Sabathia to Keep an Eye on His Weight TAMPA, Fla. - C.C. Sabathia had a good season last year, going 19-8 with a 3.00 earned run average, and finishing fourth in voting for the American League Cy Young Award. But his performance regressed markedly in the second half of the season. After going 13-4 with a 2.72 earned run average before the All-Star break, Sabathia was only 6-4 with a 3.44 E.R.A. after it. One of the issues might have been his weight, which rose in the second half to the point that the Yankees met with him in November to address the problem. He is listed as weighing 290 pounds. Sabathia, 31, said Sunday that he lost 10 to 15 pounds during the off-season, but it looked as if it may have been significantly more. He appeared to be noticeably trimmer, especially in his face. But the key, he said, is to keep the weight off during the season. "I want to be able to keep it off and maintain it all year," he said. Sabathia said with the schedules that players keep, especially on the road with odd travel hours, room service and restaurant menus, it can be difficult to eat correctly. But he indicated it would be something he would pay more attention to this year. "I have to do the right things on the road, make sure I eat the right things in the clubhouse," he said. That shouldn't be too hard. Although Sabathia has always carried considerable heft - and pitched well with it - the Yankees are concerned that as he gets older, it could put more strain on him, particularly his knees. He has had patellar tendinitis in the past. But Sabathia said he did not think the weight affected him in the second half of last season, and also said the six-man rotation the Yankees used at the end of the season, which he was opposed to, was not the cause either. But he did say that if the Yankees used six starters again this year, he would adjust. "I'll find a better way to deal with it," he said.