Teixeira and Sabathia Finding Their Way in N.Y.
The Two Big Free Agents Finally Fitting in to Their Pinstripes
May 20, 2009
Mark Teixeira’s first month in a Yankee uniform was a mighty struggle, to say the least. After the team’s first 25 games, the .290 career hitter was batting .192 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI. He surely wasn’t living up to the hype (or the expectations) generated by the 8-year, $180 million contract he signed last winter to play for the Yankees.
But then Teixeira began to turn things around. On May 9, he broke out of an 0-for-10 slump with a big home run against the Baltimore Orioles, his hometown team whose fans have grown to loathe Teixeira since he signed with the hated Yankees. The next day, he did it again. Over the last week, Teixeira has gotten even hotter, batting .444 with 4 home runs and 14 RBI in the last seven games.
"The first couple of weeks, I felt like I was swinging at good pitches, I just wasn't hitting them," Teixeira said. "I was popping them up and just missing them. Now, I'm taking care of that little difference that it takes to hit a pitch instead of missing it."
CC Sabathia Pitching Well
Like Teixeira, CC Sabathia had a rough start to his Yankee career. In his debut against the Baltimore Orioles on Opening Day, Sabathia gave up six earned runs, struck out none and walked five in just four and one-third innings. After two stronger starts he reeled off three more stinkers. By May 2, the $161 million free agent was 1-3 with a 4.85 ERA. The New York sports media wasn’t kind to CC. Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News began one of his columns by saying, simply: “Bad things keep happening when CC Sabathia steps to the mound.”
But, like Teixeira, Sabathia has been locked in over the past 10 days. In his last three starts, the big lefthander is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA. Much to the delight of the Yankees overworked bullpen, Sabathia has averaged eight innings in those three starts.
His turnaround has pleased manager Joe Girardi. "That's the type of guy, when we signed CC, that we imagined him to be," the skipper told reporters after Sabathia’s dominant performance during the Yankees May 19 victory over the Orioles. "The guy that could stop losing streaks, continue winning streaks, give your bullpen pretty much the night off and be the leader of this staff."
Teixeira was also complimentary in his comments about Sabathia's recent mastery. "There's a difference between quality starts and just keeping your team in the game and being dominant. The last three starts, CC has been dominant."
With both of their big money free agents finding their groove, the Yankees may soon be as good as everyone thought they would be, which is bad news for everyone else in the American League East.
