With Brian Bruney returning tonight to help the beleaguered Yankee bullpen, the Yanks rolling on a 6 game winning streak and some favorable pitching match ups (2 of 3) for the upcoming series with the Orioles, all is well in Yankeeland. With Memorial Day approaching, its fair to start looking at the standings, and the Yanks sit at 3 out (in the loss) for the division and 1 out for the Wild Card, margins that can easily be made up in one week with 20 more weeks remaining in the season.
The only big question right now for the Yanks is when to call up Chien Ming Wang. He’s been dominating AAA hitters, but then again so did Darrell Rasner last year. Marc Craig of the Newark Star Ledger takes a look at this, and frankly he doesn’t add much to this discussion. But posts like this look more official when you link them to some dying newspaper for some reason.
Both Girardi and Cashman said that they are less concerned with his velocity than they are with his command (the movement) of his sinker. I don’t buy it for one minute. Wang’s game has always revolved around his ‘bowling ball’ 2 seamer. Hard and heavy, it forced hitters to take weak hacks against it and at his best he was a ground ball machine. His secondary pitches aren’t really big league offerings, and never were. So he needs the 2-seamer to set everything else up. Its possible they can try to reinvent him as a pitcher, like they did on his outing vs the Red Sox last year. Mix up his pitches more, keep the hitters off balance with the variety if not the quality of the pitches. He certainly has enough pitches to do so. Besides the sinker he also throws a 4 Seamer, Splitter, Slider and Change. Taking this approach with his lesser stuff will put even more of a premium on keeping his pitches down. Wang always got hit when his Sinker was up, but if his velocity is diminshed and he’s using more of his secondary arsenal, then anything above the waist will be crushed.
Simply put, at 93-95 MPH with the 2 seamer, he’s Chien Ming Wang. At 88-90 MPH he’s Sidney Ponson. I’d rather keep Hughes in the rotation than replace him with Sir Sidney Part 2.
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he also had only 1 strikeout. I know he’s an outlier where K’s are concerned, but that’s not enough to inspire confidence. I’d give him at least one more start at AAA.
It won’t hurt Hughes to get another start-especially with the rest of the rotation going fairly deep into games at a minimum and Aceves ready to eat a few innings should he need to be brought out early
Yeah, I would give Wang one more in the minors, which means Phil gets at least two more in the majors.
Ideally, I would feel better if the speed came up on the sinker and he had one very good secondary pitch.
The funny thing is, people keep saying he can’t last in the show because he doesn’t strike people out and only has one good pitch. They also said the same thing about Mo…even when he was in the BP.
I am not advocating this but, CMW in the BP would be awesome.
Wang is 29, and he’s still not develped fully as a astarter. His whole success also hinges on whether or not his sinker is working that day. Which means that if his sinker don’t work, he gets bombed, and he’d also shown that he’s the type of guy who instead of battling through a la AJ a couple times this year and Andy last night, he’ll just shrug his shoulder, and walk off the mound as if to say “sorry guys, sinker wasn’t working today, nothin I can do about it.”
For these reasons, I think the Yanks should try to see what they can get in return for him via a trade, either in the off-season, or this season still if he comes back healthy.
At worst they should not re-sign him. He’s gonna want a huge deal for all those wins he racked up from 06-08, and he’s not worth it. He’s not a big-game pitcher. In the 07 playoffs, he got bombed TWICE by Cleveland. Hey, his sinker wasn’t working that day, can U blame him?
Sorry, but I don’t want to pay such a type of pitcher 12-15 million a year. I need to know I can count on the guy in a big spot.
Besides, with a glaring need for young position player prospects, it’s about time the Yanks sell off one of thier players instead of always buying and getting stuck with other teams’ shit. Trade him for 2 young postion players, and with Hughes, IPK, Aceves, and evetually Mcallister and Brackman, we have enough depth. If Cleveland can get Matt Laporta plus some more top-prospects for 15 starts of Sabathia, the Yanks can get just as much for a guy who, when healthy, will rack up wins over the course of the season, but we all know can’t come through in a big spot.
Why do we always have to be the buyers? Let’s be the sellers who receive some future studs for a change.
Really? That tiny sample means he cant come through in a big spot? C’mon, Harry. Wang is a guy who you can count on to have a sub-4 ERA and win a bunch of games. He is just as developed a pitcher as anyone else, and he actually has been increasing his K rate over recent years. Yankee fans really underrate this guy.
Sorry Mo, but what do U say to the frequently occuring fact that on days where his sinker doesn’t work he just gives up. He has yet to develop a second pitch which he can rely on to keep him going on days which the sinker doesn’t work. He’s basically a one pitch pitcher.
Over the course of the season he’s gonna win a bunch of games because his sinker will be on most of the time, but it’s a big risk every time U run him out in a big game. He didn’t just stink up the joint in the 07 playoffs, he sucks agianst Boston too.
How long am I gonna wait till he developes those good secondary ptiches? He’s 29 already, man. And every year he goes through a couple of bad starts and PeteAbe writes, “Yeah, his mechanics are messed up, he worked on it in the bullpen with [insert name here].” How many pitchers who’re 29 and are considered high-caliber pitchers need their mechanics corrected constantly?
U think Yankee fans really underrate this guy, but I think Yankee fans fall too much in love with their own young players who’ve produced a little. I shouldn’t say “a little” but U get the point. Trade him. It’s about tiime we get some young top position prospects in here. It would be a win-win for us and the team that needs a solid starter for the stretch run. We’re a mediocre defensive team right now, and he’s a GB pitcher. Why do we always have to buy other people’s garbage?
He doesn’t give up, that is ridiculous. you cant post ERA’s under 4 if you cant make adjustments when your stuff is off. The slider i getting better. And he isnt great against Boston because Boston has had a great offensive team.
A.J. has historically been great against Boston. And he was facing hte same great offensive team.
U know what? Let’s say Wang is indeed what you say, he doesn’t give up, etc.
But U do agree there is an organizational hole in young up-n-coming position players. You’re not gonna get them any ohter way than a trade. I don’t wanna trade young pitchers, as they’re cost-controlled and extremely valuable.
Do U wanna lock up another pitcher in his 30′s (which Wang will be next year) to a long-term deal?! To me, THAT is ridiculous. CC, AJ, and Wang. All of em to long-term deals in their 30′s (the last 4 of CC’s). U use him in his best years, 24-30, then U try to get value for him, for an area of need in your organization. What would U rather do? Sign Wang to a long-term deal, which locks up another rotation-spot for over 12 million, which takes away another rotation spots for our young pitchers to break in in the future? A grounball pitcher who’s yet to develop a strikeout pitch – he’s TWENTY-NINE for cryin out loud! Hoew much better is he gonna get?! – on a mediocre-at-best degfensive team? And how are you gonna replace Damon, Matsui, and Nady? Keep on signing guys in their prime (which means you’re paying them past their prime in the second half of the deal) like Matt Holliday? That further handicaps the roster.
If U trade Wang, you got the most out of him – he’s not gonna get BETTER past age 31-32, is he?! – you keep roster flexibility, and you get younger overall as a team.
Can’t we ever make a smart trade for the future?
That’s a different story. I’m not saying I would not trade him in the right deal, just that I thought you were undervaluing him. Obviously, because I value him more, I would probably require a better deal for him.
There’s 2 things: 1) I don’t think the yanks shoud re-sign himi to a long-term deal. and 2) I’m looking to get some young position players and Wang is the only guy who can get U some young studs because of his potential value to a team who wants to make a run a la Milwaukee last season. IMO, this shoots two birds with one bullet. U don’t hamstring the roster with another long-term deal, AND U get younger in the OF.
I don’t see how they can get equal value for him if his contract is going to be up. He’s a solid #2 at minimum when he’s healthy, and an inning eater as well. If he comes back and returns to form, I’d try to sign him before he hits the open market.
No no no. First, don’t mistaken his calm demeanor for apathy and lack of competitiveness. Not everyone is a rah rah fist pumping type. You don’t win all those games simply not caring and not battling through some tough games. There’s no way you win 45 or so games in 2.5 seasons having your best stuff in every night.
Second, for the same reason you say he should be traded you would be get nothing in exchange.
Third, while 29 isn’t adolecense, its not ancient. Many pitchers get much better toward the latter stages of their careers. He’s shown he has other pitches has been able to mix them up very effectively at times.
There’s no reason to believe he can’t come back and be effective again. At this point he’s not costing the team any real money and would be huge if he can be close to what he was and eat up innings. And if he does return to the old CMW you’ve got a great rotation for the at least the next few years. Trade him and you get nothing, keep him and you can decide if he’s worth a long term contract.
Exactly
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