What Would You Do?
Andy here. Peter and I were discussing C.C. Sabathia this morning and how his strikeout rate has dropped a bit compared to his 2008 season. After thinking and analyzing a bit, we discovered that in 2008, his strikeout rate jumped quite a bit and in 2009 has really only returned to his normal level.
Then we got to talking about why this was. At first we thought well, he did make 17 starts in the National League in 2008. But if you look at this 18 starts for the Indians and 17 starts for the Brewers, his strikeout rate was virtually the same. So the notion of National League line-ups being easier to strikeout didn't necessarily come into play.
Lastly we settled on an answer: Contract Year. Sabathia probably changed his mind-set from pitching to contact with 2 strikes to pitching for the strikeout with 2 strikes. It probably put more stress on his arm and was a potentially risky tactical decision as he could have done permanent damage (which it seems he did not).
That got us thinking about the most important question that we would like to pose to all of you: If someone told you he would give you $160 million dollars, would you allow that person to permanently paralyze your dominant arm?
Again: $160mm for the use of your dominant arm? Please comment.
For the record, Peter said "Yes" in a heartbeat. I, on the otherhand, struggled with this question.