Will CC Sabathia Eat His Arm Before it Falls Off?

Watching CC Sabathia pitch against the Tigers tonight helped me come up with a nice little theme for a post: What will come first?

CC Sabathia is a great pitcher, so don’t get me wrong by the picture I used and the imminent teasing.  I think the dude can straight up chuck it and deserves to be named amongst the top pitchers in the past decade in the MLB.  I only have a couple problems with him (aside from his crooked hat) that irk me and, in turn, make him an easy target.

As you all know, CC Sabathia’s fastball isn’t the only thing that is heavy.  CC probably takes off the periods in his first name to make it look slimmer, but we all know CC is actually pretty fat (and the name CC’s pretty phat, too). 

Part of the reason CC was such a hot commodity this offseason is his uncanny ability to throw all the time and come back on three days rest to perform at an even higher level than before.  He did it last year for the Brewers when he came back on three days rest four times in a row, threw 434 pitches over 28 2/3 IP in a span of 13 days, had a 1.88 ERA, and went 2-2 (both wins the latter two).  He has thrown over 3,000 pitches in five out of the last six seasons (105 pitches/outing) and has been throwing over 180 IP per season in the pros since he was 19. 

If you looked up the definition of an “inning eater,” in the dictionary, you’d probably see CC’s picture.  However some people, myself included, might think he not only eats innings, but in fact, eats innings.  His gut certainly looked fatter than ever on Monday against the Tigers.

In all fairness, his size has never really adversely affected him.  However, at the age of 29, CC Sabathia is creeping up on tail end of his prime years and one has to wonder, does he have anywhere to go but down?  His weight definitely won’t benefit him as that will probably continue to go up.

Take another former lefty Cy Young winner for example–one who just happens not to be fat.  Barry Zito threw over 3,650 pitches five consecutive seasons–all very good seasons.  Some say the money mixed poorly with the zen in San Francisco, but reality is that his arm is probably just worn out.  He, like CC to NY, went to San Francisco at the age of 28 and has been miserable ever since. 

CC might not be miserable in New York, yet at least, but I’ve been predicting an arm meltdown ever since that crazy pitch streak he had in Milwaukee.  105 pitches/outing is actually pretty standard–100-110 pitch count is typically viewed as normal for a starter in the MLB.  My thought, however is when you do that consistently over a decade there has to be some red flags raised. 

CC has had a slow start to the season, once again, and my curiosity has me scratching the hairs on my chin as to whether or not he will actually bounce out of it this season.  He definitely pitched better in his 99 pitch outing tonight against the Tigers, but how much longer can he really survive throwing that many pitches in a season without experiencing some arm troubles.  And that is where weight might come into play, too. 

So the real question I’ve been meaning to ask is, “what will come first?  CCs arm falls off? Or he eats it off?”  If you’re smart as hell like me, I think you realize that it’s inevitable that his arm is going to detach, one day or another.  It’s just a matter of how and when–it could be on his 135th pitch one night or it could be raising a nice juicy 3/4 lb double cheeseburger after the game.  Either way, the Yankees better milk him for all that he’s worth these next couple seasons because I really don’t see him being all that productive for those last five that are in his contract. He certainly won’t if he keeps eating at this rate (innings and food).