CC Sabathia was experiencing symptoms of acid reflux & heartburn in early December. He decided to get it checked out. Turns out he had a blocked artery leading from his heart and required a procedure known as angioplasty on December 11th. Sabathia had just signed an $8M/1yr. contract returning to the Yankees on Nov. 7th. First and foremost we wish CC well and hope he has a speedy recovery. From all reports, if CC had ignored the warning signs it could have resulted in a heart attack. Brian Cashman was quoted as saying ..
“We are thankful that CC was smart enough to convey his symptoms to our medical staff, and in turn they immediately engaged NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, who quickly determined the root cause of what ailed him. We are also encouraged that the procedure CC underwent was performed as planned.”
On a personal level this is obviously good news, but it does raise questions in my mind.
Why did Ken Rosenthal have to break the news on December 21st?
Why did the Yankees not have their PR department report it on Dec 11th?
I love CC Sabathia but I felt strongly back on Nov. 7th that the Yankees made a mistake re-signing him, (and that was before this news about his heart condition). I felt the 38 year old lefty was breaking down and the Yankees needed to upgrade his spot in the rotation. I said on the last episiode of my TV show that the Yankees need to add 3 starters to go with Severino and Tanaka.
What I find concerning about all this is that while the Yankees were negotiating with FA Patrick Corbin, it appears they knew that CC was having some heart symptoms. The Yankees were willing to offer a 5 year deal to Corbin but were not willing to go 6 years. The Nats gave Corbin the 6th year and signed him on Dec. 7th.
Isn’t it fair to question the Yankees logic of walking away from a pitcher they wanted just because of one extra year, especially when they probably knew about CC’s condition?
Is this the reason the Yankees did not report the CC scare back in early December ?
I will leave it at this ..
A rotation of : Severino, Paxton, Corbin, Tanaka, Happ (CC 6th man) sounded good to me.
Now we have to listen to the most recent news that the Yankees are considering bringing back … wait for it … Sonny Gray.
