The left-hander gets the start today in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. The Brewers, after a 3-1 loss in the opener, trail Philadelphia, 1-0, in the best-of-five series.
Again it's up to Sabathia to carry a team has hasn't been able to hit for weeks and struggled defensively Wednesday. And again, he has to get the job done on just three days' rest.
Not that he's minded the work. At a press conference Wednesday, he says the increased workload hasn't had much effect on his health, and he feels just as strong as he has all season. With less time between starts, he's also finding it easier to focus.
"I just go out and relax, do my routine, work out the day before and then take the next two days off," Sabathia said. "(I) work out the day after I pitch and then take the next two days off."
The numbers back him up. Sabathia has been just as effective in September as he was in July and August.
He opened the month with a no-decision in the Brewers' 3-2 victory over San Diego. In six September starts he's averaged 108.8 pitches a start and held opponents to a .231 batting average. The Brewers are 4-2 during that stretch.
His teammates know that they haven't exactly been the most supportive when it comes to offense. The Brewers are scoring 3.5 runs a game in his starts since Sept. 1, and 3.33 in his last three outings.
More often than not, the Brewers rallied late for a victory after Sabathia held the opponent down.
"He's delivered since he's been here but he can't do it alone," infielder Craig Counsell said. "I think it's important that we help him. A couple of times he's done it by himself, almost, but we have to give him some help."
They'll need to get started tomorrow, because the numbers show Sabathia not nearly as dominant when the calendar turns to October. He'll be making his fifth career postseason start. Appearing in three different series, he's 1-2 with a 7.17 ERA.
With the Cleveland Indians last year, he struggled in the playoffs, posting a 0-2 record with a 10.45 ERA during Cleveland's seven-game loss to Boston in the American League Championship Series.
Sabathia said that he felt extra pressure -- from himself -- to do too much a year ago and is predicting a different attitude when he takes the mound today.
"I think you'll see a calmer version of me," Sabathia said. "Last year I went into the playoffs thinking that I had to throw no-hitters and shutouts every game. I think that's why you saw me pressing a lot and throwing a lot of pitches and not throwing a lot of strikes."
"I'll go into these playoffs just trying to go out and keep the team in the game, go out and do whatever it takes to keep the team in it and let these guys take it over."
That has been the Brewers standard operating procedure lately. On Sunday, Ryan Braun came through with a clutch, two-run homer in the eighth inning to put the Brewers on top.
"I just was going out and trying to keep us close and Braun came out with a big homer and we ended up winning."
Much has been made about Sabathia's workload since joining the Brewers on July 7. After a six inning effort in his first appearance as a Brewer, Sabathia pitched three consecutive complete games and finished atop the National League -- despite making just 17 NL starts -- with seven.
After a 130-pitch outing on Aug. 18 against Houston, then-manager Ned Yost was criticized for "abusing" Sabathia as he heads into free agency. Sabathia had thrown 111 pitches and the Brewers were up, 9-2, when Yost allowed Sabathia to finish the game.
Yost defended his decision, and pointed out that Sabathia would get two extra days of rest in the coming weeks as a factor.
Never, though, did Yost move Sabathia up in the rotation. In fact, no manager had done so in the regular season. But with the Brewers season spinning out of control, interim manager Dale Sveum turned to the one pitcher with a recent track record of success.
"In Chicago we kind of sat down as a staff and said how and what's the best way we can get to the playoffs," Sveum said. "We decided with Sheets going down and not being 100 percent, we'll ask CC if he's okay going on three days' rest.
"We called him in the office and asked him. He said it's funny you asked because I was about ready to come in your office and tell you that I'm ready to go on three days' rest. So that obviously made the decision pretty easy."
Sabathia made three starts in a nine-day span, including a complete game against the Cubs in the season finale that helped clinch the Brewers' playoff berth. It was a challenge he was up for and openly accepted.
Sveum -- along with general manager Doug Melvin -- have made sure that Sabathia is comfortable with the amount of work-and that he's healthy enough to continue doing it, at least for another week.
"The guy is just a special human being that, knock on wood, he never has any other soreness than normal," Sveum said. And obviously he's bounced back. But as far as monitoring him, I mean like the other day, I asked whatever and I basically said today he's probably going to be our seventh inning guy, our setup guy and our closer."
Sabathia said too much was being made of his ability to work on short rest.
"I think its being way overblown," Sabathia said. "I think if anybody was in the position we were in nine days or ten days ago and they asked them to do it, anybody would do the same thing, healthy enough.
"So I think its people making a lot of something that isn't that big a deal to me, because I feel fine and I'm healthy."
Despite his recent success -- and the attention he's created -- during the Brewers' September swoon, he refutes the notion that the Brewers are in the playoffs for the first time in 26 years because of his performances.
"I don't want to say I brought them to the playoffs," Sabathia said. "This team was a good team before I got here. And I just was trying to do whatever I could to add to that."
