[外電] Wang throws 2-hit gem

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05/05/2007 9:00 PM ET
Wang throws 2-hit gem
Right-hander takes perfect game into seventh
By Peter Zellen / Special to YESNetwork.com

NEW YORK — This was a game the Yankees needed to win badly and on so many
levels. Chien-Ming Wang delivered each way, doing it in spectacular
fashion Saturday.

Wang needed to win this game for a Yankees team which blew a lead the
night before, and finished giving up a season-high 15 runs and 20 hits
in a 15-11 loss to the Mariners. He needed to win this game for a Yankees
team reeling from injuries to the starting rotation — from Carl Pavano's
forearm to Phil Hughes' hamstring to Jeff Karstens' fractured fibula
to Wang's own battle with a cracked fingernail and a sore left ankle
after getting hit in the fourth on a liner from Ichiro Suzuki.

Wang needed to win because the Yankees trot out rookies Darrell Rasner
and Matt DeSalvo the next two games against a free-swinging Mariners'
lineup, not knowing what they'll get. The right-hander also needed to
provide innings of work to rest a bullpen whose collective rotator cuff
is hanging by a thread due to overuse.

Wang did it all Saturday, dazzling the Mariners and a Yankee Stadium
crowd over eight innings — perfect for the first 7 1/3 until Ben
Broussard's home run — as the Yankees bounced back with an 8-1 win.

Add up those elements, and the Yankees have to be convinced who their
ace is.

"When he had that spilt fingernail last week and we're thinking he may
miss a start, that's a big hole for us," said manager Joe Torre,
who knew Wang would be ready when he watched the right-hander throw
his bullpen session Wednesday. "It really is because he has been so
good the last couple of years since he's been here."

Saturday's win may have been Wang's first of the season and his
ERA finally fell under 4.00 (it's 3.98), but if the Yankees are ever
to climb out of their current hole, Wang will be the first one to
step his spikes into the dirt.

"We're not going anywhere without Wang, that's what it comes down to,"
third baseman Alex Rodriguez said.

Said Torre: "Pressure doesn't seem to bother him. He knew how important
this game was for more than one reason. But he gives us what he has."

What Wang had Saturday — and most days for that matter — was a
sinker that looks so hittable yet drops away at the last second. By
that time the hitter has already committed to swinging and by then,
it's too late to adjust — resulting in groundballs and lots of
frustration.

"I don't get to really appreciate how great the ball's moving from
my angle, I just see some uncomfortable swings up there," said A-Rod of
manning the hot corner behind Wang. "I'm so consumed with the thought
that I'm going to get just a lot of work."

When Broussard homered, it came on an 0-1 changeup, the only changeup
called by catcher Jorge Posada and just about the only pitch a
Mariner hitter connected solidly on. By then, the Yankees were up 7-0.
Until Broussard's blast over the right-field wall, everyone on the
Yankees kept up the tradition of not talking to a pitcher while he's
throwing a no-hitter or perfect game.

Only that scenario wasn't much different than any other start for the
Taiwanese-born Wang, who on top of being shy and a very soft speaker,
has some difficulties with English. Wang, however, does not use an
interpreter when talking to reporters and answers questions himself
in English — his own choice.

But it can be quiet in the dugout around him. Shortstop Derek Jeter
often stops by with a "What up, Wang?" — getting a smile in return.
Pitching coach Ron Guidry jokes with him too, riding Wang harder the
better he does on the mound. But Torre talks about Wang having a dry
sense of humor and as a guy who is fun to be around — even though
few words are involved and his lack of facial expressions or body
language make Wang a perfect candidate for the World Series of Poker.

As Wang stayed perfect in the sixth and seventh innings, Torre
wondered how the even-keeled Wang would react if he actually threw
a perfect game or no hitter.

"He may have jogged off the mound instead of walked," Torre said.

Peter Zellen is a New York-based sports reporter.

http://tinyurl.com/yq7ecw

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推 airpower111:您OP了
→ airpower111:請自D
推 yyhong68:我搜尋過，沒看到ㄟ！
推 airpower111:ctrl+X : Wang throws 2-hit gem
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推 yyhong68:喔！那個是AP的文章，這是YES的，內容不同
推 xfile:XD  內容不一樣也算OP ..........