hernandez leads the Mariners against CC Sabathia and the Yankees. Both teams come into the game with 19 wins, two games back in their respective divisions. Both pitchers came up young, Hernandez at seasonal 19 in 2005, Sabathia at seasonal age 20 in 2000. From 2005 to 2012 the two posted nearly identical ERAs, and three-true outcomes. Sabathia won many more games, but he played for better teams.

The Twins send Martin Perez against the Blue Jays and Marcus Stroman. Perez comes into the game 4-0 on the season, 3-0 as a starter. In his four starts he posted a 2.08 ERA, walking just five batters in 26 innings. Stroman owns a 1-4 record despite a 2.20 ERA. He has been hurt by four unearned runs and Toronto scoring just 18 runs in seven starts. He has yet to allow a home run in 41 innings.

Finally, Jacob deGrom faces Chris Paddack as the Mets visit the Padres. deGrom’s strikeouts remain high, but he allowed five home runs this season after giving up just 10 in 2018. Paddack is an early rookie of the year candidate as he owns a 1.91 ERA after six starts and 33 innings. He allowed just two home runs, batters slugging just .207 against him.

Enjoy!

April 30, 2019

3000 Sabathia

CC Sabathia strikes out John Ryan Murphy to end the second inning and record his 3000th career strikeout. There is s small celebration on the field in Arizona, as the Yankees come out of the dugout to congratulate him, and Sabathia’s family comes down to the front row to express their love.

Sabathia leads off the top of the third inning at the plate. He’s a .212 career hitter, but struck out 34 times at the plate in 118 at bats.

April 24, 2019

Games of the Day

The Mariners and Padres, two teams on the rise, send veteran Felix Hernandez against rookie Chris Paddack. Hernandez, so far, has not recovered his ability to strike out batters, but is making the most of his control. He walked just two batters in 18 1/3 innings. Paddack allowed just five earned runs in his first 20 innings, holding opponents to a .134/.213/.269 slash line. Think of Paddack as turning all batters into pitchers at the plate.

The Diamondbacks send Merrill Kelly against the Pirates and Jordan Lyles. Kelly has the strikeout dimension of the three-true outcomes down, with 22 K in 22 2/3 innings. He needs to work on his walks and power, as he allowed 10 BB and three home runs. Lyles comes into the game with a 0.53 ERA, allowing his only run on a solo homer. He needs five more innings to qualify as the league leader in ERA.

Finally, the Yankees visit the Angels with CC Sabathia facing Felix Pena. Sabathia is just six strikeouts away from 3000 for his career. Only 12 pitchers have more in the low mound era (or division era), since the start of the 1969 season. If Sabathia gets to 3000, he passes Phil Niekro on that list. (Niekro struck out 3342 batters in his career.) Pena is holding batters to a .206 BA this season, but allowed four of his 13 hits to leave the park, and walks led to a .315 OBP.

Enjoy!

April 13, 2019

Si, Si, Sabathia

CC Sabathia gave the Yankees some good news on the injury front as he comes off the disabled/suspended list to pitch five shutout innings against the White Sox. Two thirds of his pitches went for strikes as he allowed one hit and no walks. The Yankees won the game 4-0 to end a four-game losing streak.

March 16, 2019

The Three Fifths Rotation

The Yankees are not sure when Luis Severino and CC Sabathia will return to the rotation. Severino injured his shoulder and is a month behind the rest of the squad, and Sabathia, even without his suspension, is still working his way back from surgery and heart problems*.

*He’s the poster child for why it should be called the illjured list.

That still leaves New York with three excellent starters in Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, and James Paxton. The Yankees could fill in with two youngsters, or they could take advantage of their real pitching strength and put more weight on the bullpen.

While one strategy for this is to use an opener, the Yankees could also opt to limit their starters to a low number of pitches and and them go every fourth game. There are plenty of off days during the first two weeks of the season, so the Yankees should be able to get their top three starters five starts in the first 19 games (23 days) without taxing them too much. They may not get any decisions, but they also may stay healthy the rest of the season.

It’s an excellent opportunity for the Yankees to try something unconventional as the use of pitchers continues to evolve.

December 21, 2018

Stent Give Sabathia Another Stint

CC Sabathia needed a stent to clear an artery blockage:

Sabathia’s agent, Kyle Thousand, told The Athletic the procedure took place Dec. 11. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the 38-year-old pitcher is expected to report to spring training on time in mid-February.
StarTribune.com

My best wishes to Sabathia for a quick recovery. Fifty years ago this might have killed him. Thirty years ago he would have needed bypass surgery, which would have ended his career. Today, doctors insert a tiny metal tube, and you’re good to go. Don’t let anyone tell you we’re not living in the best times ever.

November 6, 2018

Sabathia Signs

The Yankees and CC Sabathia reached a deal on a contract:

The New York Yankees have reached an agreement to bring back veteran pitcher CC Sabathia on a one-year, $8 million deal, according to ESPN and multiple reports.

The 38-year-old lefty has played the past 10 seasons of his 18-season career with the Yankees.

He’s become the crafty left-hander, and at $8 million it’s worth it for the Yankees to get the innings.

October 9, 2018

Playoffs Today

The Red Sox try to eliminate the Yankees in game four of their ALCS Tuesday night at 8 PM. Rick Porcello faces CC Sabathia. Porcello’s ERA came in at 4.28 this season, but against the Yankees it was an excellent 2.31. He held the Yankees to one home run in 23 1/3 innings. Sabathia’s ERA was over a run lower at Yankee Stadium than on the road this season, mostly due to a lower walk rate. He owned a 4.50 ERA against Boston this season in three starts.

Enjoy!

September 27, 2018

A Fine of his Own

CC Sabathia retaliated for the Rays throwing one under Austin Romine‘s chin, and lost half a million dollars when he was ejected:

Up from the bench, out of the dugout sprang CC Sabathia, who in his final start of the season was cruising along with no-hit stuff (though he’d allowed a chippy, shift-aided single to Joey Wendle) and was but two innings away from the 155-inning incentive threshold that would automatically earn him a cool $500,000 bonus.

And the big man was hot.

“You throw a ball under a guy’s chin,” he would say later, still fuming, “that’s not a good spot.”

Sabathia threw his inside pitch low. I do not condone throwing at anyone at anytime, but if more pitchers lost $500K when they did, you might see less of it.

September 27, 2018

Games of the Day

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The Yankees can cut their magic number to one for home field in the wild card game with a win over the Rays. (The Yankees hold the tie breaker against the A’s.) CC Sabathia takes on Jaime Schultz. Sabathia had a rough September, posting a 7.02 ERA as he allowed 27 hits in 16 2/3 innings. Schultz makes his first start after 21 relief appearances. He struck out 33 batters in 29 2/3 innings, allowing just 16 hits. The other two of the three-true outcomes are not so good, as he allowed five home runs and 15 walks. His weaknesses play to the Yankees strengths. The game starts at 1 PM EDT.

At 3 PM EDT, the Phillies take on the Rockies, as Colorado tries to go a full game up on the Dodgers and two games up on the Cardinals. Jake Arrieta faces Antonio Senzatela. Arrieta only pitched in Coors twice in his career, and both times he allowed nine runs. Senzatela owns a 5.20 ERA at home, where he allowed 49 hits in 36 1/3 innings.

Finally, the Pirates and the Cubs finish their series, the Cubs trying to put a full game between themselves and the Brewers. Trevor Williams battles Jon Lester. Williams lowered his ERA by a run this season without improving his three-true outcomes. His BABIP against dropped from a good .291 in 2017 to a great .254 in 2018. He increase his fly ball rate while lowering his home run rate, which indicates to me an improvement in his four-seam fastball. Lester is 3-1 with a 3.72 ERA against the Pirates in five starts this season. He walked eight and struck out 25 in 29 innings.

Enjoy!

September 3, 2018

Games of the Day

Eastern division leaders meet in Atlanta as the Red Sox send Nathan Eovaldi against rookie Touki Toussaint. Eovaldi started strong for the Red Sox but got knocked around lately. Toussaint gets a tough assignment for his second MLB start. He held the Marlins to two hits and two walks in six innings, but Boston fields a slightly better offense.

The Cardinals send Jack Flaherty against the Nationals and Max Scherzer as St. Louis tries to solidify their wild card position. Flaherty owns a 2.28 ERA since the All-Star break, as he limited opponents to just 25 hits in 47 1/3 innings. Scherzer is pitching mostly for the Cy Young award now, a bit hurt by multi-run homers. Nine of the 11 HR he allowed came with men on base. That despite a low .241 OBP allowed.

The Brewers host the Cubs as Milwaukee hopes to gain ground in the NL Central division race as the teams open a three-game series. Cole Hamels faces Zach Davies in game one. Hamels allowed four runs, three earned, in 39 since joining the Cubs. He has yet to allow a home run in a Chicago uniform. Davies makes his first start since May 29, out with a rotator cuff injury.

Finally, the Yankees try to add distance to their lead in the AL Wild Card race as they visit Oakland. CC Sabathia takes on Trevor Cahill. Sabathia hails from the Bay Area, but has not pitched well when visiting. He is 5-7 with a 5.20 ERA in sixteen starts there. Cahill owns an 0.85 ERA at home this season, allowing three home runs and 12 walks in 52 2/3 innings, giving up just 28 hits in total.

Enjoy!

August 2, 2018

Games of the Day

The Yankees trail the Red Sox by 5 1/2 games as they open a four-game set in Boston. CC Sabathia takes on Brian Johnson. Sabathia pitched with mixed results against the Red Sox this season. He is 1-0 in two starts with a 4.09 ERA. He walked one and struck out 10 in 11 innings, but allowed 15 hits. Johnson pitched 30 innings as a starter and a reliever this season. As a starter he owns a 1.80 ERA; as a reliever 5.10. His three-true outcomes are better as a reliever, however, so I wonder how much other relievers allowing his runners to score raised his ERA.

The Brewers send Jhoulys Chacín against the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw. The veteran Chacin gives the Brewers both innings and wins. He’s allowed just 10 home runs in 127 2/3 innings. Kershaw comes in with a 4-5 record. He pitched like his old self in July, however, posting a 1.95 ERA in 32 1/3 innings.

Finally, Madison Bumgarner takes on Zack Greinke as the Giants battle the Diamondbacks. Bumgarner’s lost some control this season, walking 24 batters in 61 2/3 innings. He walked 20 batters in 111 IP last season. Greinke comes off a July in which he won Pitcher of the Month honors from Baseball Musings.

Enjoy!

July 27, 2018

Games of the Day

The Royals send rookie Brad Keller against veteran CC Sabathia as Kansas City visits the Yankees. Keller’s stats are odd. He throws hard enough, he fastball coming in at 95 miles an hour, but he pitches to contact. He struck out just 44 and walked 29 in 70 1/3 innings. Despite the low K numbers, he only allowed 63 hits. He keeps the ball in the park as well, allowing just two home runs. Sabathia evolved into more of a contact pitcher over time, but with a lower walk rate and higher HR rate than Keller. If you like seeing the ball hit, this might be the game for you.

Aces butt heads in Atlanta as the Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw against Mike Foltynewicz. Kershaw’s WHIP is over 1.00 for the first time since 2012, as both his rate of hits and walks are higher. Foltynewicz may be tiring, as he made three poor starts in a row.

Oakland is now battling not just for a wild card, but a division title as well as they trail Seattle by one game and Houston by six games. The Athletics put their six game win streak on the line against the Rockies, just two games out of first place in the NL West. Both teams are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Sean Manaea takes on Kyle Freeland. Manaea had trouble with the NL this year, going 1-2 with a 4.45 ERA in five starts. He allowed five home runs in 28 1/3 innings. Freeland is the master of Coors Field, with a 2.76 ERA at home this season, allowing just 40 hits in 49 innings.

Enjoy!

July 9, 2018

Games of the Day

The Yankees and Orioles play a Twi-Night double header. Game one features CC Sabathia against Jimmy Yacabonis. Sabathia pitched well since the start of June, posting a 2.09 ERA thanks to just 10 walks in 38 2/3 innings. Yacabonis is off to an impressively bad start to his career. In 27 innings covering 2017 and 2018, he allowed 27 hits and 20 walks, three of the hits home runs. He only struck out 14 batters. He starts off in a hole, with a .434 OBP allowed with the bases empty, but “saves” himself with a .182 BA allowed with men in scoring position. His career ERA of 5.33 seems low for his other numbers.

Two of the hottest teams in the majors meet in Houston as the Athletics play the Astros. Oakland is 16-4 since June 16th (best in the majors), the Astros 15-6. Frankie Montas takes on Gerrit Cole. Montas allowed just two home runs in 42 1/3 innings. Cole is already 2-0 against Oakland this season in three starts. He struck out 27 A’s in just 18 2/3 innings.

Enjoy!

June 29, 2018

Games of the Day

A late afternoon start at Wrigley Field sees Jose Berrios of the Twins facing Mike Montgomery of the Cubs. Berrios’s weakness is home runs, and that is especially true on the road where he allowed eight homers in 37 2/3 innings. Montgomery owns a 2.02 ERA in six starts, but a 5.33 ERA in 18 relief appearances.

The Red Sox send Eduardo Rodriguez against the Yankees and CC Sabathia. The Red Sox lead the Yankees by one game in the AL East, but New York played four fewer games. Rodriguez can match his rookie total of 10 wins with a W tonight. Rodriguez pitches well against the Yankees, 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA in ten career starts. Sabathia is hot, with a 2.10 ERA in June, but just a 2-2 record to go with that. He’s walked six and struck out 23 in his 25 2/3 innings this month.

Enjoy!

June 11, 2018

Games of the Day

The Nationals make their way to New York to face the Yankees. Tanner Roark and CC Sabathia do battle from the mound. Roark pitched a bit better on the road this season, as only three of his nine home runs coming away in more innings than he pitched at home. Sabathia pitches better at home, with an ERA a run better than on the road. He has both issued fewer walks and struck out more batters in Yankee Stadium this season.

The Oakland Athletics are hanging on the edge of the division race as they host the Astros. Lance McCullers, Jr. takes on Daniel Mengden. McCullers already beat Oakland twice this season, allowing two runs in 12 innings. Mengden walked just 11 batters in 78 1/3 innings, one of the lowest rates in the league.

Enjoy!