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Heading into Friday night’s game with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia hadn’t logged a victory in the entire month of May.

In fact, after he gave up seven runs in seven innings to the Tampa Bay Rays on May 26, Sabathia talked about the need to pick his game up.

“I’m hurting the team,” Sabathia told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. “I’m not helping the team out. I just need to get better.”

There was talk about Sabathia’s diminished velocity, with some even wondering if the 6’7″ behemoth could still be regarded as an ace.

His outing on Friday against the Boston Red Sox certainly quieted those concerns—at least for now.

Sabathia pitched into the eighth inning, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out 10 in an outstanding performance. He left the game with a 4-1 lead.

Sabathia didn’t walk a batter as he threw 109 pitches, with 73 of them for strikes. Sabathia doesn’t possess the blazing, high-90s fastball that he featured in his early days, but he hit 94 mph several times with his four-seamer and regularly sat in the 91-to-93 mph range throughout the night.

The 10-strikeout effort was indeed a welcome sight, and it put him in elite company in franchise history:

It wasn’t just Sabathia’s fastball that did the trick on this night. As Jack Curry of the YES Network pointed out, Sabathia’s out-pitch for much of the night was his devastating slider:

He breezed through his first six innings, striking out nine while scattering four hits. In the seventh, Sabathia allowed a leadoff double to Dustin Pedroia, who was driven home by another double off the bat of Mike Napoli for Boston’s first run of the game.

Sabathia escaped further damage by striking out Stephen Drew to reach double digits and inducing an inning-ending ground ball to David Ross.

For a reeling team on a five-game losing streak, Sabathia delivered exactly what was needed, both for himself and for the Yankees.

He left a pretty good impression on his Twitter fans as well:

Another fan even referenced a famous Mark Twain quote:

Sabathia’s double-digit-strikeout effort also puts him among the leaders of another prestigious group of current players:

The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees is always an exciting affair. But on this night, the Bronx Bombers were in search of stability and needed their ace to step up.

Mission accomplished.

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The New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks begin a three-game series Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.  This interleague matchup doesn’t occur too often, the most memorable being the 2001 World Series where Arizona prevailed in seven games.

The Yankees were off to an awful start this season, featuring a lineup already depleted by injuries. They’ve since won six of their last 10 and trail Boston by only 1.5 games.

The Diamondbacks have also been playing well of late.  They’ve won seven of their last 10 thanks to quality pitching and timely hitting.

Here are the players that will have the most impact in deciding the winner of this series.

Robinson Cano, Yankees

Robinson Cano will be the best player on the field when these two teams get together.  The Yankees’ second baseman has had a decent start to the season, hitting .311 with three home runs and eight RBI.

With guys like Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson out, Cano has been asked to carry more of the load for the Bronx Bombers.

He’s has had 12 of his 14 hits on the year in the Yankees’ last five games, and they’ll need Cano’s hot hitting to continue if they want to win this series. 

Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks

Paul Goldschmidt might not have as much hype as some of the younger stars in the league, but the fans in Arizona recognize his skill.  The 25-year-old is coming off a solid year in 2012 and is off to a great start this season.

Goldschmidt leads the Diamondbacks in all three Triple Crown categories with a .348 average, two home runs and 10 RBI.  He’s also ranked in the top-20 in MLB with a .426 on-base percentage.

Arizona doesn’t have too many stars in their lineup, and Goldschmidt has the potential to be their best one.  He’ll have to hit against the Yankees’ pitching this week for his team to succeed.

CC Sabathia, Yankees

CC Sabathia is the one pitcher in this series who can completely take over a game.  Sabathia is off to a good start in 2013, winning two of his first three outings.

The Yankees ace has an ERA just over 2.00, and ranks in the top 20 in strikeouts this year.

The big left-hander will oppose Arizona’s young pitcher, Wade Miley Tuesday night.  In a game that could be difficult to score a lot of runs, the Yankees will rely on Sabathia to pitch deep into the night to solidify a victory.

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The New York Yankees off-season has been a quiet one due to ownership implementing a new frugal stance.

Instead of story-lines about signing the biggest free agents, Yankee fans were relegated to watching the realities of missing the 2013 postseason grow by the day.

So as a result, fans, the media, and bloggers alike have been provided with plenty of things to grumble about.

And for the first time in almost two decades, the paved regular-season road to October that the Yankees build during the off-season is no longer a smooth ride.

But in reality, not all hope is lost yet; and here are three reasons why.

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The New York Yankees have lost the last four games that CC Sabathia has started. Of all the stats that can be broken down during the Yankees’ slide, none illustrates why they have dropped 10 games in the standings more than that.

The Yankees need to be able to hand the ball to Sabathia and get a win. Instead, Sabathia has not shut down the opposition and is not the stable arm that manager Joe Girardi can count on to give the bullpen the night off.

He has not been terrible in his starts. This is not a Kevin Brown-like meltdown. But according to Erik Boland of Newsday, his velocity is down. And games he used to breeze through are now long, drawn-out affairs where the bullpen needs to be up in the sixth inning.

His September 14th start against Tampa Bay was a typical recent start. He started off fine, keeping the Rays scoreless through four innings. But he could not put away Chris Gimenez in the fifth inning. Suddenly he lost his control and his advantage over the hitters. Before long, he coughed up the lead and took the loss.

According to Steven Miller of MLB.com, Sabathia admitted “things like that, when I’m going good, usually don’t happen.”

Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York wrote that Sabathia is not excusing his subpar performances on his recent stints on the disabled list, including one in August.

However, there is a difference between making an excuse and finding an explanation for a problem. If Sabathia is indeed hurt, then it would be smart for the Yankees to have him examined again or maybe skip a start.

There is not a lot of time to fix this problem for the Yankees. But if they do not find out if there is something physically wrong with their ace, they might fall behind not only Baltimore, but Oakland, Anaheim and Tampa Bay and miss the playoffs altogether.

Missing one Sabathia start and determining what the problem is will not kill the Yankees. It is not as if they are winning his starts now.

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Friday night’s game did not go according to plan for the Yankees.

Coming off a series where they took two out of three against the Boston Red Sox, the Bombers had their ace on the mound in CC Sabathia pitching against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees needed to get their homestand off on the right foot with the Baltimore Orioles, who they are tied with in the A.L. East for first place, off playing the Oakland A’s.

Luckily for the Yankees, the Orioles lost, because they were no better, losing 6-4 in the opener.

As for Sabathia, he lost his third decision in a row, dropping his 2012 season record to 13-6.

The Yankees’ ace has yet to get a win since the team beat the Cleveland Indians back on August 24. Since then, Sabathia is 0-3 and has hardly looked like his usual self.

Is it time to start worrying about the Yankees’ ace heading into the final three weeks?

He’s been on the disabled list twice this year, something very unusual for Sabathia during his career, considering he’s always been very durable—usually making 30-plus starts and pitching over 200 innings.

If you notice how the Yankees have performed during the last two postseasons, Sabathia has struggled for the Yankees, posting a 6.30 ERA against the Texas Rangers in the 2010 ALCS and a 6.23 ERA in the 2011 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers.

When the Yankees won the 2009 World Series, Sabathia was a dominant force on the mound, posting a 3-1 record and even winning the 2009 ALCS MVP Award in the series against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Yankees go as far as Sabathia goes. He sets the tone for the team by pitching like an ace on the mound. When he doesn’t, the team falters.

Just look at the team on Friday night against the Rays. In a battle of the aces between Sabathia and David Price, Tampa’s left-hander out-dueled the Yankees’ left-hander in a game where the Yankees could have ended up with sole possession of first place again.

Those kinds of games are the reason why the Yankees are paying Sabathia $23 million this season, but lately, he hasn’t been the ace that has carried the team into October baseball like he has in the past.

I think once Andy Pettitte returns from the DL on Tuesday, it’ll help take some of the pressure off of Sabathia in the rotation, and off Hiroki Kuroda as well, who, at times, has had to pitch like an ace in certain games.

If the Yankees want to get by the Orioles and make it to October, they need their 32-year old ace to step up and pitch better than he has in recent times.

Otherwise, it could be another early end for the Yankees in October.

Stay tuned, Yankees Universe.

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The New York Yankees have battled injuries to their starting rotation the entire season, and now their ace, CC Sabathia, is the latest pitcher to fall victim.

Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com is reporting that Sabathia will be headed to the disabled list with stiffness in his throwing elbow.

According to Girardi, Sabathia first felt the stiffness after pitching a complete game against the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 3 at Yankee Stadium. A subsequent MRI came back clean, so Sabathia made his next start five days later in Detroit, but left after 6 1/3 innings and just 94 pitches.

Girardi said the stiffness resurfaced after that start, but the decision to put Sabathia on the DL was not made until about 4 p.m. Saturday.

Sabathia’s injury is just the latest in a slew of trainer’s room problems for the Bombers. Sabathia joins Andy Pettitte, Michael Pineda and Mariano Rivera as a member of the walking wounded in the Yanks’ pitching staff.

For the season, Sabathia is 12-3 with a 3.56 ERA, and while those numbers are solid, they aren’t very Sabathia-like.

Normally, Sabathia gets better as the hotter months come during the baseball season, but that hasn’t happened as expected this season.

No matter how serious this injury might or might not be, the Yankees did the right thing shutting Sabathia down for now.

Yes, he is a workhorse, but Sabathia is also human, and with all the voids in the Yanks’ pitching staff, they simply couldn’t take a chance losing their ace for an extended amount of time.

If all goes well, Sabathia should be back by the end of August, and in the meantime, New York will have to piece it together and try to hold onto their division lead, now without two of their best starters.

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**** UPDATE (8:25 p.m.)*****

The Yankees will use Derek Lowe out of the bullpen when he arrives to New York on Monday, according to Marc Carig of the Newark-Star Ledger. David Phelps is expected to start in place of CC Sabathia when the Yankees start their series with the Texas Rangers.

Sources: Phelps starts Monday. Lowe expected to be in the bullpen by Monday

— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) August 11, 2012

Remember when the Yankees passed on Derek Lowe to sign A.J. Burnett in December of 2008?

It’s funny how things change in just four years, as according to Marc Carig of the Newark-Star Ledger, the Yankees have signed Lowe to a deal for the remainder of the 2012 season.

Source: Yankees have acquired Derek Lowe.

— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) August 11, 2012

The news of the Yankees signing Lowe comes after it was announced that they will put their ace CC Sabathia on the 15-day DL with elbow soreness.

Sabathia was on the DL with a groin injury back on June 26, so this is a rare second stint on the DL for the Yankees lefty.

Andy Pettitte is still recovering from a fractured fibula that he suffered on June 27 and is not expected back until early September at the earliest.

Lowe had been designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians after he posted an 8-10 record with a 5.51 ERA, pitching in 119 innings and making 21 starts so far this season.

Lowe is no stranger to pitching in the American League East, as he spent eight years with the Boston Red Sox (1997-2004).

His last year with the team was back in 2004, the same year they won the World Series for the first time in 86 years—a run that included coming back from and 0-3 and beating the Yankees in the ALCS. Lowe won Game 7 at Yankee Stadium for Boston.

Lowe was in the final year of the four-year, $60 million deal he signed with Atlanta, but was traded from the Atlanta Braves to the Indians before the season.

The Indians were on the hook for $5 million of the $15 million owed to Lowe, so with this signing of Lowe, they are on hook for a pro-rated version of the league-minimum.

Basically, the Yankees have acquired Lowe’s services for very little money.

It’s a risky signing because of Lowe’s ERA, but there are several upsides.

First, his playoff experience. Back in 2004, Lowe won all three deciding games for the Red Sox in the playoffs against the Angels, Yankees and Cardinals. That also included winning Game 4 of the World Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

His durability is another great factor.

Since 2002, Lowe has made over 30 starts each season for the Red Sox, Dodgers and Braves. With the Indians, he’s made 21, so whether he hits 30 in 2012 is in question.

Despite his age of 39, he does not get hurt and he can throw a lot of innings.

Lowe is known as a sinkerball pitcher who can still generate ground balls; Lowe had a 60 percent ground ball ratio while with the Indians.

Some people might not like the signing of Lowe, but the 39-year-old has been inserted right back into a pennant race and has a chance to reestablish himself pitching in the Bronx.

At worst, if he stinks and is still getting whacked around Joe Girardi can stick him in the bullpen and use him as a long reliever.

Lowe just got a second chance to redeem his 2012 season and another chance to pitch for a championship.

What will he do now as a member of the Yankees? Only time will tell.

Stay tuned, Yankees Universe.

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With the fantasy-trade deadlines coming up this week or next (I have four red-letter dates this Friday), it’s time for owners to make one last pitch for baseball’s elite categorical contributors.

AccuScore, a company that specializes in thorough game simulations, has made a few on-the-fly revisions to its seasonal projections.

These 50 starting pitchers, based on AccuScore projections (not mine), will register at least 55 strikeouts from this point forward (Aug. 7-Sept. 30):

Part I

1. CC Sabathia, Yankees—77
2. Justin Verlander, Tigers—75
3. Yu Darvish, Rangers—75
4. Cole Hamels, Phillies—72
5. Gio Gonzalez, Nationals—68
6. Adam Wainwright, Cardinals—68
7. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers—68
8. Lance Lynn, Cardinals—67
9. Roy Halladay, Phillies—67
10. James Shields, Rays—67
11. Felix Hernandez, Mariners—67
12. Cliff Lee, Phillies—67
13. Marco Estrada, Brewers—67
14. Yovani Gallardo, Brewers—67
15. Francisco Liriano, White Sox—66
16. Madison Bumgarner, Giants—65
17. Zack Greinke, Angels—65
18. Tim Lincecum, Giants—65
19. Matt Cain, Giants—65
20. Mat Latos, Reds—64
21. Jered Weaver, Angels—64
22. Jeff Samardzija, Cubs—63
23. David Price, Rays—63
24. Stephen Strasburg, Nationals—63
25. Erik Bedard, Pirates—63

Part II

26. Felix Doubront, Red Sox—63
27. Ian Kennedy, Diamondbacks—61
28. Max Scherzer, Tigers—61
29. Anibal Sanchez, Tigers—61
30. R.A. Dickey, Mets—60
31. Ryan Dempster, Rangers—60
32. Jake Peavy, White Sox—60
33. Josh Johnson, Marlins—60
34. Ubaldo Jimenez, Indians—60
35. Jon Lester, Red Sox—59
36. C.J. Wilson, Angels—59
37. Chris Capuano, Dodgers—58
38. Bud Norris, Astros—58
39. Matt Harvey, Mets—58
40. Michael Fiers, Brewers—58
41. Josh Beckett, Red Sox—58
42. J.A. Happ, Blue Jays—57
43. Chris Sale, White Sox—57
44. James McDonald, Pirates—57
45. Drew Pomeranz, Rockies—57
46. Ryan Vogelsong, Giants—56
47. Jon Niese, Mets—56
48. Matt Moore, Rays—56
49. Edwin Jackson, Nationals—55
50. Hiroki Kuroda, Yankees—55

Breakdown

• I’ll buy the “under” for CC Sabathia and 77 strikeouts. Since May 26, Sabathia (11-3, 3.53 ERA, 1.20 ERA, 133/34 K-BB) has averaged 6.8 strikeouts over 10 starts. So, if he should squeeze in another 10 outings before Sept. 30, he’ll have to improve upon his current pace of the last 13 weeks. On the positive side, Sabathia has four double-digit strikeout efforts for the season.
• Clayton Kershaw has 69 strikeouts since June 15, with six or more K’s in nine of the last 10 outings. And compared to Justin Verlander (who bedazzled the Yankees for 14 strikeouts on Monday night), Kershaw will likely enjoy one more start than the Tigers ace from this point forward. Bottom line: I’ll buy the “over” on Kershaw and 68 strikeouts.
• Stephen Strasburg (11.31), Max Scherzer (11.28), Yu Darvish (10.34) and Gio Gonzalez (10.02) are the only regular MLB starters to post K/9 ratios above 10 this season, and from a 30-day perspective, Scherzer, Strasburg, Darvish, Francisco Liriano, James Shields, Madison Bumgarner and David Price boast that honor. So naturally, they’re all good candidates for 60-plus strikeouts.
• Roy Halladay has posted respectable results in his last four games with Philly—1-1, a 4.13 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 21/3 K-BB ratio. But the punch-outs aren’t necessarily coming at an accelerated rate, likely a consequence of his recent shoulder woes and subsequent absence from the Phillies rotation for June and half of July.
• Noticeably absent from this list: A.J. Burnett, Dan Haren, Wandy Rodriguez, Vance Worley, Andrew Cashner, Johnny Cueto, Wei-Yin Chen, Jordan Zimmermann, Aaron Harang, Miguel Gonzalez, Zach McAllister, Chad Billingsley, Corey Kluber and Ricky Romero.
• For what it’s worth, AccuScore projects Reds closer Aroldis Chapman for 48 more strikeouts in just 27.4 innings. For July, Chapman had a 0.00 ERA and 0.56 WHIP. He was also a perfect 13-for-13 in save opportunities. Chapman’s K/9 ratio for July was a mind-blowing 19.5, easily his best effort of the season.

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.

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Here is one thing we can all agree on: CC Sabathia cannot pitch every day.

Thankfully for the New York Yankees, neither can Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers or Jared Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels. The burning question, however, is whether the other Yankees starters can measure up to the rotations they might face during the postseason.

The Yankees failed to acquire a starting pitcher at the trade deadline either because they felt the price  was too high or because the anticipated return of Andy Pettitte, the winningest pitcher in postseason history, will more than offset the Angels’ acquisition of Zack Greinke and the Texas Rangers‘ trade for Ryan Dempster.

Pettitte is the wild card in the Yankees’ postseason expectations. He and Sabathia are accustomed to big-game situations.

That cannot be said for the rest of the rotation. Hiroki Kuroda has been the most consistent starter after Sabathia, and Phil Hughes hit his stride in late June and has pitched well to improve his record to 11-8 and lower his ERA to 3.96. At one point this season, Hughes was allowing close to five runs a game.

At this point, Ivan Nova has pitched himself out of postseason plans and might even take a back seat to Freddy Garcia.

Nova’s record has always been misleading; he has been the beneficiary of good run support the past two seasons, but recently even the potent Yankee bats can’t keep up with the runs Nova allows. He is 10-6, but his ERA has climbed to 4.81.

If Pettitte returns, Nova and Garcia would be relegated to the bullpen for duty in long relief. Ideally, the Yankees would set up their rotation to go with Sabathia, Kuroda, Pettitte and Hughes.

The Angels are the only team that might have a stronger front line with Weaver, Greinke, Dan Haren and C.J. Wilson.

If Pettitte doesn’t return or isn’t 100 percent, well, the Yankees may have issues. Kuroda started three postseason games for the Los Angeles Dodgers and has a 2-1 record. The loss was to the Phillies in 2009, when Kuroda was roughed up for six runs in 1.1 innings.

He has done surprisingly well against American League teams after four years with the Dodgers in a pitcher’s park. Kuroda is 10-8 this season, but his ERA is an impressive 3.19.

Hughes has plenty of postseason experience, having been in 16 games. Given the Yankees’ indecision about whether Hughes should start or relieve, only three of those 16 games were starts. And he was 1-2, losing both to the Rangers in 2010.

Except for Greinke, the Yankees’ rotation wouldn’t have been upgraded with the addition of any pitcher who was traded, among them Dempster, Francisco Liriano, Paul Maholm and Joe Blanton.

Given that the Miami Marlins ultimately did not want to part with Josh Johnson, or were asking for the moon, or that Matt Garza of the Chicago Cubs was injured, the Yankees were better off holding on to any trade chips they do have.

For better or worse, it looks as if their playoff hopes hinge on the arms who are getting them there. And that may be enough to get back to the World Series.  

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It’s time for a crazy trade idea with less than 10 days left until the trade deadline.

We know the New York Yankees and their GM Brian Cashman would prefer not to make a deal between now and July 31.

But, if an opportunity presents itself to Cashman and the Yankees even he knows he would look into it.

There’s been quite a few rumors going around that Cliff Lee of the Phillies could be on the block and could be traded, again.

He was traded twice at the deadline back in 2009 and 2010 in deals that shaped the Phillies and Rangers postseason hopes. With Lee, both teams reached the World Series.

With the Phillies falling slowly out of the playoff race with each loss, they have some nice trade chips on their team that they can shed.

Shane Victorino is likely to be dealt, as could Hunter Pence. Cole Hamels was rumored to be on the block, but the Phillies are working very hard to lock up their lefty before he hits free agency this winter.

Surprisingly, Lee has also been rumored to potentially be on the block as well.

Lee signed a five-year, $125 million deal with the Phillies back in December of 2010, spurning the Yankees offer to re-join the Phillies.

There’s also a vesting option for a sixth year on Lee’s current deal, which makes him a very expensive trade option.

There has been one team rumored to potentially being interested in Lee, the Texas Rangers. The same Rangers who beat the Yankees to the punch two summers ago, and landed the lefty on their ride to the 2010 Fall Classic.

The Yankees had a deal in place with the Mariners to land Lee, but the deal fell apart when the two teams couldn’t agree on the players involved and Lee went to Texas.

After the season, many people felt that Lee would join his long-time friend CC Sabathia in the Bronx, but decided to return to the Phillies in a stunning move.

Lee thought the Phillies would have a better shot of getting to the World Series than the Yankees, but in 2012, that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case.

The Phillies are in last place in the National League East and seem like they could be on the verge of a fire sale; rebuilding the team for the future.

Lee will turn 34 come the end of August, and in his current deal he has 21 teams listed for his no-trade clause. If Lee is traded, he has to approve it before Ruben Amaro, Jr. can unload Lee.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Rangers are not one of the 21 teams on the list, and while it’s not been confirmed, there’s a good chance the Yankees may be on the list.

Lee’s window for winning a championship is closing as he gets up in age, and the Phillies may no longer be the contender they once were when he was traded and signed with them.

But the Yankees are. So are the Rangers, who are set up to win now, and win in the future.

The one plus on trading for Lee now over signing him two years ago is his current deal is for another three seasons. If they had signed him back then, it would have been another five years they would have been tied to Lee for over $20 million.

In 2012, Lee doesn’t exactly have the best record with a 1-6 record and a 3.72 ERA. Lee has run into hard luck, with the Phillies offense struggling to give him any run support.

As the Yankees head into the second half of the 2012 season, their rotation is no guarantee of success in the postseason, especially when the ALDS is only five games.

Andy Pettitte is still recovering from a fractured ankle he suffered in late June, and he’s a big piece that is missing in the rotation right now.

When Pettitte got hurt,  the rumors of Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, Zack Greinke, Cole Hamels and Wandy Rodriguez all started, but they all seem unlikely for the Bombers.

Could the Yankees dare to be bold enough to try and trade for Lee one last time?

You know Amaro will ask for top prospects like Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances in any deal that would involve Lee.

Would Lee be worth it?

The Yankees thought so two years ago when they started a deal surrounding Jesus Montero, and were close to pulling it off.

Would Cashman try again for Lee after missing out on the trade two summers ago, and then again in free agency?

In all honesty, I think it’s worth it for Cashman to pick up the phone and see what Philadelphia’s asking price is for the left-hander, who can be a huge difference maker in the postseason.

In the postseason, Lee has a 7-3 record with a 2.52 ERA, and the Yankees have witnessed first-hand how dominant Lee can be on the big stage.

It’s the reason why they were willing to hand over Montero to Seattle, and if he leaves Philadelphia he could get one more run at a championship.

I know some of you might be hesitant on the idea of chasing after Lee again, but if the Yankees want to beat a team like the Rangers, or even the Tigers in the postseason, they need every advantage possible.

Remember, the Yankees won 97 games a year ago but saw a quick exit in the 2011 ALDS against the Tigers because their rotation didn’t hold up when needed.

If that means adding more quality pitching to ensure they have a chance at a 28th World Series, then I think a trade for Lee is worth exploring.

The only question remains: would Cashman dare explore the trade for Lee one more time?

Stay tuned Yankees Universe.

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