The early word out of the Yankee clubhouse is that Chien-Ming Wang has a sprained foot. He’s wearing a soft cast and is on cruches. Joe Girardi said that the Yankee ace, 8-2 on the year, will go for tests — including an MRI — tomorrow in New York, and the team said that Wang’s injury is not an achilles tendon rupture. When asked if Wang would make his next start, he replied, “I wouldn’t think so. I’d be shocked.” With the Yanks just 3.5 games behind the Rays for that final AL playoff spot, Yankee fans across the world are holding their breaths right now.
Instant Analysis: With Wang out, C.C. on the radar
As the Yankees and the Astros finish up this formality of a baseball game, the score is 11-0 in the 7th inning. While, barring an epic collapse, the Yankees will go a season-high four games over .500, the big story is Chien-Ming Wang.
Through five innings, Wang was rolling. He had allowed no runs on six hits and three strike outs. He hadn’t issued a base on balls and thrown 51 of 71 pitches for strikes. In the top of the sixth, he had to run the bases, and while attempting to score with two outs — a dicey move with the Yanks’ moving up 4-0 on the play — he pulled up lame and had to be helped off the field. The Yankees have yet to announce the injury and are saying it’s a right foot problem.
The Yanks could go on to win this game 30-0, and it wouldn’t matter because losing Chien-Ming Wang would be a huge blow to this team. He’s been nearly untouchable over his last two outings and seemed to be reestablishing himself as the Yankee ace after a tough month of May.
This type of injury is exactly why Interleague Play as an attendance gimmick can harm a team just bad luck. Wang — and the rest of the AL pitchers — are not always used to run the bases. They don’t need to spend as much time as NL pitchers worrying about hitter and running; they can instead focus on pitching. So when an AL pitcher has to run the bases, everyone holds their collective breath, and accidents — freak ones, in this case — happen.
The Yanks now in a bit of bind; they’ll have to rely on Joba, Pettitte and Mussina with Rasner’s holding up the back end and an Ian Kennedy, shaky early on, on the horizon but still a week or two away. You can bet the C.C. Sabathia talks will heat up, and if the injury to Wang is serious, the Yanks will have to explore that option. They’re finally rounding into form; they’re narrowing the Wild Card gap; hopefully, this won’t knock the Yanks — now looking like a good team — down.
Game 70: One more for the road
After Mike Mussina’s victory last night, the Yanks find themselves at 36-33, three games over .500 for the first time since last September. They’re also once again ahead of their 2007 pace when they were 35-34 through 69 games, 10 games out of first and six out of the Wild Card.
Today, they’ll go for their fifth win in six road games, and an another solid outing from Chien-Ming Wang would do wonders for this team. Last week in Oakland, Wang won for the first time since the start of May and looked much better than he had recently. Check out his front shoulder and the movement on his sinker early on. If that all looks good, the Yanks should be set.
The Astros are countering with Roy Oswalt, their ace in name only. For years, Oswalt has been one of the premier pitchers in the National League, but he has struggled mightily this year. He’s 5-6 with a 5.06 ERA, a mark nearly two runs higher than his career ERA. He’s allowed 15 more hits than innings pitched this year and has already surrendered 17 long balls.
On the offensive side of things, Melky Cabrera is making his 2008 right field debut. He’s played 13 games there throughout his big league career. The slumping Bobby Abreu — 4 for his last 18 — gets the day off.
Game time is 2:05 p.m.
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Matsui LF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Cabrera RF
Wang P
Game Notes: PeteAbe notes that the last six Yankee games have all been under the three-hour mark. This is the first time in recent memory I can recall that happening.
What’s wrong with Robbie?
It is no stretch of the imagination to say that Robinson Cano is having a terrible year. Prior to Saturday’s game, the Yanks’ second baseman was hitting a meager .217/.260/.316 and was 0 for 15 on the road trip before a pinch-hit single against the Astros. The question then on everyone’s mind is, “What’s wrong with Robbie?” Tyler Kepner breaks down Robbie’s mechanics, and as Kevin Long, the Yanks’ hitting coach says, they are clearly out of whack. It would do wonders for this team to get their second baseman back on track.
It’s Mike Mussina’s world…
…and we’re just living in it.
Perhaps Mike Mussina, 39, sold his soul to the devil. Perhaps he has been replaced with Bizarro Mike Mussina. Perhaps he’s simply learned to be a better pitcher, proving the exception to the rule stating you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. No matter what, it’s become a pleasure to watch Mike Mussina — the AL leader in wins — work this year.
Now, I’ll be honest with you: Every time Mussina struggles in the first inning, I always think, “Well, that goes that Cinderella story.” When I turned off the game to go out to dinner after the top of the second, I figured we were in for a slugfest. Imagine my surprise to find that Mike Mussina was nearly flawless after that first inning.
The Yanks quickly fell behind tonight, 3-0, on a mammoth home run by Carlos Lee. Mussina looked vulnerable, but the Yanks’ bats quickly plated two to close the gap while the new Mike Mussina went to work. Over the next five innings, Mussina would allow three hits and no runs while walking no one and striking out four. The Yanks would plate eight runs and move three games above .500 for the first time all season. Believe it or not, the Yanks are now third in the Wild Card race.
While the bats went to work — with contributions from Melky Cabrera, Jose Molina and Wilson Betemit, not the most likely cast of characters — the story was Mussina. Moose hasn’t walked a batter in his last 14 innings, and he’s now won 10 games for the 17th time in his 18-year career. That is no small feat.
On the season, Mussina has thrown 81.1 innings, and he’s 10-4 with a 3.87 ERA. He’s struck out 46 while walking just 11, and he’s doing a masterful job of keeping runners off base. Tonight, he struggled in the first inning, a common theme this year. In fact, if you remove his 15 first innings this year — covering 14.2 innings — Mussina has a 3.51 ERA in 66.2 innings. This is vintage Mike Mussina with a different style, and it’s truly great. Enjoy the ride.
McCutchen finishes what he starts
Triple-A Scranton (9-0 in over Norfolk)
Brett Gardner: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 2 K – threw a runner out at home from LF
Justin Christian: 3 for 4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SB – 9 hits in his last 6 games
Cody Ransom: 1 for 4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K
Jason Lane: 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 BB
Matt Carson: 2 for 5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 K – 17 for his last 39 with 3 homers
Greg Porter: 2 for 5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K
Eric Duncan: 0 for 4, 1 K – 1 for his last 26 with 8 K
Dan McCutchen: 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 7-14 GB/FB – picked a runner off first … 71 of 102 pitches were strikes (69.6%)
Game 69: hehe
Is three over .500 possible? Seems crazy, don’t it?
Alex Rodriguez is hitting .400-.482-.689 this month, while Johnny Damon has gone .443-.490-.591 since May 21st. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Melky is just 1 for his last 21 (with a .281 OPS), and Jose Molina is hitting just .163-.188-.217 since his three double series in Fenway way back in mid-April. Wandy-Rod is your garden variety underwhelming southpaw, so that means the Yankees have their work cut out for them.
Thaaaaaa Yankees’ lineup:
1. Damon, LF
2. Jeter, SS
3. Abreu, RF
4. A-Rod, 3B
5. Giambi, 1B
6. Melky, CF
7. Molina, C
8. The Former Attorney General, 2B
9. Moose, SP
Sheesh, they basically have four pitchers batting at the bottom of the lineup…