C.C. Sabathia Looking Forward To Getting Back To Throwing

May 10, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (52) pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Ever since C.C. Sabathia underwent his stem cell procedure, he has felt really good, but Sabathia said that he won’t really know how his knee will hold up until he starts throwing which could happen this week.

“I think I’ll be at ease once I play catch outside, standing up,” Sabathia said Monday in his first comments to the NY Post since Dr. James Andrews performed the procedure on May 15 in an attempt to build up his knee cartilage. “This week we should have a little more clarity with how long it’s going to be.” Brian Cashman had said Sabathia could be out until July and doctors familiar with stem cell treatments said it could be even longer.

“It’s just whenever I think, once we start throwing, that I progress enough,” said Sabathia, who so far has only thrown lightly from a chair. “ It could be the end of this month, it could be July.  I don’t have a day.”

Since stem cell treatment involves taking stem cells from his hip and injecting them into his knee, and is rarely done to baseball players, the Yankees and Sabathia are somewhat guessing when it comes to how long he will be out. “I feel great right now so I do feel pretty confident [that it will work],” Sabathia said. “I didn’t know going into it and obviously when I woke up, my leg was stiff and I didn’t know what was going on. Three or four days later, I felt pretty good and I’ve been feeling good ever since, so I’m excited.”

Sabathia has said his knee started bothering him in his final two games, so his poor performance is not entirely due to his injury.  It will be  exciting to see how the self-proclaimed Yankees’ ace bounces back from this injury.