Yanks worried about Wang
By The Prez
Enter Monday’s Major League Baseball action, the New York Yankee pitching staff has allowed 87 runs this season, which is tied for the most in baseball with the Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles.
And it sure appears that the new Yankee Stadium is hitter-friendly, as the Bombers and Indians just combined for 20 homers in their four-game series. Some experts believe the conditions will get even more offensive when the old Yankee Stadium is torn down (because of breezes, etc.). Oddsmakers will struggle setting totals for Yankee home games.
A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte have been solid in the rotation so far, while CC Sabathia and Joba Chamberlain have been uneven. But the real worry is No. 3 starter Chien-Ming Wang, who has yet to get out of the fourth inning in any of his three starts.
Wang (0-3) was the starter in that historic 22-4 loss to the Indians on Saturday. The right-hander was charged with eight runs and eight hits in 1 1/3 innings, giving him a 34.50 ERA in his three trips to the mound this year. Since 1954, only Wang and former Oriole Hayden Penn have begun the season allowing seven runs or more in three consecutive starts. By comparison, Wang was 5-0 with a 3.23 ERA last April.
Wang isn’t overpowering and relies on his sinker, but it isn’t sinking. For example, he didn’t record one groundball out in his short stint against Cleveland and is inducing grounders against just 33.3 percent of the batters he has faced; his career number is above 50 percent. Manager Joe Girardi says the team has noticed a mechanical flaw or two, but Wang says there’s nothing wrong with his mechanics and that’s he not hurt.
Asked if Wang's problems were mental or physical, Girardi said: "A little bit of both. … There are adjustments he has to make. We really believe he's capable of doing it, but we've got to help him."
The team can’t send him down to Triple-A as Wang is out of options and no doubt would be claimed by another team if released. The right-hander’s next scheduled start is Friday against the Red Sox in Boston, and it’s very possible the Yankees skip Wang so as to not expose him to Fenway Park while he is struggling.
Wang basically said “forget that” about missing a turn, but the decision doesn’t rest with him; the Yanks are off Thursday so they can skip him without affecting the rest of the rotation.
"It's extremely important," Girardi said to reporters about getting Wang's head right. "He's a guy we've counted on to win his 18-20 games. We need to get back to that.
“We’re going to get him right.”
They better, or that vaunted rotation has one big hole in the middle, and the Yankees will be in jeopardy of missing the playoff for the second straight season.