BALTIMORE — He insisted his mind was clear, unfettered by the memories of last October, but CC Sabathia also had to acknowledge something else: the contrast between then and now, the difference between Oct. 5 and May 4.
And a juxtaposition even starker than that.
Last fall, he was a man craving help. He’d spent the final weekend of the regular season drinking heavily, and he reached his moment of clarity on the final Sunday of the season when he came to Camden Yards, told Joe Girardi he needed to get well, needed to seek rehabilitation.