C'ya, C.C.

Sabathia had another forgettable performance. He Lasted just 2 1/3 innings and gave up 8 earned runs. What a stinker. Coming into the season, Sabathia's fifth in the big leagues, he was pencilled in as the number one starter. Quite an achievement for the youngest member of the staff.
Over his last 8 starts his record is 1-5 giving up 38 runs in 36 1/3 innings. That breaks down to a 9.47 era over that stretch. Wow! Wow! He cannot remain in the big leagues with a statline like that. He needs to be sent down to the minors immediately. Before he does any more harm to himself or the team.
It is clear that C.C is struggling with the mental side of being a major league starting pitcher. An assignment in the minors might do more damage to his already weak psyche, but what other alternatives are there? He is not learning from his mistakes. He falls into the same pattern every start. He becomes a thrower and not a pitcher. By thrower I mean that he simply rears back and tries to throw the ball a million miles per hour each pitch. Most every pitch is a fastball.
His rough patch started in a game against the lightly regarded Colorado Rockies. Not much was made of his performance that day, allowing 6 earned runs over 3 1/3 innings. The team was in the midst of its best stretch of baseball all season. His teammates got him off the hook and won the game in the late innings.
He made his next start against the Red Sox. The Indians were riding a nine game winning streak and the Sox posed a big challenge. The game took on a playoff like atmosphere from the first pitch. C.C. wiggled out of trouble in the first and kept Boston off the scoreboard. The Indians manufactured a run in the home half of the first, but C.C. sputtered giving up 9 earned over 5 1/3 innings.
Maybe the pressure of the situation got to him. The pressure on him has not let up since. C.C. looks as though he expects to lose whenever he takes the ball. The confidence he has shown for the first 4 1/2 years of his big league career seems to be gone. When a runner gets on base he tenses up even more. He lacks the focus necessary to get the job done right now.
The high 90's readings on the radar gun indicate that there is nothing wrong physically. Maybe he can turn his season around, but I don't know that he should be doing so with the major league club. I don't know that simply skipping him in the rotation will be enough to get him untracked. He needs to go to a lower level and just focus on pitching.
The immediacy of playing in a pennant race is proving to be too much for C.C. to handle. Maybe he can log a couple of starts at extended spring training. After that, he can do an assignment with the Lake County Captains. Depending on how things go, he could rejoin the big league club in a month or so. If not, he should be shut down for the season.
The Tribe should call up Jason Davis to take C.C.'s spot in the rotation. Also, Mark Shapiro should ask for a refund on the big contract he issued to C.C in the offseason. Right now C.C. cannot get anybody out. He's not helping the team, he is hurting it. He needs to be taken out of the rotation and put out of his misery for a while.