Sabathia feels good throwing off mound first time since surgery

Associated Press CC Sabathia wasn’t surprised his first pitch was well inside off the plate in Tampa, Fla. The important thing was the New York Yankees’ ace felt good. Sabathia threw off a mound on Saturday for the first time since arthroscopic surgery Oct. 25 to remove a bone spur from his left elbow. The left-hander made 29 pitches during Saturday’s session, which was watched by several team officials including pitching coach Larry Rothschild and spring training instructor Billy Connors. “No problems,” Sabathia said. “Probably didn’t throw a strike, but that’s normal for my first bullpen. I got a little nervous when I first got up there. Hadn’t been up there. Didn’t know how I was going to feel, but I immediately felt good and I felt comfortable.” Sabathia was part of a scheduled bullpen group that included two of the pitching staff’s elder statesmen: 43-year-old Mariano Rivera and 40-year-old Andy Pettitte. As Sabathia and Pettitte walked toward the main field to loosen up, Rivera already had started his bullpen workout. “Why is Mo already throwing?” Sabathia said with a smile. By the end of his mound session, Sabathia’s control improved and the sound of his fastball popping in the catcher’s mitt got louder. Sabathia had two trips to the disabled list last year. A strained left groin kept him out from June 24 to July 17 and an inflamed left elbow sidelined him from Aug. 8-24. The 32-year-old left-hander was 15-6 with a 3.38 ERA, his fewest regular-season wins since 2006, and 2-1 in three playoff starts.

Sabathia feels good throwing off mound first time since surgery February 17,2013 03:39 AM GMT Associated Press Copyright � 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,broadcast, rewritten or redistributed..

Bailey, Reds set on deal

Right-hander Homer Bailey and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a $5.35 million, one-year contract, ensuring baseball will set a record low for salary arbitration hearings.

No cases have been argued before three-person panels this year among the 133 players who filed for arbitration last month and just two remain scheduled for hearings next week: San Diego left-hander Clayton Richard and Baltimore reliever Darren O’Day.

Baseball’s previous record low was three hearings, set in 2005 and matched in 2009 and 2011. The high was 35 in 1986.

Owners hold a 291-214 lead since arbitration began in 1974.

Bailey, who pitched a no-hitter at Pittsburgh on Sept. 28, had asked for $5.8 million and had been offered $4.75 million when players and teams swapped proposed arbitration salaries last month.

His agreement was for the same amount as Ryan Zimmerman’s settlement with the Washington Nationals a day earlier.

Bailey was 13-10 with a 3.68 ERA in 33 starts last year.

Chapman eyes rotation

Aroldis Chapman was one of baseball’s best closers in his first try at it, helping the Cincinnati Reds win the NL Central.

He’s getting a chance to win a spot in the rotation this spring, but manager Dusty Baker is keeping an open mind about moving Chapman back to the bullpen in an emergency.

The hard-throwing lefty saved 38 games last season in his first experience as a closer. He was getting ready to be a starter during spring training last year when closer Ryan Madson got hurt, forcing Baker to scramble.

He eased Chapman into a setup role, then promoted him to closer as he continued to pitch well.