When should New York Yankees bring back Chien-Ming Wang? - 棒球

When should New York Yankees bring back Chien-Ming Wang?

by Marc Carig/The Star-Ledger

Monday May 18, 2009, 10:38 AM

http://blog.nj.com/yankees_main/2009/05/large_chien-ming-wang518.jpg

Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang seems rejuvenated by a series of starts in
the minor leagues.


NEW YORK -- After watching Chien-Ming Wang's second rehab start on Sunday
afternoon, one thing is clear. When it comes to keeping him in the minors,
Wang is close to the point of diminishing returns.

Wang pitched seven shutout innings and showed improvement with his sinker,
long his bread and butter. But even without his best stuff, he made
minor-league hitters appear overmatched. In two outings, he's barely been
touched. So, what he would be gained by keeping Wang in the minors any
longer?

At some point the Yankees must find out whether Wang -- who simply may not
be the same pitcher he once was -- has regained enough of his old form to
at least challenge big-league hitters again. And they're not going to find
out by having Wang use his smarts and experience to get minor leaguers
out.

So his return to the bigs might as well come soon.

Of course, that might be harder said than done. Sure, a few times, his
sinkers looked more like the 15-pound bowling balls of old. Still, unless
he somehow regains a ton of strength in his hips, it looks like Wang is
going to have to live with a little less velocity than he's had in the
past.

That can be a scary proposition.

But Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said after Wang's rehab
appearance Sunday that as long as Wang has live movement on his sinker, he
isn't going to be as concerned with velocity. Cashman added that he's seen
Wang enjoy success in the past while living in the low 90s.

Well, then, let's find out if Cashman's right. To me, Wang looked to be as
ready as he's going to get.

One thing I noticed right away is that his time in the minors has
rejuvenated Wang. As he was taking his poundings in the majors, he
increasingly became frustrated and tentative. By the end -- with his ERA
hovering around the price of a decent blender -- he almost appeared like
he didn't want to throw the ball. His work pace was glacial.

On Sunday, he worked quickly. He appeared confident. He looked like be
believed in himself -- and his sinker -- again.

"I'm ready," Wang said after the game. And I saw nothing that would keep
me from taking him at his word.

Do you?


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