Sabathia was expected to be in the team’s postseason rotation.
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The Yankees backed into home field advantage for the wild card game, as they finished the season on a 3-7 stretch but will still host the matchup.
Girardi had considered using Sabathia out of the bullpen against the Astros if needed. “Time and place have no bearing”, said Cashman.
“This is the first time since I’ve been here in New York that we’re going to be major underdogs in a game”, A-Rod said. What CC’s dealing with is a life issue. This season, Sabathia has a 4.73 ERA and 6 wins, 10 losses in 29 starts.
The AL CY Young Award-winner started his career with the Cleveland Indians in 2001 until traded in 2008 to the Milwaukee Brewers.
It’s especially so in Sabathia’s circumstances with the playoffs about to begin and the temptation to dismiss the bender as simply “a bad weekend”, so he definitely deserves props for his sense of urgency in getting the help he needs. “But for now please respect my family’s need for privacy as we work through this challenge together”.
Eppler said that’s because he knows all about sky-high expectations in demanding organizations after 11 years with the New York Yankees.
Several years ago, Sabathia had already made it clear that he meant to prioritize his health when he dropped a ton of weight after his cousin died of heart disease.
The other emotional component was the human element to what the left-hander means to the team personally. And as much as Sabathia’s teammates look to continue their season tomorrow night in the Bronx with an elimination baseball game, what is more important is Sabathia is in rehab and will recover. “And that’s exactly what I am going to do”.
“CC has always been soldier here”, boss Joe Girardi said.
There was an incident in August with Sabathia in Toronto when he was involved in a street fight during a series with the Blue Jays. His friends pushed him into a vehicle before a brawl ensued outside of nightclub.
At the time, Sabathia said he was being blackmailed by a photo agency, so he posted it on Instagram with the hashtags #ItsOnlyACigar and #MiniCigarillos. “I wasn’t expecting this type of press conference today”, Cashman said. Sabathia explained the situation and detailed his plan to attend a rehab facility. He got the win against Boston last week that clinched the Yankees’ return to the postseason following a rare two-year absence.
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“Since 2009, he’s been a huge part of what we’ve done around here”, Brett Gardner said. They do have two very good starting pitchers in Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino; another capable of dazzling – or exasperating – on any given day in Michael Pineda; and one of exceptional versatility and reliability in Adam Warren. The news can be a jolt to anybody, especially a team preparing for postseason games, but inside the clubhouse where Sabathia is viewed as one of the team’s leaders, motivation was the theme.
