Day One notes & A crowd for CMW - 棒球

Day One notes

Well, Day One of spring training 2010 is wrapping up. And I just filed a
story on Chien-Ming Wang, the pitcher whose news conference seemed more like
an exercise in international relations. Three more semi-extraneous things to
note, perhaps deserving of their own bullet points for emphasis.

* In the days before the Wang signing, team President Stan Kasten actually
paid a visit to the Taiwan's de facto embassy, simply for the purpose of,
as he put it, "beginning the relationships, learning more, getting my facts
straight." This afternoon, Kasten actually had in his pocket a pamphlet
entitled, "Republic of China at a Glance."

* Wang has spent the last weeks at a physical rehab center in Phoenix, but
he spent a part of his offseason in Taiwan. But get this -- Wang still
commuted back to the U.S. for monthly visits with orthopedist James Andrews.
According to Wang's agent, Adam Nero, Wang would hang with Andrews for
roughly a week, then go back home. Two conclusions to draw here: Wang must
be seriously accustomed to jet lag. And Andrews must be seriously better
than any doctor within 12 time zones.

* Now, let me present something in the avert-your-eyes category. Sorry
to bring this up, and yeah, I know that CMW's struggles last season were
somehow connected (we hope) to injuries. But just to underscore the point,
he was bad. He went 1-6 in '09 with a 9.64 ERA. That was the poorest among
452 big leaguers who threw at least 25 innings last year. Second-poorest?
Washington's Logan Kensing, 8.92.

Some additional notes...

Pitcher Collin Balester has surrendered his old uniform number, 40, to CMW.
But he also received some consolation. The mustachioed Balester, after an
offseason of twitter-documented facial hair growth, asked to wear uniform
number 99. "In 2009 I was denied," Balester said. "But I've got the
mustache -- or the mus-stature now." Balester pondered his invented word
and added, "I could clean out my Scrabble rack with that."

By Chico Harlan | February 19, 2010; 5:19 PM ET
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2010/02/day_i_notes.html

A crowd for CMW


OK, so the Chien-Ming Wang press conference is over. The fishwrap story
(posted here later this afternoon) will contain greater detail, but here
are the quick-hit observations. First of all, CMW attracts plenty of
attention. Roughly twenty media members representing Taiwan and China were
in attendance, and let me tell 'ya, it's not easy work traveling halfway
across the world for a 20-minute press and perhaps a dinner at Smokey Bones.
They asked a lot of questions about his desire and his condition, and
Wang pretty much answered that his desire is intense and his condition is
good. Which means that maybe he's pitching in Washington by May.

Wang agreed earlier in the week to a one-year, $2 million deal with the
Nats (the contract is heavily loaded with incentives), but this was his
formal introduction. And it was also something of a goodbye.

See, after today, Wang, still rehabbing from July 2009 shoulder surgery,
will return to the Fischer Sports Physical Therapy center in Phoenix, Ariz.
According to GM Mike Rizzo, Wang will perform five or six hours of rehab
daily. March 8, he'll travel back to Viera, Fla., to join the Nats in spring
training. The Nats hope that Wang can debut (or re-debut) in the big leagues
sometime between May 1 and June 1.

Before signing Wang, Washington had three scouts -- Jay Robertson,
Phil Rizzo and Ron Schueller -- watch the righty in Arizona. "The last
time they saw him pitch he threw for 15 minutes, about 70 pitches," Mike
Rizzo said. "He started at about 120 feet and he went down to 60-feet,
six inches. That was on flat ground."

But within the next 2-1/2 weeks, Wang should begin throwing off a mound.

"Of course my No. 1 goal would be to return to be among the best pitchers
in Major League Baseball," Wang said through translator Alan Chang, "and I
will do everything possible to make myself strong again."

Just a few final quotes before I head to lunch.

Rizzo on his hopes for CMW: "Well if he throws as he's capable of in the
past, then we've got ourselves a front-of-the-rotation guy. Not only for
two-thirds of this season, but we control the player. That is something
we're really, really excited about, and that's the main reason we went
after him so hard, is because he's a 29-year-old pitcher who can grow
with the organization. Just a front-of-the-line character guy that's
won 19 games in the toughest atmosphere for a pitcher in baseball. So
we feel like the risk-reward was on our side, and combined with the
medical reports we got... it was something I thought we really needed
to do."

Agent Alan Nero: "When Chien-Ming became available, the first team we
heard from was the Nationals. And shortly after that we started hearing
from other teams. There was a total of 15 teams that showed interest
right from the beginning. But the process was pretty laborious. Everybody
had to do their homework: Who had to see him throw? Who had to have their
doctor examine him? You know, who had to study his medical records? So,
in the end, we ended up with three offers. But the Nationals were the
most sincere, they were the most aggressive, they were ahead of the pack.
They did all of their due diligence and were very confident along the way...
And any time you make a decision -- this was a big decision for Chien-Ming --
the spirit of it matters. It's kind of like dating. You don't enter into a
relationship unless you feel real good about it... The Nationals seemed to
care the most and they seemed to want him the most."

By Chico Harlan | February 19, 2010; 1:53 PM ET
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2010/02/a_crowd_for_cmw.html


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