Today’s news is powered by a video tribute to Bob Sheppard:
- Tyler Kepner previews this weekend’s match-up with the BoSox:
They will meet on Friday at Fenway Park the way they always seem to be: dead even in the standings. The Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, never far from each other’s consciousness, have identical 9-6 records. The Yankees have won six of their last eight. The Red Sox are on a seven-game winning streak.
It is almost immaterial that the Toronto Blue Jays, of all teams, are atop the American League East, and that the Tampa Bay Rays are the reigning division champions. In the insular world of 4 Yawkey Way, nobody else will matter.
- What does Bud Selig think about the pricing of those premium seats?:
Bud Selig has noticed those empty seats at the new ballparks in New York, too. Should the Yankees and Mets lower their tickets prices? The commissioner said that’s up to them. . . .
Speaking to the Associated Press Sports Editors, Selig said it was not an issue for Major League Baseball to decide, and added he wouldn’t make any recommendation.
“They’re going to discuss it, and whatever adjustments they want to make, they should make,” Selig said. “I wouldn’t be presumptuous talking about what they should or shouldn’t do.”. . .
Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion wouldn’t discuss Selig’s remarks, saying: “We’re still not talking about ticket prices.”
Selig said too much is being made in the media of the top-priced seats. “They’re off to a very good attendance start. One team is averaging 44,000 — the Yankees are at 44 — and the Metsies are averaging 37,000,” he said. “So it would be hard if I went to Pittsburgh or somewhere today and tell them, gee, you know, those two New York clubs are really struggling.”
- PeteAbe has the rundown on Chien-Ming Wang’s day down in Tampa:
“He doesn’t have the arm strength he had last year,” (minor league pitching instructor Nardi) Contreras said. “But he hasn’t pitched in eight months prior to this spring training. What I saw today, he had the best slider I’ve seen since I’ve known Chien-Ming. The slider has improved and the changeup is very good. His offspeed pitches are coming in really well.”
- PeteAbe also has a “to do” list for the Yankee suits:
1. Move right field wall back six feet, make it higher.
2. Remove seats from directly behind OF fences so fans can’t interfere with games.
3. Fix backstop net so TV network we own most of can televise games unimpeded.
4. Call Mohegan Sun and apologize for every story that says “The Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, which obstructs thousands of seats …”
5. Find a way to fill the good seats.As some readers suggested …
(sic) 7. Fix Monument Cave and create Monument Park somewhere in Stadium.
- David Ortiz has issued a weekend series pre-emptive plea to Joba Chamberlain:
With Chamberlain scheduled to start for the Yankees in the opener of a three-game series against the Red Sox, David Ortiz yesterday said the talented right-hander should avoid using Kevin Youkilis‘ head as a bull’s-eye.
“None of that, man — just play the game the way it’s supposed to be, and that’s about it,” Ortiz said, referring to Chamberlain.
- ESPN’s “Travel” section made the rounds of the two new New York parks (complete with photo gallery).
- Mike Blowers turns 44 today. Blowers was acquired from the Expos for John Candelaria in 1989, spent ’90 and part of ’91 as a pinch-hitter and occasional third baseman, before being dealt to the Mariners. Fun fact: Blowers was born in Wurzberg, (West) Germany.
- On this date in 1917, George Mogridge of the Yankees pitches a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox, 2-1, at Fenway Park. Mogridge strikes out three batters and walks three as he becomes the first Yankee pitcher to win a no-hit complete game. (Tom Hughes had pitched nine no-hit innings in 1910, but lost the no-no in the 10th, and eventually lost the game).
- On this date in 1923, U.S. President Warren G. Harding witnesses the first shutout ever thrown at Yankee Stadium as Babe Ruth hits a home run in New York’s 4-0 victory over the Senators.
Why wasn't it obvious to the Yankees' braintrust that Wang's arm strength was insufficient at the end of March and that he needed Extended ST?
Why have they been so adamant until the last few days that there was no health issue, yet now they seemed poised to DL him?
Wang's late Spring outings were decent, so I don't think there was a reason to DL him. Even though he wasn't throwing as hard, I think it was reasonable to think that he would eventually build his arm strength back up without pitching to a 30 ERA. I give the Yankees credit for pulling the plug after 3 starts.
I also don't think a tired arm is a "real injury" per se, so having one doesn't necessarily mean he isn't healthy (i.e., there are no structural problems).
@2
Indeed.
@1
What if he's going through a dead arm period?
@ [2]
Isn't Nardi's comment that "he hasn’t pitched in eight months prior to this spring training"coupled with the fact that his FB velocity was topping out at 90, sufficient reason to put him in Extended ST?
@ [3]
A dead arm period is often preceded by a period of time when a pitcher's velocity was substantially higher. Was that the case with Wang? It's also usually of a shorter duration than what Wang is experiencing.
[4] I think Nardi was providing context, not suggesting that every pitcher in Wang's situation should be expected to struggle so greatly.
Also, dead arm periods are not really related to velocity, but workload. As for there duration, I'd imagine that is specific to each individual.
Joba should use Ortiz's head instead. Stupid gamesmanship ploy on big Poopi's part.
[1] [2] I agree with william here. Wang has been an very consistent pitcher (when healthy) the last few years. He's also struggled in spring training before, and his struggles weren't mighty (I think if he had a 34 ERA in ST they would have done something). He was pitching decently, if not great and there was no reason to think he wouldn't keep improving as the season started. Also, what were the alternatives? DL Wang and call up who to start? Hughes in the majors again right away? Aceves (who was getting bombed in ST)? Kennedy? Tomko? No, the best option was to bank on Wang. I also agree that I'm impressed they pulled the plug so fast, but still in a positive way. They aren't releasing him or doing something insane. What'll happen is they'll put him on the DL with some shoulder "injury" and let him work out in extended ST/rehab games till his arm strength comes back. In the long run it won't be that big a deal and its the right call.
[6] Waiting for the "We don't throw at .220 hitters" line.
[5] He may well have been providing context, but I think the same facts can also be reasonably construed as a red flag that required remediation.
There are several studies that have looked at the relationship between a dead arm and a drop in velocity. Here is one example.
[7] Again, have his prior ST struggles been associated with a 5 mph drop in velocity, let alone one that coincided with a eight month layoff from pitching?
Part of the Wang's problem is that because he has been unable to go deep into games, he was not throwing a sufficient number pitches to build up his arm strength. In light of the foregoing facts, I think that was foreseeable, and that an Extended ST should have been an option.. Obviously, I have no idea if they considered it, and if so, to what extent.
But even granting your point, did they really need three starts to realize that there was a significant problem, especially when he was non-competitive in each one?
Yet even after those three starts, they publicly maintained that he was making progress and that he was healthy, only to change their stance a few days later. To me, that is a sign of a troubling disconnect and a lack of a coherent plan.
As for who would start those games, any or all of the pitchers you mentioned could have been tried. After all, they couldn't have pitched worse than Wang did.
[10] Ok, there's a lot here, let me see if I can address your questions.
1. I don't recall in previous STs if his velocity was down. Its fairly typical for pitchers, especially starters to start out ST and even the season with slightly lower velocity, and then build. If you recall Joba was throwing high 80s low 90s the first couple of ST outings and no one was panicked. I suspect in the past Wang has done something similar, but honestly don't know. At any rate, its tough to argue that a lower ST velocity is a huge red flag when it happens so often and is of little note.
2. Its three starts. I mean, the list of pitchers who have had three poor starts in a row is a pretty long. Sabathia is on there, Mussina, etc. Perhaps they really did think he was making progress in his side sessions. Wang won 19 games two years in a row, was pitching well last year before he got hurt and has been an innings eater anchor of this staff. I think he deserves more than one or two bad starts before the plug is pulled. In addition, since he's out of options, its not clear how to pull said plug. You can't just send him down, you have to make him the long man or find a way to DL him, that's not easy.
3. Well I hope you've learned by now that what the team says to the media can sometimes be divorced from reality. The two possibilities are that they really did think he was making progress, or that they didn't. At any rate, if Girardi and Cashman come out and say, "Wang sucks, we all hate him right now and no progress is being made." What good does that do? In actuality the team seems to have been very proactive with him, doing video analysis, working on his mechanics and when that didn't work an immediate fix sending him effectively to extended ST. Their comments aside, that's a lot of action compared to the Torre years say.
4. Its true those pitchers likely wouldn't have been worse than Wang, but we only know that in hindsight. I for one thought he was going to turn it around in each of his last two starts.
I still applaud the way this has been handled. They haven't been lockstop behind a guy because he's a "veteran", but they've also been very positive with him. I approve.
[11]
1. Joba, however, was coming off an injury as well, but to the best of my knowledge, not a prolonged layoff. The difference is that Joba hit the mid-90s in several of his ST starts, and his velocity in general increased in a step-wise manner over the course of the spring. Wang, otoh, did not get his velo back up to the mid-90s during ST. So while it's true that pitchers often increase their velocity over the during the spring, Wang's increase, if any, appears to have been minimal.
2. I view a poor start as one in which a starter gives up something like 5 or 6 runs in a comparable number of innings. Wang's starts haven't been poor, they have been horrific. Teams fabricate injuries all the time. I don't think it would have been difficult to DL him based on some pretext. That's what they are apparently going to do anyway.
3. I realize that. My point is that I don't understand the thought process behind their proclamation that he is healthy. They should have merely said that there may be a problem, but they are awaiting a more searching evaluation before providing a more definitive answer.
4. You're right that there was an element of the unknown with Wang, at least until his first start, but I stand by my assertion that they have handled this situation very poorly for the reasons that I have already stated.
I am still very pissed off by the fact that he resumed throwing from a mound on October 15th last fall, and he isn't ready to go yet! That's four full months prior to reporting for ST, and then another six weeks of camp!
There is a litany of things the matter with his delivery compared to the beginning of last season, and now he lacks arm strength!?
Clearly, somebody dropped the ball with respect to getting CMW ready to begin the season. They had five-and-a-half months after he got back on a mound! All he has today to show for that "work" is an unsound delivery, and a weak arm!
He can't even perform well against A ball hitters! Nine hits and four runs against that level tells me his sinker was still flat and phat.
Absurd...
The saddest thing for me is they still didn't teach him how to run properly! They stuck him on a stationary bike for those four months! He remains an accident waiting to happen should he get on the basepaths again! Bah!
/sarcasm mode on
Good thing they "prioritized" ensuring that Mo was ready! I mean, it's not as though he had his throwing shoulder scoped or anything!
/sarcasm mode off
If Mo is ready, wtf happened (or didn't happen) with Wang?
That's the $5M question for me!
[8] Heh