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Wang: Hip to be square
Wang was Wang but Hughes wasn't quit Hughes on Thursday
By Steven Goldman / Special to YESNetwork.com
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Building the Bridge
Proctor ponders '06, looks to '07
WANG: IT'S HIP TO BE SQUARE
Chien-Ming Wang was in midseason form today. Carlos Silva was too — so
the Yankees had an easy win. As usual, Wang didn't strike anyone out,
and while that's normally a danger sign (not in just one game, but
generally) it might be time to get over it with this particular pitcher,
stop worrying and learn to love the Wang. He got five grounders and just
one fly out in two perfect innings, and as long as he can do that and
doesn't, say, randomly lose his touch for the sinker as Tommy John used
to do in his old age, it's going to be very difficult for the opposition
to mount sustained rallies.
Possible exception: he still might have the occasional day where a few
grounders in sequence find their way through the infield. Anything can
happen when the ball is put in play.
Possible exception II: The Yankees don't trade in their double play
combination for a washer-dryer combo or similarly immobile players.
AGENTS OF CHAOS AND CHANGE
Phil Hughes made his 2007 debut and looked a bit wild, but not
worryingly so. He was just missing with his fastball, he threw some
curveballs without much bite, and perhaps the umpire squeezed him on a
call or two (as Joe McCarthy said, we can't expect the umps to be as
perfect as we are). There's no reason to read much into it.
The fascinating thing about seeing Hughes on the big Tampa stage is that
he almost forces you to suspend your disbelief, as if you were at a
science-fiction film. The Yankees have an honest to gosh power pitching
prospect. There are no excuses that one has to make for him. He's not
hurt, there have been no setbacks, no bar fights, no rotator cuff
surgery, no bouts with Steve Blass' disease. He throws hard. He doesn't
get hitters out with a knuckle-curve or a knuckle-slider. It's not that
he walks a lot of people because minor league umpires don't understand
his pitches — he doesn't walk a lot of people. He's not undersized,
oversized, over-hyped or overrated, not immature or insane. He hasn't
been traded for Rick Rhoden, Joe Niekro, or Ken Phelps or buried at
Columbus. There isn't even a Columbus to bury him at anymore.
When was the last time that all of these, or even a bare majority,
applied to a Yankees pitching prospect? The answer may actually be "not
in our lifetimes," "not during the Steinbrenner years," or even,
"never."
Righty Ross Ohlendorf looked better than Hughes did on this particular
day, which means nothing except that sometimes you pitch well on
Thursday and sometimes you don't. Ohlendorf's sinker looked like it
could be a very effective pitch in the Wangian mode, and you get the
sense that the coaching staff have their eyes open to his possibilities.
It was reported today that Jeff Karstens might make the team over Chris
Britton, received from Baltimore in the very brilliant deal that sent
Jaret Wright away. The view here is that Mr. Torre is overrating
Karstens based on some good September showings against weak teams, and
that his lack of strikeouts and fly ball tendencies make him a poor
candidate for long relief work. Britton has shown he can handle the
relief role and do a better job of keeping the ball in the park,
allowing four home runs in 53.2 innings, as opposed to Karsten's six in
42.2.
One suspects that even if Torre follows through on this plan, roles will
be reversed by May 1 at latest.
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