Chien-Ming Wang could take over for Ro - 棒球

標題應該是記者自己的想法

Posted at 12:50 AM ET, 05/26/2012 TheWashingtonPost
Chien-Ming Wang could take over for Ross Detwiler in Nationals’
starting rotation
By Adam Kilgore

As the Nationals held on for a victory Friday night, their fifth starter
spot became an open competition. Ross Detwiler began the game on the
mound, but with each laborious inning and smack on his glove, his hold
spot seemed less secure. After Chien-Ming Wang fired three innings,
strong despite a few rocky moments, it became even tenuous.

“Yes and no,” Manager Davey Johnson said when asked if he would
re-evaluate the fifth starter. Which, of course, means yes. He will
not make the decision immediately, after a game when “emotions are
running pretty high.” But you can be certain he will consider brining
Wang into the rotation and sending Detwiler to the bullpen.

“I mean, Det has been outstanding all year long,” Johnson said.
“The last two, three outings haven’t been vintage Det. He’s got
a great arm, great stuff, but that one was especially difficult
for me.”

Detwiler had allowed three runs on five hits and four walks in 4 1/3
innings, his shortest start this season, an outing defined by deep
counts and foul body language. Detwiler is one of two left-handed
starters, an advantage for him. But he has struggled lately, and
with Wang in the fold, the bar is set high to stay in the rotation.

“I have to go out there and do my job,” Detwiler said. “There’s no
extra pressure or anything. It just wasn’t a good game.”

Before Wang strained his hamstring in the spring, Nationals had
evaluators had come to view him as one of their top three or four
starters, as good as, or perhaps better than, Jordan Zimmermann.
“I feel a little bit better today” than in spring training, Wang
said through a translator.

Wang frequently hit 94 miles per hour with his sinker, and his mixed
in a sharp breaking ball. Wang allowed two inherited runners to score
on his first pitch, and on his last pitch Jason Heyward hit a massive
home run. But Wang retired eight of the 11 batters he faced, and his
stuff left an impression on the Nationals.

“He looked absolutely awesome,” shortstop Ian Desmond said. “I
thought they were going to let him keep on going, to be honest.”

Wang may soon get a chance to keep going in the rotation. Detwiler
still has a high ceiling, and the Nationals will surely need him as
a starter later in the year. They put him in the rotation, remember,
at the cost of sending a pitcher making $5 million, John Lannan,
to Class AAA. For now, though, as Detwiler struggles through
inconsistency, Wang could grab his spot.

“That’s the $64,000 question,” Johnson said.

By Adam Kilgore | 12:50 AM ET, 05/26/2012

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