Wang feels fine after effective return to mound
BY KAT O'BRIEN | kat.obrien@newsday.com
March 3, 2009
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -
Chien-Ming Wang went nearly nine months without pitching in any type of
game. When he finally got on the mound yesterday, he faced the same team
he was injured against, the Astros.
Wang tore the Lisfranc ligament in his right foot while running the
bases at Minute Maid Park last June 15. Manager Joe Girardi made one
thing clear yesterday morning: "He's not hitting today."
Wang's exhibition debut went smoothly, as he allowed two singles in
two scoreless innings in a 5-5 tie with Houston.
"No more pain," Wang said. "Now I feel good, like nothing wrong.
Very excited the first time I faced a hitter."
Wang said he was not thinking at all about the day he got hurt last year.
Catcher Jose Molina said he forgot it was even Wang's first game
situation since then. For a first time out, Wang was pleased. So was
Girardi.
"He looked good to me," Girardi said, "and he had to break hard to first
[base], which was good to see."
Wang had to cover first on Matt Kata's grounder in the second, and did so
with no problems. Wang gave props to Nick Swisher, who made a great catch
in the rightfield corner against the wall on Geoff Blum's fly ball.
Girardi watched Wang closely to see if he was pushing off his back foot
the way he usually does. He said he didn't notice any hesitation.
"I didn't even realize it was his first start," Molina said. "I was
calling a game like I usually would. He's very important for us. A guy
that won [19] games two years in a row, and was on the road to winning
more last year, he's a winner."
Jorge Posada, who was the DH yesterday but expects to catch Wang plenty
during the season, shared those sentiments. Said Posada: "[We missed him]
a great deal. You lose your No. 1 guy and it's a big loss. He's very
valuable. He's a guy that works fast and pitches a lot of innings.
He's a guy that we need out there."
The plan is for Wang to start every five days just like any other member
of the rotation. He said he felt pretty close to normal yesterday.
"Before last year, almost the same," Wang said of how he felt. "I've got
to work on more control. Sometimes the ball is too high. Sometimes the
ball flies."
That, he said, is normal for this time of year. As spring training goes
on, his control gets better. In his next start, he will throw three innings.
Girardi said before the game he was curious to see how Wang would fare.
Even though he doesn't put much stock in early exhibition games, just
seeing Wang come out of a game healthy provided a sense of relief.
"I think it's important that he gets out there," Girardi said. "It's
probably one of the final steps for him, knowing that he's healed
from his injury. I'm not sure if there's any questions in his mind."
Wang said there is not. Nevertheless, it is good to have one game
behind him, spring training or not. Even with the additions of
CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, Wang is important for the Yankees. He was
19-6 in 2006 and 19-7 in 2007 and was 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA at the time of
his injury last June.
"Anybody who can throw a 94-mile-per-hour power sinker's got a pretty good
chance," said Swisher, who is 1-for-6 (.167) with a walk and two strikeouts
in his career against Wang.
Wang is usually a quiet sort, particularly in English, though his command
of the language is improving. He said through an interpreter: "[Last year]
was definitely frustrating. I was glad to be out there again. Hopefully,
I can stay healthy and perform up to my capabilities."
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