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CC Sabathia On Lack Of Velocity: 'We'll See If This Is My Time ... It's Reality'

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- CC Sabathia has, for the most part, pitched very well this season.

He hasn't exactly been dominant, however.

After defeating the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night, the Yankees' ace improved to 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP on the season. The big left-hander has struck out 24, walked eight and allowed one home run in 28 innings pitched.

Sabathia threw 108 pitches on Wednesday night, and not one of them topped 90 mph. He was very solid, though, limiting Arizona to three runs on six hits in eight innings.

The 32-year-old is hoping that he finds his velocity soon, but he's confident that if it doesn't come back he'll still be an effective pitcher.

"I'm hoping some more velocity comes back," Sabathia said. "If not, we'll work with this."

The days of the six-time All-Star consistently throwing in the mid-90s might be over.

"(They) might be," the 12th-year player admitted. "I'll deal with whatever comes."

Like all great power pitchers who get older, Sabathia acknowledges that he might have to alter his approach a bit to maintain his status as one of the league's most dependable and steady hurlers.

"It's definitely going to be hard, but I've got guys in here that I can turn to, like Andy (Pettitte)," the 2007 American League Cy Young Award winner said. "We can work on game plans and just try to keep getting better as a pitcher."

You've got to hand it to No. 52 -- he certainly doesn't seem alarmed about the possibility of his stuff beginning to diminish. He seems to be accepting of what the future potentially holds for him.

"Not 13 years into the big leagues, (I'm not surprised)," Sabathia said. "I don't know how many starts or innings (I've thrown), but it's something everybody is going to go through. We'll see if this is my time. It's reality. You never know. I've never been through anything like this, so I don't know. I'm not going to lose sleep over it. I've been pitching for a long time. Eventually, it was going to happen."

Ever since struggling mightily against the Red Sox on Opening Day -- he surrendered four runs in five innings that day -- Sabathia has won three consecutive starts, allowing just four earned runs in 23 innings.

How concerned are you about CC's lack of velocity? Sound off with your thoughts and comments below...

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