(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)At least nobody got hurt.
For the third straight start Chien-Ming Wang was absolutely terrible. He actually looked pretty sharp in the first inning, retiring the Indians 1-2-3. His sinker was down and it had good movement. He was then given a 2-0 lead when Mark Teixeira belted a 2-run homer in the bottom half of the first. I was thinking this might be a good day for Wang and the Yankees. Things fell apart quickly.
An infield single (on a very good sinker) by Travis Hafner, Jhonny Peralta followed with a line drive single to left, and Shin-Soo Choo homered and just like that it was 3-2 Indians. It only got worse from there. Wang allowed eight runs on eight hits - including a homer and three doubles - while retiring just one man in the inning. The surprising part is how good his sinker looked in the first and how quickly he lost it in the second. He's obviously struggling with his mechanics, but his confidence has got to be shot at this point too. Can you blame him? Here are his first three outings of the '09 season:
Yesterday vs. Cleveland: 1.1 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Monday vs. Tampa: 1 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
April 8th vs. Baltimore: 3.2 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
For the third straight start Chien-Ming Wang was absolutely terrible. He actually looked pretty sharp in the first inning, retiring the Indians 1-2-3. His sinker was down and it had good movement. He was then given a 2-0 lead when Mark Teixeira belted a 2-run homer in the bottom half of the first. I was thinking this might be a good day for Wang and the Yankees. Things fell apart quickly.
An infield single (on a very good sinker) by Travis Hafner, Jhonny Peralta followed with a line drive single to left, and Shin-Soo Choo homered and just like that it was 3-2 Indians. It only got worse from there. Wang allowed eight runs on eight hits - including a homer and three doubles - while retiring just one man in the inning. The surprising part is how good his sinker looked in the first and how quickly he lost it in the second. He's obviously struggling with his mechanics, but his confidence has got to be shot at this point too. Can you blame him? Here are his first three outings of the '09 season:
Yesterday vs. Cleveland: 1.1 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Monday vs. Tampa: 1 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
April 8th vs. Baltimore: 3.2 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
He's been so bad that he's single-handedly nearly doubled the Yankees' starters ERA:
Yankees starters ERA: 6.39
Yankees starters ERA without Wang: 3.38
Wang's next start is scheduled for Friday at Fenway against the Red Sox. If the Yankees don't skip his start they deserve whatever they get. They have an off day on Thursday so there is no reason why they can't skip him and still keep everyone else on normal rest. Give him a week or two off and see if they can figure out what the hell is wrong with Wang.
Phil Hughes looked great in spring and has carried that into the regular season down in Triple-A. Maybe it's time he takes over Wang's spot in the rotation until Wang gets his act together. Maybe a little competition would be good for Wang too.
Things didn't get much better when the Yankees brought in recent call-up Anthony Claggett. By the time the second inning was over the Indians had sent 17 men to the plate and scored 14 runs on 13 hits - a team record for runs and hits allowed in an inning by the Yankees. The 14 runs also tied a team record for runs scored in an inning by the Indians. Claggett ended up pitching 1.2 innings and also allowed eight runs. Not the greatest debut.
Edwar Ramirez then came in and also got knocked around the yard. In two innings he allowed four runs on three hits and three walks. Jose Veras was next out of the pen and allowed a run on a hit and a walk in three innings of work, which considering the circumstances was actually a bright spot of the game. And Damaso Marte continues to stink, as he allowed a run on four hits in an inning of work. The Yankees need to get these three straightened out or need to get them off the roster. I'll give Veras a pass for today because he didn't do too poorly, but these kind of performances aren't going to cut it for the Yanks middle relievers. Granted, it's not the easiest thing pitching when your team is down by 15 runs, but still, go in there and get outs, regardless of the situation, that's your job.
Yankees starters ERA: 6.39
Yankees starters ERA without Wang: 3.38
Wang's next start is scheduled for Friday at Fenway against the Red Sox. If the Yankees don't skip his start they deserve whatever they get. They have an off day on Thursday so there is no reason why they can't skip him and still keep everyone else on normal rest. Give him a week or two off and see if they can figure out what the hell is wrong with Wang.
Phil Hughes looked great in spring and has carried that into the regular season down in Triple-A. Maybe it's time he takes over Wang's spot in the rotation until Wang gets his act together. Maybe a little competition would be good for Wang too.
Things didn't get much better when the Yankees brought in recent call-up Anthony Claggett. By the time the second inning was over the Indians had sent 17 men to the plate and scored 14 runs on 13 hits - a team record for runs and hits allowed in an inning by the Yankees. The 14 runs also tied a team record for runs scored in an inning by the Indians. Claggett ended up pitching 1.2 innings and also allowed eight runs. Not the greatest debut.
Edwar Ramirez then came in and also got knocked around the yard. In two innings he allowed four runs on three hits and three walks. Jose Veras was next out of the pen and allowed a run on a hit and a walk in three innings of work, which considering the circumstances was actually a bright spot of the game. And Damaso Marte continues to stink, as he allowed a run on four hits in an inning of work. The Yankees need to get these three straightened out or need to get them off the roster. I'll give Veras a pass for today because he didn't do too poorly, but these kind of performances aren't going to cut it for the Yanks middle relievers. Granted, it's not the easiest thing pitching when your team is down by 15 runs, but still, go in there and get outs, regardless of the situation, that's your job.
Here's the ERAs for those Yankee middle relievers:
Ramirez: 8.44
Veras: 8.53
Marte: 21.00
David Robertson and Mark Melancon can not get here quick enough.
In a hopeless attempt to look at the bright side I will point out a few things that I was happy to see today:
- Mark Teixeira homered, his third of the year.
- Melky Cabrera also homered, and looks very good in left field - better than any other Yankees corner outfielder. At this point I keep him in the lineup and see what happens.
- Jose Veras and his three innings of one run ball. At this point that is a great improvement over his previous outings and hopefully we will see more good things from Veras as the year goes on.
- Alex Rodriguez is inching closer to a return to the Yankees. Yesterday he took 75 swings, hitting several long homers during his third straight day of batting practice down in Tampa. He also took grounders on the infield dirt for the first time and has increased the intensity of his running program.
And how about this new stadium? The balls are just flying out of this place. In three games the Yankees and Indians have combined for 17 home runs, which is pretty ridiculous. It may be the same size as the old place, but it plays a lot smaller. I can't imagine the Yankees pitchers are too happy about this. For more on our new bandbox head on over to WasWatching.com and check out this post. And some more from Ken Rosenthal.
Ramirez: 8.44
Veras: 8.53
Marte: 21.00
David Robertson and Mark Melancon can not get here quick enough.
In a hopeless attempt to look at the bright side I will point out a few things that I was happy to see today:
- Mark Teixeira homered, his third of the year.
- Melky Cabrera also homered, and looks very good in left field - better than any other Yankees corner outfielder. At this point I keep him in the lineup and see what happens.
- Jose Veras and his three innings of one run ball. At this point that is a great improvement over his previous outings and hopefully we will see more good things from Veras as the year goes on.
- Alex Rodriguez is inching closer to a return to the Yankees. Yesterday he took 75 swings, hitting several long homers during his third straight day of batting practice down in Tampa. He also took grounders on the infield dirt for the first time and has increased the intensity of his running program.
And how about this new stadium? The balls are just flying out of this place. In three games the Yankees and Indians have combined for 17 home runs, which is pretty ridiculous. It may be the same size as the old place, but it plays a lot smaller. I can't imagine the Yankees pitchers are too happy about this. For more on our new bandbox head on over to WasWatching.com and check out this post. And some more from Ken Rosenthal.
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG | |
| Jeter, SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .271 |
| Ransom, 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .139 |
| Damon, DH | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .278 |
| a-Matsui, PH-DH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .179 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .194 |
| Molina, J, C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .176 |
| Swisher, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .342 |
| Posada, C-1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .243 |
| Cano, 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .391 |
| Cabrera, M, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .294 |
| Gardner, CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .244 |
| Pena, 3B-SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .182 |
| Totals | 33 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 11 | |
a-Doubled for Damon in the 5th. | ||||||||
BATTING 2B: Matsui (2, Carmona). 3B: Ransom (1, Chulk). HR: Teixeira (3, 1st inning off Carmona, 1 on, 1 out), Cabrera, M (2, 6th inning off Carmona, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Ransom 3; Matsui 2; Teixeira 4; Posada; Cano; Cabrera, M 4; Pena. RBI: Teixeira 2 (6), Cabrera, M 2 (4). 2-out RBI: Cabrera, M 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Gardner 2; Teixeira; Ransom; Molina, J. GIDP: Molina, J. Team RISP: 0-for-5. Team LOB: 8. FIELDING E: Swisher (2, fielding). | ||||||||
INDIANS OFFENSE
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
| Wang (L, 0-3) | 1.1 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34.50 |
| Claggett | 1.2 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 43.20 |
| Ramirez, E | 2.0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8.44 |
| Veras | 3.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8.53 |
| Marte | 1.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21.00 |
INDIANS PITCHING
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Mark DeRosa (4-for-7, 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 2 R)
HONORABLE MENTION: Asdrubal Cabrera (4-for-6, Grand Slam, 5 RBI, 3 R)
GOAT OF THE GAME: Chien-Ming Wang (1.1 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 8 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 34.50 ERA)
The Yanks and Indians close out their series tomorrow afternoon at the new
17 Comments:
its not really the park greg. Just saying, shitty pitching is shitty pitching those balls are out in any park.
Damon and Swisher are both below average out there in left and right. If Matsui continues to suck and isn't in the lineup everyday, it would be nice to maybe have Swish or Damon DH and stick Melky out in a corner.
Anon, I don't think we can say it is or isn't the park yet. There have been a few homers to just clear the wall (like Tex's and Cabrera's slam today), but who knows if they would've gotten out in the old park, too. I think we're gonna have to wait until mid-summer before we have a feel for how the park plays.
I'm sure some of it has to do with the pitching, but the hitters, coaches, announcers, writers, are all saying the place plays small.
A lot of these shots don't look like much off the bat but they just keep carrying.
I just added a link on the post above to a great post over on WasWatching.com about this.
Wang needs to get his head out of his ass. Not sure why Claggett was called up when Robertson did a great job the other day and Melacon is avail??This guy was awful. Let's hope for a better day today
BB
I don't know what you guys are thinking, but all those HRs to right are bothering me a little bit.
I know the right field fense isn't that much closer that the old one but I don't like YS having the reputation of a bandbox, I really don't.
Think about it, any Yankee who would put up great numbers would have that argument thrown at him.
A-Rod is, even with all the scandals, probably gonna come close or beat Bonds HR record, and the "problem" with RF at Yankee Stadium is going to erupt.
What are you guys thinking about it. It doesn't keep me from sleeping at night, but I'm not too thrilled about seeing 6 HRs per game so far.
Matsui should be put on the DL. Make Damon the primary DH. This should be the lineup when Arod comes back:
DH Damon
SS Jeter
1B Teixiera
3B Arod
2B Cano
RF Swisher
LF Melky
CF Gardner
Just by taking Damon out of LF the defense improves.
Anon, where do you put Posada ? I'd put him behind A-Rod.
Anyway, when you take Matsui off (even if he has been greatly overrated before the season IMO) the lineup, all of a sudden it's not as scary.
Hey guys, what's up? I know we got our asses kicked yesterday but I'm sure we'll bounce back. Pavano isn't going to last 5, and A.J. is going to pitch another masterpiece.
LET'S GO YANKEES!!
I'm sorry I forgot about Posada lol
DH Damon
SS Jeter
1B Teixiera
3B Rodgriuez
2B Cano
C Posada
RF Swisher
LF Cabrera
CF Gardner
Nothing wrong with this lineup without Matsui.
It is lengthened with Arod in there.
That's a good deep lineup even without Matsui. Who can't hit anyway because of his knee.
Linking to Was Watching....
What dane?
IMHO all this "wind tunnel" talk is a little premature,no? I know the balls have been hit out a lot especially to right. But many of those were crushed and would have gone out anyway. Then when balls were hit over the centerfielders heads or in the gaps I hear "oh man that carried". What about the ones hit to left? Is the wind carrying those too? There is no wind tunnel that carries balls equally to all fields, that's science. and it's not warm enough yet to affect the way the ball travels. To me it seems like bad pitching and over-analyzing the happenings in a new ballpark. But I could be wrong :p
hey greg got the yankee lineup for u for today.
YANKEES (6-6)
Gardner CF
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Matsui DH
Ransom 3B
Molina C
Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (2-0, 2.70).
CMW needs to get himself right before another start, especially at Fenway. Does Igawa come up to make a start or two in Wang's place? If not him, then who? Tomko? Hughes?
- Brian
Yankees will be in last this year.
Nice, thanks Yankeefan91.
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