Wang To Have Season-Ending Surgery

After Chien-Ming Wang's recent visit with Dr. Andrews, it was determined his injured shoulder required season-ending surgery. Reports indicate it's similar to the injury Jorge Posada suffered last season. Wang went 1-6 this year with an ERA in the stratosphere.

The Yankees will have to determine what to do with Wang next year. Do they offer salary arbitration and pay in the $5M range to a player who may not be available till after the All Star break? Will Wang accept a minor-league deal and rehab? I doubt it. I have a feeling we've seen the last of Chien-Ming Wang in a New York Yankee uniform and he'll accept a $1-$2M deal with incentives elsewhere.

Wang - thanks for the memories. When you were on, you were something else.

Game 80 - Yanks Win Despite Cano's Sabotage

Appropriately, on 4th of July, the mighty Yankees defeated their neighbors to the North, the Toronto Blue Jays, in a 12-inning affair, 6-5. The win came in a game started by their nemesis, Roy Halladay. The Pinstripers touched him up for 5 runs in 7 innings, with Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Johnny Damon all going deep against one of the AL's premier pitchers. Damon's homer tied the game at 5-all in the 7th, setting the stage for 3 innings of "free baseball".

Chien-Ming Wang started for the Yanks and had similar results as his previous 3 starts. However, he left the game in the 6th with an apparent shoulder strain. He is scheduled for an MRI today. He allowed 4 ER on 6 hits in his 5.1 innings before departing. He threw one pitch to Scott Rolen after surrendering a 2-run shot to Adam Lind that gave the Jays a 4-3 lead. David Robertson came in relief and gave up the Jays 5th run.

This game, though, probably never should have gone to extra frames. Robinson Cano's well-documented struggles with RISP took on a whole 'nother level today. He stranded an unheralded 10 runners on base. T-E-N! I thought when he left 8 men on last week would be the pinnacle of his troubles, but this has become an epidemic of unprecedented proportions. Joe Girardi has to banish him to the bottom of the order. Has to! Cano left ARod at 2B in the first, runners at first and second in the 3rd and the 5th, and he hit into a DP in the 7th. He had a chance to redeem himself in the 9th. ARod was intentionally walked, putting runners on 1st and 2nd, again, but Cano grounded out to end the threat.

In the 12th, Mark Teixeira led off with a double and the Jays intentionally walked ARod again. Girardi must have seen enough of Cano's troubles (not to mention Yankee fans), which includes his high propensity of hitting into DPs. He gave Cano the bunt sign. After working the count to 3-0, Cano inexplicably bunted without taking a strike, which appeared to confuse Tex as he was forced out at 3rd. Posada ended the drama, knocking in ARod with a walk-off single. For the game, Cano went 0-6, and is now 0 for his last 20 with RISP. It's impossible for Cano to continue hitting in the 5th hole. Right?

I'd be shocked if Girardi doesn't move the hot-hitting Matsui behind ARod. Matsui, at least, has a long history of hitting in that spot with the Yanks and has come through in many clutch situations. Anyone at this point would be better than Cano.

The Yankees bullpen continued their exceptional pitching, only allowing 1 ER in 6.2 innings. After relieving Robertson in the 7th, Brian Bruney wiggled out of a bases loaded jam. Hughes retired the side on 8 pitches in the 8th, and he was followed by Mariano Rivera for 1 inning, Phil Coke for 2, and Brett Tomko pitched the 12th for his first Yankee win. With Wang's injury, will Hughes go back to the rotation?

The Sawx 3-2 loss to the Mariners, the Yanks now trail by 1 game. Imagine if they had beaten Boston at all this season - hopefully things will change in August.

Yankees Record: 47-33

Game 75 - Mo Saves 500th; Yanks Sweep

Mariano Rivera became the 2nd MLer to save 500 games, joining Brewers' closer, Trevor Hoffman, as the only players in history to achieve the feat in the Yanks 4-2 victory over the hapless Mets. Mo earned this save, too, as he entered the game with 2 outs in the 8th after Brian Bruney walked 2 men in the inning. He caught Omir Santos looking on a 3-2 cutter on the inside corner to get out of the jam.

Mo picked up another milestone tonight, as well, when he came to bat against K-Rod, the single-season saves record holder. With 2 outs and the bases loaded, Mo worked a full count on K-Rod, including one helluva vicious cut on a 2-2 fastball. Mo walked, driving in the Yanks final run for his first career RBI (in 3 career at bats). Robinson Cano - please take note.

Mo's RBI wasn't the only first of the night - his save marked Chien-Ming Wang's first win of the season in his 11th start. He pitched 5.1 innings of 2-run ball in another respectable, but rather unspectacular outing. He did lower his ERA to 10.06 and has a shot at lowering it to single digits in his next start. He didn't have great command, walking 3 and 1 HBP, but fortunately he faced a depleted Mets lineup that couldn't take advantage.

The Yanks looked like they were going to blow this game wide open in the 1st against Livan Hernandez. They put 3 on the board on a 2-run double by Mark Teixeira and a sac fly by Jorge Posada. The Mets might've had a chance to limit the damage to 2 runs, but 1B Daniel Murphy dropped the relay throw on a potential double play ball off the bat of Robinson Cano.

Amazingly, the Yanks only managed 1 more hit off of Livan Hernandez. They did have a couple of opportunities to blow the game open. My favorite whipping boy, Robinson Cano, came up with the bases loaded twice, and killed both rallies, one with a double play. For the game, he left a whopping 8 men on base. I've written so much on this topic, it's become absolutely boring to me. Someone please explain to me why this guy continues to be penciled into the 5th spot of the lineup. Cano best serves the team in the lower third of the order where there's less pressure on him. He's now 2-12 with the bases loaded this season and batting .236 with the bags juiced for his career. I won't even rehash his career RISP numbers.

Fortunately for the Yanks, those missed opportunities didn't come back to haunt them as their bullpen continues to pitch well. Phil Coke and Phil Hughes did their jobs and bridged the gap to Bruney in the 8th, setting the stage for Mo's big night. With tonight's win and Boston's loss earlier in the day to Braves outstanding rookie, Tommy Hanson, the Yanks closed to within 3 games. They better not look in the rearview mirror - Tampa Bay swept the Marlins and have won 5 straight just like the Bombers.

Yankees Record: 43-32 - ties their high season mark of 11 games over .500

Game 70 - Braves Blank Bombers

Yankee hitters continued their June swoon, as they were blanked by the Atlanta Braves 4-0. They were held to 4 hits by the much-hyped Tommy Hanson and a plethora of relievers, but had plenty of chances early to break the game open. They stranded 8 runners between the 2nd-4th innings, leaving the bases loaded twice. They never mustered the big hit, going 0-8 with RISP despite collecting 6 walks, 1 hit by pitch and swiping 4 bases.

Chien-Ming Wang continued to show improvement, though he dropped to 0-6 on the season. He looked sharp through 2 outs into the 3rd after striking out the first 2 batters, he yielded an 0-2 single to Yunel Escobar, opening up the flood gates. A run scoring double by Brian McCann and a 2-run double from old Yankee nemesis, Garret Anderson, made it 3-0 Braves. Wang only lasted 5 innings because he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 6th, but he threw 42 out of 62 pitches for strikes. Phil Hughes pitched another impressive 2 innings of relief, retiring all 6 batters he faced. Whether he starts or relieves, Phil Hughes must remain with the big league club. He's been absolutely nasty since he's been sent to the pen. David Robertson pitched the 8th frame and gave up a homer to Brian McCann, who finished the day 3-4 with 2 ribbies.

After the Yanks had their ample opportunities early, they virtually had none after the 6th inning. Johnny Damon was the only runner to reach in the last 3 frames with a pinch hit walk in the 9th. The Yanks had one rally snuffed by Chien-Ming Wang. A huge reason for my discontent with pitchers hitting - they are rally killers. Nick Swisher had a hand in 2 rally killers by failing to move over Jeter after his leadoff double and ending one of the bases loaded threats with a fielders choice. Robinson Cano was his typical self - flying out with 2 runners in scoring position and 2 out in the 3rd inning and promptly lacing a single in his next at bat with no runners on. I'll give Cano this - he's consistent. Jeter killed the last potential threat by hitting into a double play with runners on 1st and 2nd. Posada performed the Golden Sombrero - 4 Ks tonight. Terrible.

This team better find their bats. The starters and the relievers have been pitching their best ball all season this month. Boston beat the Nationals tonight to increase their division lead to a season high 5 games and Toronto tied the Yanks with a win over Cincinnati. Boston's doing what the Yankees can't - winning against teams they should be beating. The Sawx have taken 2 of 3 against the Marlins, 2 of 3 against the Braves and tonight's win vs. the Nats for a 5-2 record. The Yanks have posted a 2-5 record against those same teams. Hopefully, the Yanks won't be kicking themselves late in September for this awful stretch.

Yankees Record: 38-32 and falling fast.

Game 65 - Cano Continues Killing Club in the Clutch

How's that for alliteration? The Yanks lost to the lowly Washington Nationals 3-2, and they were the last team in the majors to lose giving up 3 runs or less in a game. The Nats starting pitcher, John Lannan, New York born and bred, mowed down the Yanks tonight, repeatedly throwing first pitch strikes and keeping the Yanks off balance. Through the first 8 innings, he only allowed 2 hits, including a solo HR to Robinson Cano.

Meanwhile, in a possible do or die start for Chien-Ming Wang, he allowed 3 runs in 5 innings of work. There was nothing exceptional about his start, but he was let down in the 5th inning by some shoddy defense and an ump's bad call. With the weak-hitting Willie Harris on 1st, he stole 2nd base when Ramiro Pena dropped Posada's throw. It appeared the throw would have nabbed Harris. With one out, Christian Guzman hit a grounder to ARod. Guzman was called safe at first - replays clearly showed ARod nipped Guzman by a half step. Instead of 3 outs, inning over, Nick Johnson tripled in both runners to give the Nats a 3-0 lead. Adam Dunn had homered an inning earlier.

Cano cut into the lead with his HR in the bottom of the frame, but Lannan continued to deal till the 9th inning. Johnny Damon led off the final inning with his 14th dinger, bringing the Yanks within 1. Mark Teixeira laced a one-out single to left and Brett Gardner went in the game to pinch run. With ARod at the plate, Gardner stole both 2nd and 3rd, setting the table for the tying run with 1 out. ARod worked a walk, bringing Cano up with runners on the corners. I've been killing Cano all season for his lack of ability to hit in the clutch. He is probably the last batter on the Yanks I would want up in any situation with the game on the line.

After tonight, my opinion about Cano hasn't changed. He promptly fell behind in the count, 0-2. During the at bat, he fouled off 6 pitches, mostly on a 2-2 count. I thought at least 2 of those foul balls were certainly pitches he could have drove to left field. On the 8th pitch, Cano grounded sharply to SS into a game ending 6-4-3 double play. The Cano apologists will say the guy went 4-4 with the go ahead RBI yesterday and he hit a HR earlier in today's game. The problem with Cano though, is his propensity to fail repeatedly in clutch situations. His stats with RISP are abysmal for a ballplayer of his talent. Maybe he should get pointers from his pal, Melky, who's had a penchant for the dramatic this season.

As for losing to the Nats, now the proud owners of 17 wins this season, these are the games the Yanks can't afford to give away. John Lannan was dealing tonight, but in the end, the Yanks still had a chance to tie this game. With the Nats bullpen, the worse in baseball, I like the Yanks chances had they went into extra innings. They play in the AL East, the roughest division in baseball, and every game counts. Boston won again tonight. You would never find that team taking a night off. Their lead is up to 3 games. The Rays lost tonight, but have been coming on like gangbusters winning 6 in a row before today. Not to mention Toronto, who is still hanging around and only 2 games back. The Yanks need to find a way to win against teams they're suppose to beat. This is the second type of loss in less than a week, too. They were shut down by Fernando Nieve last Saturday, a guy who hadn't won a game since 2006. Games like this could come back to haunt them.

Yankees Record: 37-28

Blown Games: 6

Wang to Get Another Start

Joe Girardi announced today that Chien-Ming Wang will pitch next Wednesday against the Nationals.  Girardi made it sound like this could be Wang's last shot before the Yanks make a decision to remove him from the rotation.

I just have this to ask -  Can the Yanks afford to lose a game against a team they're suppose to beat?  And, as bad as the Nationals are - they can hit the ball.  I hope this doesn't bite the Yanks in the ass.  

Game 59 - Last Night Gutless, Tonight Clutchless

The Yanks fell to 0-7 on the season to their archrival Red Sox, losing a close one, 6-5.  The Yankees fell behind early, as Chien-Ming Wang pitched abysmally again, lasting just 2.2 innings, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks.  He's now 0-4 on the season and it's time for the Yanks to decide what to do with this guy, because they can't keep playing catch up every time he's on the mound.  

Believe it or not though, Wang wasn't the real reason the Yanks lost tonight's game.  They've reverted to their old ways of not hitting with runners in scoring position.  They were a horrific 2-16 in those situations tonight.  One of the hits was a bunt by Nick Swisher.  The Yankees had a base runner on in all 9 innings, including the tying run on second base with 1 out in the 8th and 9th innings, leaving 10 men on base for the game.  The worse culprits were Derek Jeter, who looked absolutely clueless, going 0-5, leaving 5 on, and no shocker here, Robinson "worse clutch hitter ever" Cano left 4 on.  

Two big plays that probably turned this game around was Nick Swisher misjudging a fly ball for a run-scoring ground rule double, and Phil Hughes surrendering a 2-run shot to the Big Nugget, Youkilis, that stood up as the difference in the score.  It was Hughes only mistake, as he pitched effectively in 3.2 innings, striking out 5. 

The Yanks hit 3 HRs, but unfortunately they were all solo shots - Posada, Damon and Teixeira.  Tex's was his league-leading 19th, as he was one of the few Yanks who came to play tonight, going 4-5 with 2 doubles along with his dinger.  His single was a liner off the Green Monster, too.

The Yanks will need Crooked Cap to step up in the series finale.  Unfortunately, I don't think Sabathia has pitched well against the Sox in his career.  

As for Wang - I'd move him to the bullpen as a long guy with the occasional spot start, but I don't manage them.  Joe Girardi didn't sound committed to Wang in the rotation though, in his post game interviews, so I may get my wish.  It's all about confidence right now, so maybe a string of shutdown appearances out of the pen would give him a boost.

Yankees Record:  34-25 and 1 game back  

Wang Back in Rotation; Hughes to Bullpen

The Yankees announced Chien-Ming Wang will return to the rotation tomorrow against Texas.  The move means Phil Hughes, not Joba Chamberlain, will move to the bullpen.  In the meantime, CC Sabathia's start was pushed back to Friday against Tampa Bay.  

Personally, I don't like the move.  Sure, Wang has a track record and 46 wins in the past 2.5 years, but he's looked downright God awful this year as a starter.  He's had some recent success in the bullpen, which is why the Yanks are making this move now.  I feel because of his success in the bullpen, that's a great reason he should remain there until the Yanks need him in the rotation to either spot start, fill in for an injury, or replace an ineffective Joba or Hughes.  Maybe by coming out of the pen, he could crank up that sinking fastball a few more ticks on the speed gun.  I guess we'll find out tomorrow against Texas, who is an aggressive hitting team.  It should be a good test.     

As for Hughes, will this retard his maturity as a top of the line starting pitcher?  He finally looks comfortable and belongs in the Majors.  At least the Yanks didn't send him back to dominate the minors again.  And, they could really use another good arm in the pen.  Perhaps, the Yanks don't really trust Wang is all the way back - but how many starts will they give him before they consider moving Hughes back to the rotation?  I put the over/under at 2 starts.  

Game 50 - Yanks Rally All For Naught

The Yanks rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game at 4-all, only to lose it late due to the inability to execute and questionable bullpen choices by Joe Girardi.  For most of the game, the Yanks were being haunted by Carl "American Idle" Pavano, who robbed the Yanks of nearly $40M the past 4 years due to his numerous, too many to count, trips to the DL.  He shut down the Yanks offense, which has been clicking on all cylinders lately, through 5 innings.  

Down 4-0 going into the top of the 6th, Mark Teixeira finally put the team on the board with a 2-run swat.  This came after Derek Jeter was wrongly called out on a close play at first and Johnny Damon singled.  The Yanks still trailed 4-2 going into the 8th.  Jorge Posada, who was given the day off following a night game, pinch hit and struck out.  Jeter singled, knocking Pavano out of the game, as Indians manager, Eric Wedge decided to go with matchups.  As usual, this failed miserably.  Damon followed with a double and Tex brought both runners in with another double to tie the game.  ARod and the clutchless Robinson Cano both stranded Tex to end the inning.  

In the meantime, Chien-Ming Wang, who relieved Yankee starter, Phil Hughes, kept the Yanks in the game with 3 shutout innings and 3 Ks.  He lowered his ERA four whole runs down to 16.07.  Hughes wasn't as sharp as his last start, but he was effective and kept the Yanks in the game.  He gave up 4 runs in 5 innings while striking out 6.  The 3rd inning was his downfall, when he gave up 3 runs - 2 coming from a bloop single and a sac fly.  His 4th run wasn't all his fault, with Brett Gardner misplaying a fly ball into a leadoff double that came around to score on another sac fly.  

Going into the top of the 9th, all tied up, Hideki Matsui led off with a walk against Indians closer, Kerry Wood.  Girardi had Nick Swisher bunt over pinch runner, Ramiro Pena, to 2nd.  Brett Gardner then followed with an infield single, giving the Bombers runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out.  Posada, who stayed in the game after pinch hitting, represented the Yanks best chance to put them up by 1 and give the great Mariano Rivera a save opportunity.  Mo never got the chance.  For reasons unknown at the time, Brett Gardner inexplicably never took a chance at swiping second to stay out of a potential double play with the slow-footed Posada at the plate.  Of course, Posada couldn't do what the Indians were able to do all game - hit a sacrifice fly.  He banged into the 4-6-3 double play to kill the rally.  

In the bottom of the 9th, for some strange reason, Girardi opted to go with Phil Coke.  Bad choice.  Coke promptly walked rookie, Trevor Crowe, who came into the game hitting .171 with an OBP of .237.  After a sacrifice bunt, Robertson relieved Coke, finally stepping into a game at a big moment.  Robertson failed, walking Ben Francisco and giving up the game winning single to Jhonny Peralta on a 3-1 count.  In the meantime, the Yanks best reliever, Mo, never came in.

During the post-game press conference, it was discovered that Gardner was given the steal sign and just failed to execute against Kerry Wood, a righty with a slow move to the plate.  If he's not going to utilize his greatest asset, his speed, what is he doing?  Wang was removed after 3 scoreless innings because he may still be used to spot start for Andy Pettitte, who is nursing a stiff lower back.  The question of why Mo never came in was never answered (maybe it wasn't asked?), but most, if not all, managers stick to the book of not using their closer on the road in a tie game.  Personally, I think it's a bunk call by teams - the team can't use the closer when they lose, so what are you saving him for?

Despite Gardner's gaffe (or gaffes counting his defensive lapse) and Girardi's management of his relievers, Posada is still the man to finger this loss on.  He literally took the day off, striking out and hitting into a double play in his 2 plate appearances.  I don't have any stats in front of me, but to watch this team day-in and day-out the last couple of years, it appears to me they struggle mightily in being able to hit a simple sacrifice fly and it continues to haunt them in 1-run ball games.

Other notes:  Alert!  Alert!  There was a David Ortiz sighting today.  He went 1-5 with a double.  He's still blistering the cover off the ball at a .185 clip.  My preseason pick for Cy Young, Jon Lester, finally looked sharp, struck out 12 Blue Jays in 6 innings.  He's only 4-5 this season with an ERA of 5.65.  I picked him for the this year's Cy and Big Nugget Youkilis for the MVP award.  Lester has been less than stellar and Youkilis was DL'd earlier this season.  Perhaps I should continue to "hex" the Sox players every year with my picks.

Yankees Record:  29-21

Blown Games:  4

Game 42 - Yanks Streak Snapped

It didn't take long - on AJ Burnett's first pitch of the game, Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins deposited one into the rightfield seats and the Yanks 9-game winning streak was doomed from the start.  The Phillies would hit 3 more HRs en route to a 7-3 victory.  

Burnett yielded 5 earned runs in 6 innings.  The 5 runs came on 3 pitches:  Rollins solo shot, and two-run HRs by Jayson Werth and light-hitting Carlos Ruiz.  Chien-Ming Wang, fresh off the DL and toting an ERA of 34.50, relieved Burnett to start the 7th.  He gave up 2 runs on 6 hits, including a bomb to Raul Ibanez, in 3 innings of work.  Although his fastball was hitting 93-94 mph consistently, he couldn't spot his pitches and looked shaky.  The good news is, he lowered his ERA to a "respectable" 25.00.

As for the Yanks offense, it consisted of an ARod HR,  Jeter HR, and a Tex HR - all solo blasts.  Other than that, they couldn't muster anything off of Phillies' starter, Brett Myers.  With the exception of 1 run, all scoring came courtesy of the long ball.  It's become more apparent everyday that the Yankee organization has built themselves a launching pad and any mistake by a pitcher will be crushed in this ballpark.  

Yankees Record:  24-18

Interleague Play:  0-1

Wang Recalled; Bruney Still Hurting

The Yanks recalled Chien-Ming Wang today, after the Yankee bullpen pitched 8.1 innings last night due to Joba taking a liner off his leg.  Jonathan Albaladejo was optioned down to Scranton to make room for Wang, who will be in the pen tonight.  

In other news, Brian Bruney's elbow is apparently acting up again after his one appearance since coming off the DL.  According to AP writer, Ronald Blum, he will take anti-inflammatories this weekend and reassess his condition Sunday when he plays catch.

The loss of Bruney for any stretch would be a critical loss for the Yanks.  Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez and Jonathan Albaladejo have all pitched from erratic at best to down right horrible.  Yankee call-ups, Dave Robertson and touted rookie, Mark Melancon, didn't fare much better in their short stints with the club.

Maybe Yankee GM, Brian Cashman, might want to start "kicking the tires" out there.

Wang to Pitch One More in AAA; Hughes to Start Monday

The Yanks announced today that Wang will have one more start at AAA and pitch against Pawtucket (Boston's minor league affiliate) Friday night.  That will allow Phil Hughes to make his scheduled start on Monday. 

Wang's numbers in his 2 AAA starts have been nothing but dominant, giving up zero runs in 2 starts, but you get the sense the Yanks are still hesitant to throw him out there against big league hitters.  It could be they want to skip him against the lefty-laden lineup of the Phillies.  Hughes nice performance yesterday probably also intrigued team management to give him another start before he is demoted back to Scranton.  

What if Wang is terrible when he returns and continues to get pounded?   It sounds like he still isn't hitting the radar gun like he did before last year's season-ending injury to his foot.  Would the Yanks consider moving him to the pen and bring back Hughes for the rotation?  

I almost think Wang would be an intriguing option in the pen - he could be the long man and move Aceves to the 7th/8th inning.  Maybe he can find the missing mph on his sinker by letting it rip for an inning or two.   He could also induce the double play ball if he came in with inherited runners on base.  But if Wang does return to his old form, his talent clearly belongs in the rotation.  When he's on, he gives a solid 7-8 innings per start.  This would allow Hughes to continue developing his changeup and cutter in the minors while waiting for a potential injury call up or replace Joba when he nears his innings quota for the season.  

For now, Yankee fans will have to wait, and hold our breaths when Wang runs into his first sign of trouble.  

Yankees Rained Out; Wang to Miss Start

The Yanks-Athletics game was rained out tonight.  The Pinstripers announced Chien-Ming Wang will miss his next start due to the rainout and off day, Thursday.  Pettitte will pitch tomorrow and Crooked Cap on Wednesday.  Joba, Burnett and Pettitte will pitch the weekend series against the Bosox.  

I'm hoping Joba tries to put another fastball in Kevin "Big Nugget" Youkilis' ear to try and throw the guy off his game.  Youkilis has been killing the ball since the season started.  I enjoy watching that big headed clown cry and moan every time Joba pitches inside.  Personally, I think Joba gets hypnotized by Youkilis' big dome and the ball just follows it like a planet orbiting the sun.

Ortiz has been slumping terribly, so I predict he'll come out of it when he faces the Yanks.  My prediction:  2 HRs.  It's amazing how most of the league finally caught up to Ortiz except the Yanks.  I still think Yanks money goes into everything but scouting.  I'm sure Dustin "Yoda" Pedrioia will bust out of his slump, too.  

What To Do With Wang

The Yanks have a big decision concerning Chien-Ming Wang.  In 3 starts, he's pitched a total of 6 innings with an E.R.A. of 34.50.  His next scheduled start is against the Red Sox, but you get the feeling, his teammates aren't relishing the thought.  Johnny Damon actually had the guts to call out Wang, as quoted from the New York Post:

"We have six losses on the year right now and he's got three of them," Damon said. "And in all three of those games, we've been blown out and we've had to go to our bullpen. So maybe our bullpen's not sharp the following days. So I don't know what more to say, but hopefully he can figure it out because it'd be tough to keep on going like this."

I applaud Johnny Damon for his honesty.  This team cannot continue to allow Wang to corrupt the bullpen the way he has in his first 3 starts.  Fortunately, for the Yanks, AJ Burnett has been able to provide some distance in his starts, but God help this team if he falters after Wang.  For now, the Yanks can skip Wang's next start in the rotation, with Thursday, his turn in the rotation, being an off day.  That would allow Burnett to open up the Red Sox series.  In the meantime, the Yanks do not have the luxury of banishing Wang to the minors, since he is out of options and likely would be claimed on waivers.  Hopefully, they'll send him to get some work in the bullpen and call up either Phil Hughes, who is 2-0 in the minors, or Alfredo Aceves.  

Do any of you other Yankee fans/Yankee haters have any suggestions?  Let's hear it! 

Game 7 - Wang Pitches Batting Practice II (The Sequel)

If his first performance was not scary enough, Wang's efforts in the sequel today were down right frightful. What an absolute pitiful, gutless appearance by a man who had been the Yankees ace for the past 2 and half seasons.  1+ innings and 8 earned runs - inexplicable.  His E.R.A. now stands at a robust 28.93.  If he were to throw a complete game shutout next game, his E.R.A. would still be in double digits.  I'm still trying to get back the 24 minutes and 42 pitches it took Wang to get through the first inning and 22 minutes for Wang and reliever Albaladejo to wrap up the second inning, with the Yanks down an insurmountable 9-0.  

The socialist Rays took the capitalist Yanks behind the wood shed, slapping them 15-5.  The lone Yankee star of the night was Nick Swisher, who hit a HR and in emergency relief, was the only Yankee pitcher to throw a scoreless frame.

As for the rest of the Pinstripers, has anyone seen Derek Jeter?  Since collecting 5 hits in his first 2 games, he's gone 1-20.   Cody Ransom is batting .083 - I've seen pitchers in the N.L. have better averages then this guy.  I'm not sure why he's putting pressure on himself - Arod is coming back and taking over, even if Ransom were hitting over .500.  As for the 53 year-old (Matsui), he gave another brilliant performance, going 0-3 with 3 weak groundouts to first and is now a combined 3-24 this season.  I have wasted enough blog space on him in my last couple of posts. 

But tonight's game wasn't lost because of the Yankees struggles at the plate.  It came down to pitching, or the lack of it.  Not only did Wang get lit up for 8 runs, the bullpen gave up 7 runs in 7 innings.  Is it too early to start considering Phil Hughes?

At least one good thing may have come out of tonight's game - maybe the Yankees found their 8th inning bridge to Mariano with Nick Swisher.  Yanks will need AJ Burnett to step up tomorrow and pitch deep into the game.  This bullpen is spent.

Yanks Record:  3-4   

Game 2 - Wang Pitches Batting Practice

Whoa, I just realized I had a case of dyslexia the other day when I wrote out my season projections. I meant the Yankees would win 49 games, not 94. The Baltimore No Names have totally outclassed the Yanks in the first 2 games. The ghost of Yankee Killer Past, Kevin Millar must have visited them. In the meantime, the Yankees front office needs serious plumbing work. If anyone knows a good plumber, please call Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner brothers. So far, in first two games, 2 out of the 3 major free agent signings seem like the Yanks have flushed $340M down the toilet and it is clogged pretty badly. Sabathia was terrible and Mark Teixeira looks absolutely lost at the plate. AJ Burnett goes tomorrow to try and salvage something out of the Baltimore series.

Meanwhile, the Yankees starting pitching, which was thought to be seriously addressed in the offseason, is not living up to the hype. Chien-Ming Wang looked like he was throwing batting practice to the Orioles tonight. He lasted 11 outs while allowing 12 base runners. If his sinker ball isn't dipping, batters are going to tee off on that flat fastball that finds the heart of the plate every time. Nick Markakis had a field day, going 3-3 with a single, double and 2-run HR.

Though the Yankee hitters made the 7-5 loss look respectable, after initially falling behind 7-1, they are still exhibiting the same terrible symptoms that plagued them throughout all of last season. Once again, I had to witness the Yankees strand a base runner on third base with no outs. Cano reached third base in the 6th inning on a wild pitch after he doubled in Posada. Nady lined out to short and Ransom, the man that's suppose to make us forget about Madonna's ex-boyfriend, Arod, popped up on a pitch down the middle of the plate. These guys have immediately made my list, joining Jeter, who failed in Game 1 in a similar situation. Tex has gotten a case of the Cano, popping up 3 times. Matsui has got to stop bailing out every time he swings a bat - he looks like a scared little leaguer. Will someone please teach Japanese hitters to step towards the pitch and not bail out?

To compound matters, the Yanks had a visit from another ghost of seasons past - they still cannot beat a pitcher they have never faced before. Who is Koji Uehara? He didn't last past 4 innings all spring, yet here he was, slicing through the Yanks lineup. I was beginning to think I was exaggerating this phenomenon, but Yankee announcers confirmed my observation. What's frightening is the fact that I've seen rookie pitchers with ERAs over 7.00 mow this team down. Who, for the love of God, is doing the scouting for this team? Is this why they pay their players well? There's no scouting? I bet Uehara gets lit up in his next start.

Cano, who last season was the King of the Pop Up, has shown early signs of life again, going 2-4. Unfortunately, he's passed his dreaded pop up disease from last season to his first base counterpart. Jeter has also gotten off to a good start, going 5-9 in the first 2 games. Perhaps he's trying to make us forget he can't get to any grounder to his left. The Yanks bullpen also performed brilliantly, pitching 4+ innings of no-hit ball. Too bad Wang had already ensured the game was out of hand before he departed. Last year, I read an article on SI.com that the Taiwanese economy performs nearly 20% better when Wang has a good start. I'm sure the Taiwan market crashed today after that dreadful performance.

Last year, the Yankees bullpen pitched the second most innings in baseball. It seems like they are determined to come in first this year, and that is NOT a good thing.

This just in - there was a Mark Teixeira sighting. He finally got his first Yankee hit and RBI in the 9th.

Yanks Record:  0-2