C.C. can go home again ... but should he?

Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. was born on July 21, 1980, in Vallejo, California, about 32 miles from the ballpark currently known as the McAfee Coliseum, home of the Oakland Athletics. He grew up in Vallejo as well, starring in baseball and football at Vallejo High School. In case you're curious, he was a tight end.

C.C. pitched in Oakland today, for the eighth time in his career, and it was the 13th time he's started a game against the A's. He did not pitch well, in a game the Indians lost. And if it seems to you that he hasn't pitched well in general against his hometown team, that's because he hasn't -- especially in front of the Oakland fans.

Following is a complete list of his appearances against the Oakland Elephants:

• August 2, 2001, in Cleveland: 3 innings pitched, 7 hits allowed, 7 runs (all earned), 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 3 home runs allowed, took the loss in a 17-4 game.
• August 23, 2001, in Oakland: 2 2/3 innings, 5 hits, 5 runs (all earned), 3 walks, 4 Ks, no HRs, no decision in a game the Indians won 9-7 (Sabathia left with the Indians trailing 5-2).
• April 27, 2003, in Oakland: 7 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 2 walks, 5 Ks, no HRs, no decision in a game the Indians lost 4-3 (Sabathia left with the game tied at 3).
• May 16, 2003, in Cleveland: 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs (both earned), 2 walks, 8 Ks, 2 HRs, no decision in a game the Indians won 3-2 (Sabathia left with the game tied at 2).
• July 30, 2003, in Oakland: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R (all earned), 0 BBs, 5 Ks, 1 HR, got the win in a 4-2 game.
• July 10, 2004, in Cleveland: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 4 BBs, 5 Ks, no decision in a game the Indians lost 16-7 (Sabathia left with a 5-3 lead).
• September 11, 2004, in Oakland: 6 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 BBs, 7 Ks, no decision in a game the A's won 5-4 (Sabathia left with a 4-3 lead).
• July 25, 2005, in Oakland: 2 1/3 IP, 8 H, 8 R (8 ER), 2 BBs, 0 Ks, 1 HR, took the loss in a game Oakland won 13-4.
• September 12, 2005, in Cleveland: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 5 BBs, 7 Ks, took the loss in a 2-0 game.
• September 21, 2006, in Oakland: 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 7 R (4 ER), 3 BBs, 5 Ks, took the loss in a 7-4 game.
• May 11, 2007, in Oakland: 6 2/3 IP, 9 H, 6 R (6 ER), 1 BB, 5 Ks, 2 HRs, took the loss in an 8-2 game.
• June 25, 2007, in Cleveland: 9 IP, 9 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BBs, 8 Ks, got the complete-game win in a 5-2 game.
• April 5, 2008, in Oakland: 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 R (4 ER), 4 BBs, 2 Ks, 1 HR in a game the Indians lost 6-1.

The totals:

• Against Oakland in five games at home: 30 innings pitched, 29 hits, 15 runs (all earned), 10 walks, 19 strikeouts, 5 home runs allowed, 1 win and 2 losses (Indians went 2-3 in his starts), a 4.50 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, average of 6 innings per start.
• In eight games in Oakland: 43 innings, 49 hits, 39 runs (34 earned), 17 BBs, 33 strikeouts, 5 home runs allowed, 1-4 record (Indians went 2-6 in his starts), a 7.12 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, average of 5.4 innings per start.

His overall record against the A's is 2-6, with a 6.04 ERA, and the Indians are 4-9 in games C.C. has started against the Green Pachyderms.

So while C.C. hasn't pitched particularly well against the A's at Jacobs Field, he's been absolutely awful against them in the stadium formerly known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. He wasn't too bad there early in his career (that 2001 start notwithstanding), but since 2005, he's been putrid in the Bay Area. In his last four starts there (all of them losses), he's got an abysmal ERA of 10.07 and averaged 4.9 innings per start.

Of course, four starts is a small sample size, but it does seem to suggest that there might be some sort of mental block for C.C. when he pitches in Oakland. I'm not about to call for Eric Wedge to skip C.C. if his turn comes up when the Tribe is in Oakland, but perhaps the young lefty might benefit from some work with a sports psychologist.