Yankees Editorial: Are CC and Tex Being Counted On Too Much?
By Jason Evans
For the New York Yankees to have a playoff campaign this year, a lot of things are going to have to go correctly. A lot of the boxes are going to have be checked off yes instead of no. Two of the boxes that have to be checked off yes are the health and production of Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia. Are the Yankees expecting too much out of the veteran pair?
Here’s what GM Brian Cashman told the NY Post about Tex:
"“I expect Mark to actually pleasantly surprise people and that he still is capable of being what people are used to seeing,” Cashman said Friday at the Connecticut Sports Foundation’s fundraiser at Mohegan Sun."
Here’s the thing, Tex is going to be 35 in the season’s first week. As players get older, in this post steroid era, the numbers go down. It’s another example of the back end of these big long term deals hurting the team. The Yanks don’t really have any other option. Greg Bird may be a year away, so that’s why they acquired Garrett Jones as a safety net in case Tex breaks down again.
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In the same vein, CC Sabathia was a shell of his former self literally and figuratively. He lost a lot of weight, but his knee went last year, and when he pitched, he clearly lost the zip off the heater.
Cashman said this on CC:
"“I don’t think we have anything to worry about how his arm works or how his knee works,” Cashman said. “Not anymore.”"
Really? If I’m the Yankees I would be. CC will be 35 come July. He’s going to have to learn to pitch more like Tom Glavine did throughout his career. Location and movement. Maybe the knee being healthy will help him get an uptick in velocity.
The Yankees don’t win the World Series in 2009 without Tex and CC. However, those short term wins may just now be giant expensive holes. Maybe the Yanks are expecting too much out of the soon to be 35 year olds.
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