Yankees: The Trouble That Comes With Being A Finesse Pitcher

On Friday night, the Yankees staged an unforgettable comeback against the first place Baltimore Orioles. Down eight runs at one point, the Bombers switched on the power.

Yankees rightfielder, Aaron Judge, started it with two home runs in consecutive innings. Jacoby Ellsbury hit his first career grand slam. Starlin Castro‘s ninth inning tying home run brought him to one knee. Then, in the bottom of the tenth, Matt Holliday hit a walk-off three-run shot to seal the victory.

The comeback win pushed the Yankees into a tie for first place. It also made it easier to forget the performance of C.C. Sabathia. C.C. looked sharp at first glance but got in trouble early with the long ball. Then he got further into trouble before Joe Girardi pulled him with two outs in the sixth.

For pitchers like Sabathia, this just comes with the territory. When a pitcher becomes a finesse type starter, the most important things are location and command. They are capable of pitching a gem at anytime, provided they can keep hitters off balance. When they don’t have that, trouble seems to find them sooner rather than later.

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For C.C., it wasn’t always this way. For years, the former Cy Young winner could rely on pure power. Things like location were less important. When you can blow the ball by just about anyone, missing your spot isn’t quite as fatal. However, his fastball lost it’s velocity a few years ago. He’s been trying to reinvent himself, with mixed results.

Finesse pitchers can be very successful when you have command of your pitches. Jaime Moyer, specifically in the second half of his career, is a prime example. Moyer, however, never had a fastball. This gave him more incentive to perfect his craft. C.C., on the other hand, had an amazing fastball. In some ways, he’s learning on the fly. Learning to be a different pitcher.

The trouble C.C. got into Friday night is not an indication that he’s finished. Or maybe, even that he’s on a downward path. At any point, if he’s locating well and keeping hitter off-balance, he can throw a gem. The trouble is when he has nothing working for him. Without a strong fastball, one needs to be more crafty.

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Tanaka now anchors a Yankees staff that is better, right now, than any other in the division. No one thought that was possible just three weeks ago.

Friday night was an unforgettable game of resilience against a club known for their power. Games like this are what brings a team together. It allows them to believe in themselves. More importantly, it helps erase the trouble C.C. put the team in, in the first place.