Mets spoil Wang's return - 棒球

Mets spoil Wang's return

Friday, July 29, 2011 10:12 p.m.
Updated at 12:07 a.m.

By Mark Zuckerman
Nationals Insider
CSNwashington.com

He stood atop the mound at 7:06 p.m., a big-league hitter stepping to
the plate 60 feet and 6 inches from his position, a crowd of 30,114
settling into the ballpark and a throng of media members from his native
country chronicling his every move.

Chien-Ming Wang is as stoic a ballplayer as they get, and it's tough to
detect what emotions are buried underneath his nondescript exterior. Make
no mistake, though. The Taiwanese right-hander was feeling something as he
stood there preparing to throw his first pitch in a major-league game in
more than two years.

"I was really happy that I can still come back on the mound, and I can
still pitch in a game," he said later through translator John Hsu.

If anything, Wang admitted he was thinking too much about the fact he was
pitching in the major leagues again and not enough about the actual hitters
standing before him. By the time his nerves and emotions were in check, it
was too late. He'd allowed the Mets' first five batters of the game to reach
safely, four of them scoring.

That disastrous first inning left the Nationals well on their way to an
8-5 loss, their season-high sixth straight loss. On this night, though,
the evening's final outcome seemed less significant than the journey Wang
took to get back to this place.

It had been two years and 25 days since the former Cy Young Award runner-up
last appeared in a big-league game, two long years spent rehabbing from
major shoulder surgery under the blazing hot sun in Viera, Fla., with
plenty of setbacks along the way and plenty of reason to wonder if this
night would ever come.

"It's unbelievable," manager Davey Johnson said, "the dedication he had
to give to get to this point."

Eventually, Wang's results will matter more than the process. But not
yet. On this night, the Nationals universally were pleased to simply see
him throw 60 pitches over four innings, his trademark sinker topping out
at 93 mph and improving as the game progressed.

"I was pleased," Johnson said. "I really didn't think I was going to see
that much, to be honest with you."

Throw out the game's first five batters, and Wang actually performed OK.
Over four innings, he allowed two unearned runs over four hits. (His final
line -- six runs, four earned, and eight hits in four complete innings --
was less impressive.)

If nothing else, he earned the opportunity to return to the mound in five
days and do it all over again. Johnson confirmed as much, adding he expects
Wang to remain in the Nationals' rotation for the remainder of the season
"if things continue to progress."

There are certainly kinks Wang still needs to work out. He needs to raise
his arm slot a bit to ensure he stays on top of the ball and gets better
sinking action. He needs to build up more arm strength and stamina,
progressing to the point where he can consistently throw 100 pitches per
start. And he needs to develop a better feel for his breaking balls,
critical pitches for someone who earlier in his career relied almost
exclusively on his sinker but now must become a more well-rounded pitcher.

But Wang may not be that far from returning to peak form.

"I think he was almost a little too fresh early," Mets third baseman
David Wright said. "And then once he got actually got a little hot, got a
little tired, his ball started really sinking -- maybe not the same velocity
that you saw when he was with the Yankees, but definitely the same sink and
definitely the same action on the two-seamer that he was throwing. I think
the more he pitches, the better his sinker will be and he'll be much more
effective."

As long as he remains with the Nationals, Wang will have no shortage of
supporters. The organization remains committed to him, having already
invested two years of coaching and physical rehab, not to mention $3 million
in salaries.

More significantly, an entire nation stands behind Wang. He's one of only
six Taiwanese-born players to appear in the major leagues, and is by far
the most-accomplished of the group. The Nationals issued about 40
credentials to Taiwanese media members for this game, including nine
different television networks.

Hundreds of fans followed him throughout his month-long rehab stint in the
minors, waiving Taiwanese flags and cheering on their native son. Jason
Yuan, Taiwan's ambassador to the United States, was presented with a Wang
jersey by Johnson moments before Friday night's game.

"I'm really happy because they've been following me since the rehab
assignment," Wang said. "And right now I'm back here and they still support
me."

When he's handed the ball again next week, perhaps the nerves will have
subsided and the mere act of pitching to major-league hitters won't feel
so significant.

On this night, though, it was OK to soak everything in and appreciate his
return after a long and winding story that at times didn't appear to have
a happy ending.

"He fought through and stayed with it," third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said.
"He's been in Melbourne, Florida, for a long time, and that's a tough place
to be at for an extended period of time. But he stayed with it, worked his
butt off and made it back. We're all proud and happy for him."

Mark Zuckerman also blogs about the Nationals at natsinsider.com.
Contact him at [email protected] and
on Twitter @MarkZuckerman.


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