Both Joe Girardi and pitching coach Dave Eiland said late last night that there is nothing physically wrong with Wang. But what does that matter? They said that earlier in the season and a few days later determined -- get this -- that he had weakness in his hip.
They need such creativity again. Because they simply cannot let Wang continue to start. It has become like a once every fifth day concession speech.
There is no acceptable answer for sticking with Wang. Hughes may not be perfect. He still may have a lot to learn. But he is at least competitive. Wang, on the other hand, is making Kei Igawa look good by comparison.
Girardi tried again to talk about all the games Wang won in 2006-07. But it is 2009, and in 2009 Wang is killing the Yanks. David Robertson was warming in the first and warming in the second, and Hughes was in the game in the third. Nothing new there. Wang has worked just 14 1/3 innings over five starts. So he is a one-man bullpen wrecking crew.
Ultimately, this is not a scavenger hunt with prizes for anyone who can find a way for Wang to keep a consistent delivery during games. This is a major league season in which the Yanks must -- MUST -- win. And, right now, Wang is the biggest loser, so bad that he could give up four more runs and still have his ERA drop . . . to 14.34.
Then there was this from the much more rational John Harper:Girardi, Eiland and GM Brian Cashman will strategize today about what to do with Wang. Let him start against the weak Nationals. Use an off-day on Monday to skip him. Put him in the pen. Or pull out the medical dictionary to figure out a way to get him on the DL.
But there really is no decision. Wang needs to be removed and he does not simply get a spot back because of pedigree or a $5 million salary. He does not get a spot back with a few good side sessions or a couple of positive relief outings. This should now be Hughes' job to keep on his own success or failure. Wang goes to the back of the line and waits for an opening; an opening is no longer simply created for him based on past achievements.
No one cares anymore if he was the ace to start last year. It is this year, and in 2009 Wang is the majors' worst pitcher. And for the majors' worst pitcher you don't find excuses to put him back in the rotation, you find excuses to put him on the DL.
Still, once the emotion wears off Girardi needs to do the right thing and give Wang another chance. It was the Yankees who panicked and rushed him back to the majors when they were worried about Joba Chamberlain taking a ball off the knee, and if they give up on him now, well, what was the point?
And it was Girardi who re-configured his starting rotation to put Wang into a spot where he had to face the Sox here at Fenway Park in his second start back from oblivion - not the ideal path to renewed success.
Is Phil Hughes a better pitcher right now than Chien-Ming Wang? There's no doubt about it. Hughes looked good again last night in pitching 3-2/3 innings of relief after Girardi took out Wang in the third inning.
But the Yankees need to find out about Wang once and for all before they banish him again. They can't invent another injury this time and send him back to the minors, so if they take him out of the rotation again, who knows what becomes of him?
If the Yankees were in a desperate situation maybe they'd have no choice. But it feels desperate only because they're 0-7 against the Red Sox. That's embarrassing, all right, but it doesn't make them desperate.
In truth, they're a game out of first place, they've still won 19 of their last 27 games, and they're still showing the grit that has helped them win so many games late this season, fighting back again in the late innings last night before falling a run short.
Even more relevant, they're ahead in the wild-card standings. Right now it's hard to see which other team in the American League is going to make a serious run at a wild-card berth, with so many clubs bunched up around .500.
And that matters because it provides a safety net that allows the Yankees to keep the big picture in mind. If they do that, it's too soon to give up on Wang, even if he was fairly awful again last night.
It's frustrating, exasperating, driving the Yankees crazy, but unlike early in the season, he is throwing hard again, reaching 95mph on the radar gun, and if anything, he had too much sink on his ball last night.
I definitely think they need to keep him in the rotation, at least for one more start. If he was throwing 89-90 mph with no movement, I'd understand giving up on the guy, but last night he was throwing 95 with good sink, and his slider was good too, he just had zero command.The Yankees can't wait forever on this, but for the moment, Hughes can help them in the bullpen and be ready to give them innings if Wang falters again.
It's only early June and the Yankees are in a position where they need to be sure about Wang before they toss him aside. After Girardi gets some sleep, surely he'll feel the same way.
With the Nationals coming up on the schedule I see no problem with having him start against them. Worst case scenario is he gets bombed, but it's not like the Yanks will be facing Cy Young, the Nats currently have the worst team ERA in baseball at 5.41, so the Yanks will probably be able to score some runs.
What do you think the Yanks should do with Wang?
18 Comments:
next series are mets, nationals, marlins, braves, mets, end the month with seattle. we can get on a major hot streak against these teams, working the count, getting into their bad bullpens, and winning many games, as soon as we get the heck out of that city.
the yankees, in m opinion, shouldn't waste their time with Wang anymore. the starting rotation has been good without him. i think they should send him back down to AAA ball for a while, see if things improve there, and then if things do improve, insert him back into the rotation when the yankees are playing a team like seattle or Washington.
Send him back down, this was a half assed organizational move rushing him in the first place and broadcasting his pitch count to boot!. The Yankees look like they are lost organizationally and can't make personnel decisions to save their lives. Eiland really has to go and Cashmen really has to start being looked at for how he runs the organization. Girardi I think is just a stoodge whose face is put on bad organizational moves that come from Cashmen, explaining why he still has a job.
Rob and danny, how do you suggest they send him back down?
Cashman just can't waive a wand and find another year of option eligibility for Wang.
And Rob, which starting rotation are you talking about pitching well without him? Burnetts 2 and 2 thirds the other night? Hughes' 1 inning in Baltimore? Please, enlighten me.
Why not give him a shot in Washington. He did have good stuff just zero command. If he has a good outing and starts beleiving in his stuff he could become dominant again. You have to look at it this way - You can lose a couple games to try and get back a great pitcher and it not work out or he can get his rythm back (because his velocity is obvuiously there finally) and you can have a dominant 1-5 staff with Hughes in the wing in case anyone goes down. Giving Wang another shot gives the Yankees another shot at having depth at the starting pitcher position (which they had zero of last year).
-G
The Yankees are the ones who screwed up with Wang all along. Harper didn't even mention that it was the Yankees who directed how Wang should rehab over the winter, so that he had no upper leg and torso strength this spring, which is what started all this. Sending him back down now accomplishes... what? He's done that and his strength is back to where it should be. He is throwing at 94-95 mph. His problem is mechanical and needs to be worked out as the Yankees #5 starter. He'll get it done.
You know, last year in late June our starting five was-- Pettitte, Joba, Mussina, Rasner, Ponson. And Pettitte was about 2 weeks away from losing it. Keeping Wang on as our #5 to straighten himself out is not a bad thing. I think he is very close right now. It's all being magnified with this Boston series.
WOW. I just heard Mike Francesa say "I expected Melky to come back." I like the WFAN guys, but Mike, for an older Yankees fan like me, is so reactionary, so sensationalist, and changes his tune with each new breeze. He was killing Melky all off-season. Then he said "teams are pitching around Teixeira". I guess that's why he was 4 for 5 last night with 0 BBs.
Steve, did that idiot really say that?
I remember hearing him saying all off-season into April that the Yankees were foolish not to trade a fourth outfielder for Mike Cameron. He's such a two-faced liar.
They should move him back to the bullpen. Its crazy how bad he has been. Hughes has been pitching a lot better than him, and deserves to pitch. Its Wang's own fault he is pitching this bad.
They can't live on what he did two years ago.
No kidding. I was so surprised I stopped right in the middle of my previous posting to make sure I got that down.
Back to Wang, in his start against the Nationals, I would have him go 100 pitches, even if he gives up 15 runs. Tell him it's 'no-pressure' and allow him the chance to find his arm slot in an in-game situation. You gotta allow Wang the room to rediscover himself. He is IMPORTANT to the Yankees. You can't just discard him now. Imagine the pressure he is under right now, plus with his wife.
I'm kidding now-- if he was to drink a whole lot of rice wine before his next start & get on the mound feeling no pain, I bet he'd be great. Where's David Wells when you need him? Like I said, I'm kidding (well, mostly).
YP3,
The Yankees have handled this situation terribly, from not having him work out normally this off-season like Steve mentioned, to calling him up too soon, to switching him from starter to reliever and back to starter. So this is not all Wang's fault. Wang is obviously to blame as well, but so are the Yankees.
I actually don't think giving him a shot of his favorite adult beverage is a bad idea at all. Don't get him drunk, but a little bit just to relax - hey, it helped the 2004 Red Sox.
Ahh, if only I was the bullpen coach!
Hey Wanger!-- This cooler has the Poland Spring, this cooler has the Gatorade, and this one has the Tsingtao.
Wang should have stayed in AAA until he got his confidence and everything else back up. The SOS call to the bullpen was a bad move. At this point he should go back down until he gets locked in and his confidence is up. In the mean time Phil Hughes should continue to start. You can't put Wang in the bullpen because 1. He's a starter 2. Starting in AAA will only build him back up as a starting pitcher. 3. He is still giving up runs in the MLB every time.
He's no guarantee to get right vs the Nats. They can hit, just can't pitch. We can outscore them but Wang is killing our bullpen. They have to find a way to get him straight without sacrificing games and the rest of the rotation (see Burnett getting extra rest and Hughes in limbo).
I bet his wife gives birth so he can miss his next start.
Also, if a team claims him on waivers can't we pull him back and work out a trade. If he's so valuable that we can't easily send him down, then we should get something for him.
We could also let him bomb a couple of more times then no one will touch him and we can demote him and call up Igawa...
The Nats are not a good offensive team. They've scored 264 runs this year, which is 18th in baseball, 5 runs higher than the mighty Pittsburgh Pirates. They're 16th in team batting with a .260 team BA, one point lower than the Giants. And they've got the 11th best slugging percentage, which is good, but not great.
The schedule sets up well for him to get 3 more starts. I let him have those.
The Yankees have been really successful in attempting to destroy Wang's career.
Ordered him to bunt when the team had a 3 run lead.
Screwed up his rehab twice in a roll.
Let him hang out to dry in the bull pen.
Threw him on the mound to face two of the best hitting teams in baseball.
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