CC Sabathia threw more pitches than anybody in baseball this year, 3,816 in the regular season. He took the ball for the fourth time in 13 days on Thursday, and the first sign that his stuff was flat came when he initially chose to throw his curveball to Brett Myers, a lousy-hitting pitcher, rather than blow him away with a fastball. And the second sign of trouble came when he decided, eventually, to try to bust a fastball past Myers, and he couldn't do it.
Brewers manager
Dale Sveum clearly saw what Sabathia lacked in Game 2, because he had
Seth McClung warming up in the bullpen even before
Shane Victorino mashed his grand slam, and shortly thereafter, Sveum came out to gently take the ball from the guy who lifted Milwaukee into the playoffs. Sabathia shook his head in disgust as he walked off the mound, his season probably over.
His career postseason numbers are ugly, but that will not diminish the offers he will get this offseason, as the highest-profile free agent. If he wants to sign on for Yankees dollars, they will be there for him, for just about anything he wants, short of national bailout money. If he wants to go home to California -- and is willing to walk away from the highest offer, from the Yankees -- then he will have his choice of deals from the Angels or Dodgers and maybe other teams, albeit for substantially less than what the Steinbrenners will offer.
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Buster Olney
