Archive for Chien-Ming Wang
Dodgers a possibility for Wang?
Posted by: | CommentsThe deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is December 12, just a few weeks away. The Yankees will have decisions to make on a few players, including Melky Cabrera, Brian Bruney, Chad Gaudin, and Sergio Mitre. Chances are the Yankees will offer arbitration to all four, though I still think there’s a chance they’ll non-tender Bruney. The biggest decision they face, though, is on Chien-Ming Wang. The Taiwanese righty might have already thrown his last pitch in pinstripes.
We learn this morning, via MLBTR, that Wang would consider pitching for the Dodgers. Really, he’ll probably consider pitching for all 30 teams, but the Dodgers have a comfort factor. Wang, always described as shy, would have not only two familiar coaches in Joe Torre and Larry Bowa (Don Mattingly, too), but he’d also have former schoolmate Hong-Chih Kuo. In picking his 2010 team, that will probably play a part for Wang.
Just because there’s a connection, of course, doesn’t mean that Wang is ready to don Dodger blue. If the Yankees do non-tender him, and the prevailing opinion in the NYC media is that they will, Wang and his agent Alan Nero will seek the best possible deal. Familiarity might help in that regard, making the Dodgers a strong possibility. And there’s no ruling out Wang re-signing with New York.
I’ve read opinions that the Yankees have mistreated Wang, though I don’t exactly buy that. They didn’t offer him a long-term deal, instead taking him to arbitration over $600,000 in 2008. It was a wise move by the Yankees. Wang, as we know, had two shoulder injuries before 2008, and the Yankees were proceeding with caution. The team and player then acted quickly last off-season, signing a one-year, $5 million deal before Christmas. Wang’s season-ending injury certainly had something to do with that.
It’s hard to see signs of disrespect in that. Not every pitcher gets a long-term deal from his original club. Some teams prefer to take that route, as the Giants did with Matt Cain. Others like to proceed with caution, especially with pitchers who have an injury history. Such has been the Yankees’ dealing with Wang. Now they’ll have another set of negotiations with Wang, presumably over a lesser contract that will bring him back for 2010.
Most of us, I think, would like to see Chien-Ming Wang back in pinstripes next season. We’ve seen him at his best, and if he can return to that level, or something near it, he can fortify the Yankees’ rotation mid-season. The Yankees have many factors to weigh in this decision, including the cost of keeping Wang around, weighed against the risk that he’ll fail. It’s doubtful Wang makes more than $6 million next season in arbitration, and my guess is that if the Yankees do tender him a contract that they’ll work out a one-year deal before the February arbitration hearings.
I think the Yankees have little to lose by offering Wang arbitration. That ensures that if he does return to form, it will be to the Yankees’ benefit. It’s essentially a $6 million bet on his health, though, and without his medicals in hand it’s impossible to make that decision. The Yankees have seen them, or else will see them. I trust they’ll make the right call.
Know your arbitration-eligible Yankees
Posted by: | CommentsThe MLB Players Association yesterday released its list of the 210 players eligible for arbitration. Maury Brown has the full list right here, and five members of the 2009 Yankees find themselves under team control and arbitration-eligible.
Before exploring these players, a few notes on procedures: Salary arbitration is available for players who have not yet reached free agency and players who are free agents. A player with more than three years but fewer than six — with some exceptions for what is known as Super Twos — can file for arbitration. Conversely,the player’s former team can decide to non-tender those players at which point the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.
For current free agents not constrained by service time, clubs can offer salary arbitration to former players by Dec. 1. That move allows the team to recoup draft picks if the player goes elsewhere, but the team runs the risk of an unwanted or overpaid player accepting arbitration and sticking around. The arbitration discussed here is limited by service time and not contractual free agency. And so onto the Yankees.
Chien-Ming Wang — Service Time: 4.159 years; 2009 Salary: $5 million
The Yankees and their former ace have a tenuous relationship when it comes to salary disputes. In 2008, Wang lost in arbitration, and the Yankees made a big deal about saving $600,000 in the process. Last year, the two parties settled for $5 million in late December, but it’s clear that the Yankees are skeptical of Wang’s ability and future success. Considering the nature of his surgery and his recent ineffectiveness, they might have a reason for that skepticism.
Early on this off-season, the conversation has centered around Wang’s contract status, and rumors suggest that the Yankees will non-tender him. They could then try to sign him to an incentive-laden deal with a low base salary. Whether this will placate the sinker-ball specialist is up for debate. Some feel the two-time 19-game winner could test the open market; others say that his marketability in Taiwan is dependent upon the pinstripes.
Prediction: The Yanks will non-tender Wang but resign him to an incentive-based deal more favorable to the team.
Brian Bruney — Service Time: 4.164 years; 2009 Salary: $1.25 million
Last year, the Yanks and Bruney avoided arbitration after exchanging salary figures. Bruney wanted $1.55 million; the Yanks countered with $1.1 million; and the two sides nearly split the difference. Bruney had a worse year in 2009 than he did in 2008. He suffered through some early-season elbow problems and saw his walk rate increase while his strike out rate decreased. His ERA jumped over 2.10 runs, but the Yankees want to bring him back.
Prediction: A one-year deal worth approximately $1.7-$2 million.
Melky Cabrera — Service Time: 3.148 years; 2009 Salary: $1.4 million + $25,000 for reaching 525 plate appearances
Unless something drastic happens — Curtis Granderson, Mike Cameron or that long-rumored Melky and Ian Kennedy for [Insert Player Here] trade — Melky will again battle it out with Brett Gardner for the center field job. After putting up bad numbers in 2008, Melky rebounded with a nice 2009 campaign. I would expect the Yanks will settle with Melky but not offer him a long-term deal.
Prediction: One year, $2.5 million
Chad Gaudin — Service Time: 4.163 years; 2009 Salary: $2 million
A mid-season acquisition, Gaudin showed some good stuff while pitching for the Yanks. He’ll be 27 by Opening Day and will be a swing man for the Yanks next year. I doubt the two sides will head to arbitration here, and Gaudin should receive a bump from his $2 million salary.
Prediction: One year, $3-$4 million
Sergio Mitre — Service Time: 4.132 years; 2009 Salary: $1.25 million
Mention “Sergio Mitre” to a Yankee fan and you may find that fan fighting back the urge to scream. Just a year removed from Tommy John Surgery, Mitre was awful for the Yanks. He managed to win three games but sported a 6.79 ERA. Opponents hit .320/.361/.509 off of him. The Yankees hold a $1.25 million option for 2010, and although Mark Feinsand doesn’t expect them to pick it up, I do. For that low price, the Yanks can bolster their depth.
Prediction: One year, $1.25 million
Valuing Chien-Ming Wang and Sergio Mitre
Posted by: | CommentsThe Yankees have the resources to take on a greater amount of risk than most teams. A misplaced $5 million might seriously hamper a smaller market team, but the Yankees — and the Red Sox, as evidenced by Brad Penny and John Smoltz — can take on a reclamation project and hope for the best. They did this in 2003, signing Jon Lieber after he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2002. They rehabbed him on their dime, and it paid off when he came back strong in 2004. So when it comes to Chien-Ming Wang’s contract situation, there are no givens. The Yankees can afford to do what they think will most benefit the team.
As Mike wrote this morning, Wang is no stranger to shoulder injuries. “The bottom line is that for the third time in eight years, the righthander missed a significant portion of the season with a shoulder issue.” This has to make the team wary. Wang will be arbitration eligible for the third time this winter, having made $4.5 million in 2009. If the Yankees tender him a contract, he’ll make at least that, and because of his service time he could get a bump to $5 million. Let’s go with that latter number, just to make things easy.
The question facing the Yankees is whether that $5 million is worth it to keep Wang around. It’s not just his salary for the 2010 season, when he’ll pitch half a season at the most, but also the price for keeping him under team control for his final arbitration-eligible season in 2011. There are alternatives; the Yankees could decline to tender Wang a contract and then sign him at a lower price. They would then be able to offer him arbitration after the 2010 season for the final time. For the sake of this argument, let’s assume that if the Yankees non-tender Wang, he’ll take his services elsewhere. Tendering him means paying $5 million for 2010.
This is the Yankees, so $5 million might not seem like a lot. There’s risk involved, yes, and chances are that the Yankees would have to pay more than $5 million for one of the other risky starters out there. Those would include Ben Sheets, Erik Bedard, and Rich Harden, and they would presumably be able to pitch the whole season, whereas Wang won’t be ready until July. Still, all three of those pitchers present a large risk. Wang will be cheaper, and the Yankees know him better than the other three. It seems that if they’re going the risky starter route, Wang’s their man.
Here’s a question I’ve been pondering regarding Wang’s status. Commenter Taz got it brewing in my mind when he asked, “Does anyone else think it’s ridiculous for the Yankees to exercise $1.25 mil on Mitre of the 6.59 ERA when pretty much any scrub from the minors would offer the same ability?” He says he’d rather put that money towards keeping Wang and replace Mitre with said scrub. Mitre’s $1.25 million is just a quarter of Wang’s projected salary, but every little bit helps, right?
First, to the issue of Mitre being a scrub. No one could be impressed with what they saw from Mitre during his tenure in pinstripes. He had one stellar start against the White Sox, but other than that he was shaky at best and downright terrible at worst. His defense failed him at times, but he could never pick up for them. It seemed like he was always making a bad situation worse. That infuriates fans, so it’s no wonder why Mitre has few supporters. Still, there is hope that he can provide value for the Yankees in 2010.
Mitre underwent Tommy John surgery in July of 2008. A year and six days after the surgery, he made his return. That’s a short span for a Tommy John patient. The normal recovery time is 12 to 18 months, and there are many stories of players who didn’t come back quite as strong at first, but who later recovered. Yet even if he does recover, I’ve heard the argument go, Mitre is just a scrub anyway. That I do not believe is totally accurate. In 2007, Mitre’s last season before the surgery, he had a 3.98 FIP, 4.34 tRA, and posted a 2.6 WAR. That’s pretty damn quality for a guy slotted to be the fifth starter at absolute best.
Like Mitre, no one was impressed with Wang this season. He started off pitching about as poorly as one could imagine, then hit the DL, then came back and was mediocre at best before succumbing to a shoulder injury. This led to a 5.38 FIP and a 6.01 tRA. Those numbers are both slightly worse than what Mitre posted in 2009. Both clearly had bad years, but because of what we’ve seen in the past, there’s a chance they’ll recover.
We know that Wang is a better pitcher than Mitre when they’re both right. We also know that Mitre can pitch the entire 2010 season, while Wang will pitch half at most. So, to begin answering Taz’s question, you might not want to cut loose Mitre and save his $1.25 million, because that investment can work for you all year, while the $5 million allotted to Wang will work only in the second half, if even that. But let’s take this a little further, into the completely theoretical.
Past performance does not guarantee future gains, but sometimes all we have to go on is past performance. For the sake of this argument, let’s assume that both Mitre and Wang return to their 2007 forms in 2010. Mitre would, under those circumstances, provide a 2.6 WAR for $1.25 million. Wang had a 4.4 WAR in 2007, almost two full wins better than Mitre. But because Wang would only pitch half the season, he’d only provided 2.2 WAR in 2010 under what I’m calling the best case scenario. The Yankees would pay him $5 million for that 2.2 WAR.
Even if both players recover fully to their 2007 forms, Mitre would provide a little more value than Wang. He’s the inferior pitcher, but because he can pitch the entire season he has that added value. Wang would be a greater force in the second half, but again he’d only be doing it for half a season, and he’d make four times as much as Mitre in the process. So there is an argument, albeit a weak one, that the Yankees are better off with Mitre in 2010.
Do I think that Mitre will provide 2.6 WAR in 2010? Not a chance. Not only will he not get the innings, but he also likely won’t return to the 0.54 HR/9 rate that led to his 3.98 FIP (a component of WAR). While WAR does adjust for park, I’m just not sure the adjustment will do Mitre’s transition justice. In 2007 he pitched in a spacious National League park. In 2010 he’ll pitch in a homer-heavy (but otherwise run-neutral) AL East park. He also probably won’t be higher than seventh on the starting pitching depth chart, so I would assume most of his innings will come out of the bullpen. I’d be surprised if he cleared a 1.5 WAR next year.
Do I think that Wang will provide 2.2 WAR in 2010? Probably not. I think he has a better chance of doing that than Mitre does of posting the same number, but that’s asking a lot from a guy who has missed a good portion of the past two seasons, and who is recovering from his third major shoulder injury. If he can provide 1.5 WAR in the second half, I’m sure the Yankees would be thrilled. That would not only help the rotation later in the season, but it would also give them hope of a fuller recovery for 2011.
Unless the Yankees are hard-up for 40-man roster spots (and as Mike will show, they’re not), they should exercise Mitre’s 2010 option. It will represent a little over one half of one percent of their overall payroll. The tougher question is of Wang. If tendered he’ll eat up a 40-man slot until they can place him on the 60-day DL in March, and he’ll constitute about 2.5 percent of the overall payroll. Is that worth the risk? I’m still not decided, though I’m leaning towards yes. I fear that non-tendering him means he goes elsewhere, and I do not want to see him make a full recovery with another team. Wang was the anchor of the staff for two seasons when the Yanks lacked an ace. WIth the current staff, he only has to be a No. 3. I think he can fit into the Yankees plans for 2010 and beyond.
What Went Wrong: Chien-Ming Wang
Posted by: | CommentsOver the next week or so, we’ll again break down what went wrong and what went right for the Yankees. The series this year will be much more enjoyable than the last.
The 2009 Yankees came into the season sporting one of the most exciting rotations in the big leagues, as imports CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett joined forces with the incumbent Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, and Joba Chamberlain. After missing the last five months of 2008 with a fluke foot injury, Wang was supposed to be the rock in the two spot between Sabathia and Burnett. It was a pivotal season in the sinkerballer’s career, but instead it turned into a nightmare.
In his first start of the season, the Orioles put ten runners on base and scored seven runs while forcing Wang to throw 73 pitches in just 3.2 IP. Five days later, the Rays hung eight runs on Wang in just one inning of work. Five days after that, the Indians smacked him around for eight runs in 1.1 IP, and before long Wang ended up on the disabled list with what was called “weakness in the hips.”
There were all sorts of red flags about Wang’s early season performance. His velocity was down, his stuff wasn’t crisp, and he was elevating way too many pitches. It was all a recipe for disaster, and frankly that’s what those three starts were.
After working with the organization’s pitching instructors down in Tampa, Wang made a pair of better than good rehab starts (13 IP, 6 H, 0 R) with Triple-A Scranton before being hastily activated. His return from the disabled list was a clear panic move made after Joba was feared injured when he took a liner to the leg and left a start early. Working initially in relief, Wang was uncomfortable and his results were a mixed bag – just two runs in eight innings, but a .300 AVG against. Soon enough, the Yankees inserted Wanger back into the rotation, a rather questionable move.
His first start back in the rotation was ugly (eight baserunners and five runs in 4.2 IP against Texas), but after that he was pretty serviceable for about a month. The high point of Wang’s season came on June 28th, when he finally picked up his first win of the season thanks to 5.1 IP of two run ball in CitiField. In his next start, Wang left the mound with the trainer after serving up a meatball to Adam Lind.
At first, the latest injury didn’t seem serious. Wang was pain-free just two weeks after leaving his start, but not long after that he went down again after feeling pain during a game of catch. Three opinions later, Wang’s season was over in late July when he had season ending surgery to repair a torn labrum.
It may, or may not have all started in the offseason, when the Yankees told Wang to take it easy on his injured foot. It was used as an excuse, but frankly we’ll never know. The bottom line is that for the third time in eight years, the righthander missed a significant portion of the season with a shoulder issue.
And now, just a little more than four months after he last appeared in a game, Wang’s future with the Yankees is in doubt. Just the other day we heard that Wang was heading to see Dr. Andrews for a checkup on his surgically repaired shoulder, and reports indicate that he’s doing “remarkably well.” Regardless, there’s still a chance the Yankees will non-tender him in December, but even if they don’t, there’s no way the team could rely on him for anything next season.
The Yankees managed to win 103 games and their 27th World Series without their number two starter, but that doesn’t mean Wang’s awful season can be brushed under the rug.
Photo Credit: Nick Laham, Getty Images
Wang to check in with Dr. Andrews
Posted by: | CommentsThe Yankees don’t have many immediate roster decisions to make as they head into the off-season. They have just one team option to consider, Sergio Mitre’s for $1.25 million, and they will likely exercise it. Only a few players are arbitration eligible, and of them most are either easy or painless calls. The case of Chien-Ming Wang, though, is a tough one. After surgery in July to repair a shoulder capsule, Wang could start the 2010 season in July, if he starts it at all. Will the Yankees tender him a contract under those circumstances?
The Yankees will have more information at hand after Monday, when Wang visits Dr. James Andrews to check up on his right shoulder. If everything looks fine, Wang could be throwing minor league games by April or May. What I wonder is whether that timeframe is worth a potential $5.5, $6 million gamble. That’s what the Yankees would be doing by offering him arbitration. The alternative is to not tender him a contract, meaning he’d be a free agent. There are no guarantees then.
I’ve heard some people say that the Yankees have mistreated Chien-Ming, but I don’t really see it. Maybe it’s because the observation is from afar, but it seems like they did the reasonable thing. Wang had an injury history, missing all of 2001 and part of 2005 with shoulder issues. Instead of signing him to a long-term deal, they went year to year. Unfortunately for Wang, that decision worked out for the Yankees. Now they get to make a decision on how he fits into their future.
There’s no downplaying Wang’s contributions to the Yankees from 2005 through the start of 2008. He stood out during the years when the team’s pitching was thin. It would be rough to see him go, especially because we know what he can contribute. In an off-season that many think will be light for the Yankees, the decision on Wang could stand out.
Love me non-tender
Posted by: | CommentsAs the Yankees gear up for a run that will hopefully take them deep into October, a former key cog of the pitching staff will be watching from the sidelines. One-time staff ace Chien-Ming Wang has been a non-factor much of the last two seasons. In a freak accident in Houston last summer, he injured his foot and never really recovered. This year, he suffered through a bad spring and underwent shoulder surgery that will sideline him until mid-2010.
For many pitchers, a stretch such as Wang’s would signal the end of a career. After winning 19 games in back-to-back seasons, Wang was historically bad this year. He went 1-6 in 12 games before surgery and allowed over two baserunners per inning. Now, his Yankee future is in doubt.
Wang is arbitration-eligible this year, and he turns 30 at the end of March. This confluence of factors along with his injury and ineffectiveness has led many to question whether the Yankees will offer Wang a contract. In a Yankee Notebook piece, Peter Abraham broached that very topic. The LoHud scribe writes:
In his first public comments since the surgery, Wang said he hopes to start playing catch again in January and believes he will pitch in the major leagues at some point in 2010. But he realizes that may not be with the Yankees.
Wang had a $5 million contract this season and is eligible for arbitration. There is virtually no chance the Yankees will offer him arbitration before the December deadline. That would leave Wang a free agent. “I would like to stay in New York,” he said. “But I don’t know what will happen.”
One possibility is that the Yankees could offer Wang a minor-league contract. Or another team could sign him to a major-league deal and hope that he returns to form. “That’s something we won’t even think about until November,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “Those are issues for another day.”
In a piece on MLB Trade Rumors, RAB’s own Mike Axisa pondered the Wang question as well. Mike too believes the Yankees will look to offer Wang a minor league contract, but the threat of another team offering him a Major League deal looms. After all, Wang will be on the 60-day disabled list until he’s ready to pitch next year. He won’t take up a 40-man spot and won’t require a major guaranteed investment.
While Cashman won’t tackle this question until November, I can’t see the Yankees letting Wang walk. The team has been loathe to commit to paying Wang, and as his recent injury history has shown, that decision has paid off. Now, though, the Yankees understand the need for pitching depth.
They also know what Wang can do if he’s healthy. While that’s a rather big “if” at this point in his career, it’s a chance the Yanks should take. I doubt Wang is expecting the same $5 million deal he received this year, and as long as the two sides can come to terms, there is no reason to for the Yankees to cut Chien-Ming Wang loose.
What will the Yankees do with Chien-Ming Wang?
Posted by: | Comments
The news came down late last night: Chien-Ming Wang, the Yankees incumbent ace, will undergo athroscopic surgery to repair a problem with the capsule of his right shoulder, ending his season. The procedure was to be performed by the famed Dr. James Andrews this morning, and is expected to keep Wang out well into the 2010 season. The Yankees will have gotten nothing out of Wang over the last sixteen months when the offseason starts, and if you want to be particularly harsh you can actually argue that they’ve gotten negative production considering how he pitched this season.
How the injury occurred doesn’t really matter. Wang might have altered his mechanics following his foot injury last year, or maybe it’s the result of the violent and unnatural act of pitching. Never exactly a pillar of health, this will be Wang’s second major shoulder surgery (he had his labrum and rotator cuff repaired back in 2001) and the second time it’s given him trouble as a big leaguer. You can expect there to be plenty of talk about what the Yankees can/should/would/will do to upgrade their rotation, but just as important is the decision the team will make regarding Wang’s future this offseason. They can do one of three things:
- Resign him either by offering a contract or going to arbitration
- Nontender
- Nontender and attempt to resign him to a minor league contract
Injured players can’t be traded, but they can be included in deals as a PTBNL. However, since PTBNLs have to be named within six months of the deal, Wang would have to be healthy by then, which is not going to be the case. So that option is out.
As a Super-Two, Wang is eligible for four years of arbitration, and still has two more ahead of him. After paying him $5M this year, the Yanks would have to offer Wang no less than $4M if they offered him a contract because the CBA doesn’t allow paycuts greater than 20%, and chances are he’d get a raise – albeit a small one – if the two sides actually went to arbitration. But then the Yankees will be not only be paying Wang not to pitch for them, they’ll also have to foot the bill for his rehab. And, of course, there’s zero guarantee the Wanger will ever be an effective pitcher again.
The alternative to resigning Wang is not tendering him a contract, which for all intents and purposes is the same as releasing him with no strings attached. There’s always a handful of players nontendered each season, mostly players who are underperforming and are due for considerable raises through arbitration. Here’s last year’s list of nontendered players, just for reference.
If the Yanks decide to nontender Wang, they can go in one of two directions. They can just cut bait altogether and let him walk, or they can attempt to resign him to a minor league contract to keep him in the organization, keep his salary down, and keep him off the active roster. Remember, Wang is out of options, and the Yanks won’t be able to just leave him in the minors indefinitely as he gets healthy. Once he’s ready to pitch in games, his 30-day rehab clock starts, then he has to be back in the bigs.
Bringing Wang back on a minor league pact allows the Yankees to keep him in the minors as long as needed since no 30-day clock would be in effect. It’s definitely the ideal situation for the team because they’ll get to keep him in the organization while keeping costs down and letting Wang work back at his own pace. But will CMW and his agent go for that? The Yankees are the only organization Wang has ever known, but if nontendered it’s still likely some team will step up and offer a big league contract (Dodgers?), which means he’ll accrue service time bringing him closer to free agency (he won’t accumulate any service time if on a minor league deal), not to mention earn a bigger paycheck. And don’t forget that after being taken to an arbitration hearing two years ago over $600,000, Wang and his camp might harbor some animosity towards the team. Agreeing to come back to the Bombers on a minor league deal is the exact opposite of an ideal situation for Wang. Actually, it’s just one step up from being unemployed.
Keep in mind that we don’t know the extent of the damage and won’t know until after the surgery is complete and word gets out. Things could have gone well or things could have gone badly, and that will affect the Yankees’ decision. As of now, my money is on a straight nontender, with the Yanks looking to bring Wanger back with a minor league contract. It’s crazy to think we may have seen the last of Chien-Ming Wang in pinstripes.
Note: If you want to talk about trades and the deadline, do so in today’s Trade Deadline Open Thread. Thanks.
Photo Credit: Simmons, NY Daily News
Wang to have season ending surgery
Posted by: | CommentsPeteAbe’s got the news. The surgery will happen tomorrow morning, presumably by Dr. James Andrews since he performed Wang’s previous shoulder operation back in 2001. No word on the exact injury, but there was talk of a possible rotator cuff tear. Depending on the severity, Wang may miss a big chunk of the 2010 season as well. It’s a shame, hope the surgery goes well tomorrow.
Update (10:21pm): Marc Carig tweets that it’s the same surgery Jorge Posada had last year, confirming that the problem is his rotator cuff indicating that the problem is a labrum tear. Posada had his surgery almost a year ago to the day, and was not able to start Spring Training on time. Given how much more important shoulders are for pitchers than catchers, it’s easy to envision a scenario where Wang is out until the 2010 All Star break.
Open Thread: Wang’s injury, Hall of Fame day
Posted by: | CommentsAs we head into Sunday night, we have a piece of news on a Yankee pitcher and a day of celebration up in Cooperstown.
After the game, the Yankees revealed that injured hurler Chien-Ming Wang will head to Alabama on Monday to meet Dr. James Andrews. The baseball medical expert performed surgery on Wang in 2001, and his diagnosis will determine if Wang needs rest or surgery. No matter the outcome, Wang is pretty much finished for 2009.
Meanwhile, up in Cooperstown today, Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice headlined the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Despite his arrival in Cooperstown, Jim Rice will never really belong in my mind. Nothing has changed between this year and the 14 other times he didn’t make it. Also on the slate was Joe Gordon, a one-time Yankee middle infielder. Fack Youk profiled this forgotten Yankee. Check it out.
On another note, I’m heading out of town for ten days tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have a few more posts up over the next few days, but for the most part, Mike and Joe along with a few guests will take you through the Yankee road trip and the trade deadline. It’ll be a fun ride, and I’m sorry to miss it. I will, however, be back in time for game two of the Boston series.
Anyway, here’s your open thread. You know the drill. Anything goes. Just be nice.
Wang, fearing surgery, gets an ominous third opinion
Posted by: | CommentsWhile the Yanks behind ace CC Sabathia were busy dispatching the A’s, the Front Office had to face some bad news concerning Chien-Ming Wang. After receiving a second opinion from Dr. David Altchek on Wang’s shoulder, the team will consult with Dr. James Andrews as well. Wang himself fears the worst.
Bryan Hoch summarized the bad news late last night:
Chien-Ming Wang is concerned that his 2009 season may be over, having sought a second opinion as he continues to feel discomfort in his right shoulder, and now Dr. James Andrews will get his chance to take a look.
Wang visited on Wednesday with Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York after suffering a setback earlier in the week while playing catch, and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman met with team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad on Thursday to discuss Wang’s situation.
After reviewing Altchek’s findings, the Yankees are next set to confer with Andrews before discussing Wang’s status further. But at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, the 29-year-old Wang said that he is worried that surgery may be necessary. “I don’t know,” Wang said. “The shoulder, the day I played catch, it still feels the same.”
It is worth noting that both Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte have consulted with Dr. Andrews, and neither needed surgery. Wang, however, does not sound like a man confident in his 2009 pitching future, and we all saw this coming.
As Wang struggled early this year after a decent Spring Training, the Yanks tried to blame weak legs and a weak core for Wang’s struggles. Our pitch f/x analysis however — here and here — told a different story. Wang wasn’t releasing the ball where he should have been. When he was a dominant pitcher in 2007, his release point was lower and closer to his body. This year, it was up high and further away. Something was wrong.
Now the Yankees know what it is and the extent of the damage, and soon enough, the rest of us will too. At this point, the Yankees aren’t expecting anything from Wang this year, but they have a larger problem on their hands. With Wang out, Joba nearing his innings and Phil Hughes firmly ensconced in the bullpen, their once-vaunted pitching depth has withered its way down to Sergio Mitre and — I shudder to type it — Kei Igawa.
The Yankees will soon have to get creative, and they will have to acquire a pitcher for the rest of 2009 and into 2010. If Wang’s shoulder is truly as damaged as it sounds, he could be facing surgery and a 10- or 12-month rehab stint. With the trade deadline seven days away, Brian Cashman is probably already on the phone, hunting for that arm the Yanks now need.
