[外電] Wang relies on slider for a change

[xiemark (aisinjuro)]

Yankees: Wang relies on slider for a change
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
BY LISA KENNELLY
Star-Ledger Staff

NEW YORK -- Chien-Ming Wang wasn't pitching much like himself last
night. Which was good, because his usual self doesn't have that great a
track record against the Red Sox.

Wang, who makes his living on getting ground-ball outs, paired his
trusty sinker with a hefty dose of sliders and changeups against Boston
last night.

The result? Five strikeouts in his 6 1/3 innings (tying the
second-highest mark in his career), only two runs, and a 6-2 win, his
third of the season.

"When you do something different, step back from the thing you've always
done, it's unexpected," pitching coach Ron Guidry said. "It makes it
harder for the hitter to hit. All he did was just keep them off
balance."

Wang has not been very successful against the Red Sox in his career,
coming into last night's game 2-4 with a 5.05 ERA against them.

In his only start against the Red Sox this season, on April 29 at Yankee
Stadium, he took the loss after he allowed four runs on six hits in six
innings. Two of those hits were home runs, by David Ortiz and Alex Cora,
the first time since 2005 that Wang had allowed two homers in a game.

This time Wang kept the Red Sox in the park, and, for a change, had them
swinging and missing.

"I try to throw a lot of off-speed," Wang said. "I never in a game threw
that (many) sliders and changeups."

With the strikeouts, though, came a higher pitch count -- 114 (65 for
strikes), the highest total of his career.

"(It) seems like a lot," Guidry said, "but not in the quality of the
game because it was more off-speed stuff."

Still, the high count was compounded by some two-out trouble early in
the game. Wang had to work out of a two-out, two-on jam in the first
inning, and then ran into problems in the second inning.

In the second he started off strong, needing only five pitches to get
the first two outs. But then Wang loaded the bases on a pair of singles
and a grounder to shortstop that Derek Jeter bobbled for an error.

That brought up Kevin Youkilis, who took a slider for strike one, then
watched three straight balls low and away. But Wang came back with two
straight strikes, the last an 86-mph slider that Youkilis flailed
vainly.

"He didn't really have, I want to say, his great stuff," Guidry said.
"But he kept us in the game."

Wang's only misstep after that was in the fifth, when Youkilis and Ortiz
hit back-to-back one-out doubles to put the Red Sox on the scoreboard.
Manny Ramirez's groundout moved Ortiz to third, but he was stranded when
Wang got J.D. Drew to fly out to center.

Wang left the game to a thunderous ovation with one out in the seventh,
after giving up a walk to Lugo and a double to Youkilis that put men on
second and third. Lugo would score on a sacrifice fly by Ortiz, but that
was all the Red Sox would get off Wang.

After the game, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said the change in Wang's
pitching against them was noticeably different than in previous years.

"I don't think this is a change in strategy," Francona said. "I think
this is a maturing pitcher."

But don't look for the Yankees to move too far away from the stuff that
has made Wang so effective in his young career.

"His bread and butter is his sinker," manager Joe Torre said. "We're not
going to get him away from that."

Lisa Kennelly may be reached at [e-mail].


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◆ From: 61.57.134.215
※ xiemark:轉錄至看板 NY-Yankees                                   05/22 13:39
推 wayne0326:看來今天會讓他投那麼多球真的是慢速變化球投得比較多
推 muller:餓了
推 Boyzone:整篇都在講小王的改變
推 bdsl:His rice and vegetable is his sinker
推 mmss33:"I don't think this is a change in strategy,"
→ mmss33:"I think this is a maturing pitcher."
→ mmss33:紅襪教頭給小王很高的評價～～
→ mmss33:Guidry也說"He didn't really have, I want to say, his
→ mmss33:great stuff,"   "But he kept us in the game."
→ mmss33:說明小王狀況不好時也有辦法贏球(對照紅襪的maturing)
推 chrislux:bread and butter 是慣用語啦