Chien-Ming Wang’s start in Boston Wednesday night was a set-back for both the pitcher and the team. Wang had velocity, frequently hitting 95 miles per hour on the YES gun, and movement, but much like A.J. Burnett the night before, he had no control. It was almost as if the Red Sox had ball-repelling magnets installed under home plate.
Wang look good striking out Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay to end the second inning, but by then he’d already given up three runs on three hits and three walks and thrown 58 pitches. He tried to start the third with a gimme strike to Mike Lowell, but Lowell parked it on top of the Green Monster to give the Red Sox a 4-1 lead (the Yankee run came on a Jorge Posada homer off Tim Wakefield leading off the second). David Ortiz followed by lifting a 400-foot fly out to center, and Mark Kotsay hit a hard single up the middle on Wang’s next pitch. A batter later, Wang was out of the game having thrown just 57 percent of his 69 pitches for strikes.
Phil Hughes pitched admirably over 3 2/3 innings in relief of Wang, striking out five men along the way, but he got into some bad counts in the fourth and wound up throwing two very hittable fastballs to J.D. Drew and Kevin Youkilis, resulting in a triple and an opposite-field homer, giving the Sox two crucial insurance runs.
The Yankee offense chipped away. A pair of walks set up a Melky Cabrera RBI single in the fourth. Mark Teixeira hit right-handed against Wakefield and went 3-for-3 against the knuckleballer with a single and a double off the Monster and another double down the left field line. That last came leading off the fifth and two groundouts plated Tex with the third Yankee run. Switched back to the left side against Ramon Ramirez in the seventh, Teixeira followed a Johnny Damon lead-off homer with a solo shot of his own to bring the Yankees within 6-5.
Unfortunately, that’s as close as they’d get. Nick Swisher worked a walk off Hideki Okajima to start the eighth, Brett Gardner ran for him, and Melky Cabrera bunted Gardner to second, but Derek Jeter (an ugly 0-for-5) struck out, as did Damon, stranding Gardner, who never attempted a steal.
In the ninth, Alex Rodriguez ignored the Fenway crowd’s “You Did Ste-Roids!” chant to work a one-out walk against Jonathan Papelbon, and pinch-runner Ramiro Peña stole second in his place, but Robinson Cano struck out and Jorge Posada flied out to the warning track in left to end the game.
After the game, Posada seemed more fed up with Wang’s struggles than frustrated by them, Wang said he would understand if the Yankees wanted to move him back into the bullpen, and Joe Girardi uncharacteristically refused to say that Wang would make his next start, or even to say “he’s in the rotation right now” (his typical code for “but won’t be five days from now”). Given how well Hughes pitched by comparison, I’d expect the two to swap roles next time around.
I’d expect the two to swap rolls next time around.
No need to, I'm sure there are plenty others at the clubhouse spread :D
I'm not saying that this is Eiland's fault, but having another pitching coach's input may not be the worst thing.
This is the only league that causes Hughes to struggle in any way. That is precisely why he should remain in New York.
I shutter to think where the Yankees would be without Teixeira.
[1] Oops. Fixed.
Watching Wang right now is painful. I feel so bad for the guy. I just don't get it, he was injured, but now he's got velocity. How can he just forget how to pitch for this long?
Lemme guess...
Flash called another Yankees game in the booth, right?
I thought so...
[4] I think it's about mechanics and confidence. It's too bad Neil Allen is in the Tampa organization, because if anyone could fix him, it's him, the guy who taught him the sinker.
I hope Posada isn't a barometer for the team as a whole regarding Wang (nor in much else, for that matter). Even if they feel the need to pull Wang from the rotation, I don't think it's fair to him to be fed up, given the trajectory of his "recovery".
And if Wang's goose is indeed cooked, that is a real shame, and something that seems should have and could have been avoided.
I hope they do give him at least one more start.
They need to discover some elbow tendinitis for Wang, put him on the 60-day DL and let him go to Tampa and work things out. On a crappy team, you could keep sending him out there and let him work it out as he goes along. But the Yanks can't afford him that luxury.
[8] Hell, maybe it is physical. Some people insist everything is physical and maybe they're right. Maybe talking about Wang's psyche is comparable to religion. After all, it's not measurable. Maybe there was something physically wrong with Chuck Knoblauch for that matter. Since mental state has nothing to do with performance, I mean.
From Peter, Eiland said that Wang has the armslot in the bullpen but doesn't when in the game. If true, then it is mental, simply a lack of confidence. On most teams you could probably afford for your #5 starter to work through it, but A.J. stinks as well and Hughes is pitching better. Swap Chien-Ming & Phil right now.
[8] Never for a second did I think the Yankees would pull out a win. Not comfortable with that. If Wang goes to the pen, how does he get more than two innings of work if the team plays well? Is this enough to put him back on track? I dunnno. He needs to go somewhere and work this out.
Three homers and no errors. A-Rod's .230 not the average that instills fear in opposing pitchers. He, too, could use some relief. He looks out of shape. I feel for him, literally.
[11] Seriously. A Rod's struggles are becoming more pronounced ... As time goes by he's getting worse, not better. Hopefully it's just a slump or else the Yanks may be in deep sh**.
i just don't see how wang in the bp does much good for him or the yanks.
i definitely think he needs to go on the dl - say he stubbed his toe in the shower or something- and let him work on his mechanics and build up stamina. while a lot of it may be mental/confidence it is also physical - he doesn't have his mechanics at a point where it is natural to repeat his delivery and get his arm slot right.
arod's hip does seem to still be bothering him. i hope it is something that gets better soon.
Wang had the velocity, but not the location, which suggests to me that he needs a bit of fine tuning. Give him a couple more starts and if that doesn't work, give him regular work in the bullpen.
If you move Wang to the bullpen, you are essentially waving the white flag on him. Wang has been and can be much too valuable of a commodity to simply right off. His next start would be against the Nats, so I hope he gets the chance to face them. As frustrating as losing to Boston has been, the entire team has crapped the bed against the Red Sox. Even Hughes was horrible in his start. I think Wang deserves at least a couple more starts before the Yankees consider pulling the plug.
Yesterday was a setback, or it was the status quo. They're going to have to put him out there again to see which it is. If he can improve on his first game back, ie pitch five effective innings or more, then we're in good shape. If he can't better that effort, there may be a serious problem.
i still think wang is salvageable and can be the pitcher he was - i just think the most advantageous place for this to happen is in a gradual, low pressure system like a rehab stint
[17] Yeah, I am concerned that this route will exacerbate any mental issues he's having, but it seems equally likely that getting him out of the rotation will do as much if not more damage. It's far from the optimal course, but I think they're stuck with it now. They never, ever should have brought him up into the pen so quickly.
Wow, first time losing two games in a row in over a month, since early May, when they lost two to the Rays ... after losing two to the Sox.
Cliff, I dreamt last night that I was reading your recap of the game and the title of the post was "And The Beat Goes on". Feel free to use it if CC craps the bed tonight.