Milwaukee pitcher C.C. Sabathia has been exactly what the Brewers wanted when they traded for him before the All-Star break — the ace-quality pitcher they needed to get a talented young team into the post season.
Sabathia wasn't as dominating as usual on Monday night, but he threw his fifth complete game in nine starts in a 9-2 win over Houston. And there was the nagging feeling that Milwaukee manager Ned Yost is taking the idea of "riding your workhorse" a bit too seriously.
He threw 130 pitches, a career high, against Houston, which was really unnecessary. Sabathia had thrown 111 through eight innings, and with a 9-2 lead it wouldn't have been a problem to bring in a reliever to close out the ninth — indeed, Guillermo Mota was throwing in the bullpen, and ESPN analyst Steve Phillips was questioning the move before the inning started.
Milwaukee's counter is that it already knew Sabathia would get an extra day of rest before his next start on Sunday, and it makes sense — Boston gave Jon Lester an extra day of rest after his 130-pitch no-hitter against Kansas City earlier this season, and put him on a strict 90-pitch limit to boot. Still ... why take the risk with Sabathia, a guy that threw more than 250 innings last season and is likely to do it again this year, with a seven-run lead in the ninth?
The Brewers have taken some heat for their handling of Sabathia, who is essentially a three-month rental for them before he becomes a free agent this winter. But he actually hasn't had too many high pitch counts — he's been so efficient that his pitch count has been under 115 in six of his nine starts.
This one, however, deserves some criticism. And it will be interesting to see how Sabathia bounces back in his next two or three starts.
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