Things went from bad to ugly for CC Sabathia in 2013.
In spite of logging 200 or more innings for the seventh straight season, the 33-year-old posted a disconcerting 4.78 ERA (4.10 FIP) and allowed a career-high 28 home runs.
Sabathia’s forgettable 2013 campaign also marked the third consecutive season in which the 13-year veteran endured a drop in velocity.
Attempts to determine the cause of Sabathia’s struggles persisted throughout the regular season, with the more popular theories contending that the left-hander’s dismal performance stemmed from previous injuries or his offseason weight loss.
Though neither ...
Last season is one that Mark Teixeira and Yankees' fans would just as soon forget. When "Tex" hurt his wrist while preparing for the World Baseball Classic 2013, it became a lost cause.
The Yankees never really adequately made up for the injury, and it was the first in a series of key setbacks the team experienced in recording its lowest win total (85) since the strike-shortened 1995 season.
Just how much Teixeira's injury directly affected the club's mediocre performance can be up for debate, but a look at the numbers suggests ...
The 162-game penalty meted out by baseball's arbitrator barely registered, but the 60 Minutes piece with Tony Bosch seems to have shaken baseball fans. Seeing a snake-oil salesman telling his story made many wonder why several of baseball's biggest stars, including Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun, would trust him with their careers.
The better question is, how many Tony Bosches are there out there? With a "Low T" clinic on every corner, there will be more than a few who think they know how to beat the system. There are always ...
It's the $61 million question: Should the New York Yankees buy out the rest of Alex Rodriguez's contract and make him go away?
The embattled star third baseman's initial 211-game suspension was trimmed down, but Rodriguez will still be forced to sit out all 162 games of the 2014 season, plus any playoff games should the Yankees return to October.
That decision by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz will save the Yankees about $25 million this year, but Rodriguez remains under contract through 2017 at a total of—you guessed it—$61 million.
In his attempt to clear his ...
The New York Yankees need starting pitching. Unfortunately for them, this happens to be a less than ideal offseason for a team to find itself in that position. Sure, Masahiro Tanaka is out there, and the Yankees are reportedly after him, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, but even the pursuit of a Japanese star is no longer tilted in the Yankees' favor, as it arguably once was, due to the changes to the posting system that went into effect for the first time this winter.
You could argue the ...
Over the last two decades, the New York Yankees have put the fate of their franchise in Derek Jeter's hands. Now, as the 39-year-old enters the twilight of his career, the team is asking its captain to do something only three shortstops in the history of the sport have done: profile as an everyday shortstop as a 40-year-old.
From 1996 through 2012, spanning the first 17 seasons of Derek Jeter's career, the Yankees shortstop averaged 151 games played per year. That number, remarkable on its own, is even more staggering when considering ...
While "busy" might be the best word to describe the offseason for the New York Yankees and general manager Brian Cashman, "hectic" is probably the best word to describe the upcoming month leading up to when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
The Yankees are still a team with several holes to fill. The starting rotation needs work, as does the bullpen. While signing middle infielders has been a priority for Cashman, he would be wise to bring in a corner infielder to play behind Mark Teixeira when he needs ...
Roc Nation Sports added another major star to its lineup with the addition of CC Sabathia. The agency announced the New York Yankees starting pitcher as its newest client on Thursday, Jan. 16.
According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, Roc Nation Sports president Juan Perez said, "CC exemplifies everything Roc Nation looks for in an athlete and a partner."
Headed up by Jay Z, Roc Nation boasts Geno Smith, Kevin Durant, Victor Cruz and Skylar Diggins as clients, and its sports influence is only growing. Roc Nation is the agency that negotiated Robinson Cano's 10-year, ...
Alex Rodriguez is facing the reality of his situation, and he's doing so with an optimistic outlook that, given the circumstances, also passes well enough for a realistic outlook.
Less than a week after A-Rod's 211-game ban resulting from MLB's investigation into Biogenesis was reduced to 162 games and the postseason in 2014 by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, the New York Yankees third baseman has spoken.
What he said may surprise you. Via ESPN New York, here's Rodriguez speaking at a promotional appearance in Mexico:
I think that in the year 2014, the league could ...
The New York Yankees approach the 2014 season with Derek Jeter the only remaining member of the Core Four, the last wave of homegrown talent who matured simultaneously and famously from prospects to everyday players to Bomber legends.
The depth of talent in the farm system is the last thing, of course, that a Yankees fan would boast of.
It isn't just some of the organization's inauspicious draft selections or impotence with developing once-promising signees. They also maintain that little (spending) tendency to throw up veteran roadblocks to youngsters' big league arrival ...