Does Sabathia Need to Change After Rough Start?

May 4, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher

(52) reacts after giving up a run scoring double in the first inning against the Tampa Bays Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

There is an old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” However, in C.C. Sabathia‘s case it looks pretty broken so far. According to C.C. though, he is just getting started. The 33-year-old left-hander told reporters Friday in Milwaukee he is improving each day with pitching coach Larry Rothschild and catcher Brian McCann. Hopefully, Sabathia can display his improvement when he faces his former team on Saturday.

Sabathia is coming off his worst start of the season after he was knocked out of the 4th inning. He finished with just 3 2/3 innings pitched and allowed 5 runs on 10 hits. Sabathia now stands at 3-4 with a 5.75 ERA on the young season. A question that many Yankees’ fans pose is the matter of his health. Sabathia told reporters he is 100 percent healthy and just needs to make his pitches count. Sabathia has not looked like the ace of the staff this year and the Yankees certainly need him to be since the rest of their rotation has been plagued by injuries.

As I mentioned above, Sabathia will face his former team Saturday in Milwaukee. Remember, Sabathia led the Brewers to the playoffs in 2008, only to blow the series with a bad start against the eventual World Series champion Phillies. Oh how time has changed. Sabathia then was a pure number 1 dominant pitcher who could make any hitter swing and miss. Now, 5 years later, Sabathia relies more on contact out than strike outs.

I’m not saying Sabathia should change his style of pitching. I’m saying he should be more effective in his style of pitching. His “stuff” right now is fine. What needs to change is his mind set and mentality. If C.C. can get on a role, the Yankees should start to see the rest of the pitching rotation fall in-line as well.