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http://soxandpinstripes.typepad.com/sox_and_pinstripes/2007/06/wang_throws_a_g.html
June 06, 2007
Wang throws a gem in dominating win
After a Boston hangover the Yankees have come on strong to insure a
split of the four game series with the White Sox. Yesterday saw Tyler
Clippard battle through 5+ innings, and the Yankees bats come alive with
17 hits (a season high) en route to a 7-3 victory. Tonight, Chien-Ming
Wang was the man, throwing the Yankees first complete game of the season
(the third of Wang's short career) and surrendering just one run on five
hits, as the Yankees prevailed 5-1. In two starts, Wang has given up two
runs in 16 innings against the lighter Sox this season, winning both
games in important situations. There is not enough that can be said
about how big Wang's performance was for the bullpen, which enjoys no
off days between getting worn out in Boston and having six innings in
two nights by starters in Chicago. Tomorrow, Mike Mussina looks to give
the Yankees three out of four, which would officially put them in a
great spot to make a run. As it is, New York has won five of seven and
the offense has scored one run short of averaging six runs per game
during that span outscoring opponents 47-34.
It's undeniable, the Yankees are five games under .500, but as a fan you
can't say you've had more confidence than you do right now. Up and down
the lineup there are sure signs of players putting it together: Bobby
Abreu has become a man possessed since his day off on May 30th. In the
month of June he came into tonight hitting .500 (9/18) and added an
opposite field homerun after the most recent nine innings. Surely a
compliment to Abreu's recent success, Alex Rodriguez has turned the
offensive switch back on after a .235 hitting May, batting .368 in June
(7/19) and going 2-4 with two RBI tonight lifing his average to .303.
Melky Cabrera is 11 for his last 26 and before Robinson Cano's 0-4 night
he was batting .412 in June. Johnny Damon has added to the fun very
recently and is six for his last 15. The offense, by all accounts, is
starting to come alive with the timely hits, the power and the
fundamentals we saw earlier in the season. The difference between then
and now has been the pitching and defense (we remember the six errors in
two games to open the season, don't we?)
Chien-Ming Wang, the Yankees ace last season has won four of his last
five starts (4-1) and given up 10 earned runs (no homeruns) in his last
36 innings (2.50 ERA). That may not seem like much, but consider that
for a guy who many don't want to consider an ace, he has beaten the Red
Sox and the White Sox twice and pitched eight innings of three run ball
to the Angels in that span. Just like last year, his ERA seems to be
dropping with each month and soon you will see the win totals rise. All
you have to know about Wang is that he is 32-15 in his career. Ace.
Tyler Clippard is 3-1 so far with a 3.60 ERA against the Mets, Angels,
Blue Jays and White Sox. He will be more than suitable as the five
starter down the stretch. Meanwhile, Andy Pettitte continues to shine,
answering his critics with a 2.96 ERA despite just three wins in what
was supposed to be a rough transition back into the Americal League.
Pettitte's ERA was 2.16 in May and his only start in June was dominating
until he developed back spasms and was rocked by the Red Sox. Speaking
of Andy, he was greeted by three harsh comments in the previous post.
Therefore, by default (despite being a Papelbon fan), Caroline wins the
little contest by at least saying Pettitte is good looking, even though
that is probably the complete opposite of what is scowl intends to
imply.
With Roger Clemens slated to fill inbetween Pettitte and Wang in the
rotation, the only question mark for the moment remains to be Mike
Mussina. Mussina has had just two quality starts all season long and is
getting up there in age. Personally, for a guy who was our best pitcher
until Wang emerged as the ace last year, I don't think Mussina is
finished yet. Like Curt Schilling, it may take adjusting to the fact he
doesn't have the same velocity consistantly like he used to, but he is
smart enough and throws enough pitches to figure it out. Right now Mike
Mussina's ERA is 6.25, I guarantee he trims it by at least an entire
1.45 by the end of the season. Perhaps with the early injury, he will be
healthy throughout the rest of the schedule as well. This rotation is
not the best in baseball, or in the American League. In fact, despite
the Red Sox struggles recently, it is not the best in the division by a
long shot, but it is certainly formidible. Andy Pettitte and Chien-Ming
Wang are throwing the ball like aces right now and more often than not
you should see Clemens and Mussina throw a quality game. With Phil
Hughes next year, the Yankees can probably use one more starter, but
this rotation can and has been getting the job done.
Defensively, the Yankees are starting to shine as well. Alex Rodriguez
seems determined to prove last year's poor defensive effort was not the
norm and he has played a solid third base. Melky Cabrera will be a
fixture in centerfield with Johnny Damon DH'ing thanks to Giambi's
injury and that automatically makes the outfield much better. Cabrera
has a certfied "hose" and used it again tonight to cut a runner down at
the plate. He is well above average defensively ans whenever he plays
consistantly he swings an able bat. In two games, Miguel Cairo has
played a solid first base and contributed offensively, so it will be
interesting to see how playing time is delegated between him and Josh
Phelps in the wake of the Mientkiewicz injury.
With the schedule coming up, this is the Yankees chance at making a run
to get back into the swing of things. Mike Mussina needs to pitch well
tomorrow and put the Yankees in a solid position to play a soft team
like the Pirates. Pittsburgh currently sits in the easiest division in
baseball and is still nine games under .500, the Yankees have a
legitimate chance to sweep them and their weak starting rotation and it
is gimme's like this next series that tell a lot about a team trying to
turn it around. We have seen what the New York Yankees are supposed to
be the last two nights and Mike Mussina needs to continue that tomorrow.
They could use momentum of winning say, 8 out of 11 when they take on
Arizona and the Mets at home. After tomorrow, New York may have their
biggest home stand of the season and if it goes well, they could
realistically be in the wildcard picture by the time they finish a road
trip consisting of Colorado, San Francisco and Baltimore. They could do
all of this, but they need to show they are consistant first. If Boston
loses their fourth in a row (which would make Jeff wrong, make sure to
remind him) tonight, the Yankees will be just 10.5 games out of first. I
say "just" because who could have guessed that when they were 14.5 out
just a few days ago?
Additional notes:
* Roger Clemens threw live batting practice today and remains on
target to make his debut June 9th against Pittsburgh. I almost can't
help but wonder if the "fatigued groin" was a ploy to make it acceptable
for Clemens to face a soft hitting NL team at the stadium.
* Congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks on winning the Stanley Cup.
Nice to see the first west coast team ever to win a cup, but it probably
went to the worst hockey fanbase I've ever witnessed. How do you not
make any audible noise until the last five minutes of the elimination
game when you're up by three goals at home?
* With the win tonight, the Yankees gained games on three of the
seven teams ahead of them for the wildcard. Hey, it's never too early to
watch, right?
* Jason Giambi has been asked by Bud Selig to speak to George
"Joseph McCarthy" Mitchell about his steroid admittance. It seems like
it's going to be a "pay the penalty or name names" type of situation,
which will make it interesting to note how the player's union responds,
but so far it looks like Selig has no leg of the law to stand on to
punish Giambi.
* Andy Pettitte threw 31 pitches in the bullpen and is ready to
start on Friday. Again, with Clemens slated right after him in the
rotation, I have to wonder if Roger was just saving face and eliminating
the possibility of getting roughed up by the Sox's in his first start
with that mysterious groin.
* Derek Jeter will have the day off tomorrow. I would think either
Chris Basak or Miguel Cairo plays shortstop and Cairo or Phelps plays
first base.
* Thanks to MLBTV I was forced to sit through an entire game of
White Sox announcers. In case you're misinformed or unaware, the White
Sox have the worst broadcasters in the history of baseball. They are
boring, merciless homers that say stupid things and use phrases nobody
attempts anymore. I heard "can of corn" twice. They said Damon's double
to begin the game was "ugly" because it was perfectly placed. When Bobby
Abreu homered, not only were there no words spoken when the ball was put
in play, but after it was a home run nothing was said either. He just
circled the bases in silence. It's one thing if you want to lack any
objectivity during your broadcasts, but now you're simply not doing your
job by choosing silence to describe a ball in play.
I heard "we need" multiple times to describe what the White Sox needed
(and would never succeed) to do against Wang. Earth to "Hawk": YOU'RE
RETIRED! When Javier Vazquez struck out four Yankees in a row (1st and
2nd innings) I thought I might have a stroke. There is something about
listening to "he gone!" four times in a row that makes me want to jump
off a cliff. To top everything off and cheer myself up a little bit,
they did embarrass themselves with these gems:
(To Hawk): "How do you beat Wang?"
"You have to get him up"
"Wang's ball off the sweet meat there"
Fun with words is about the only enjoyment you can get from these clowns
unless you are a die hard White Sox fan and will never take a journalism
class in your life.
Posted by Vince Mercandetti on June 06, 2007 at 09:21 PM in Yankees |
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