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April 06, 2008

April 6th vs. The Rays

Typical Yankee Stadium game for Chien-Ming Wang - meaning he was super on the mound. Considering the Yankees could only muster two runs today - and, thank you Godzilla for those two runs! - Wang was just what the doctor ordered.

Anyone else think that General Joe really wanted to lock this one down as soon as possible? Kudos to Girardi for not being afraid to bring in Joba Chamberlain during that high leverage situation in the 7th inning of this game - rather than just follow the "script" and have Farnsworth (or someone else) come in there (and then hold Joba for the 8th inning).

Also, considering that Mike Mussina gets the start tomorrow - and you never know how Moose will do - this is a huge win. If this game is a loss, then the Rays had an excellent chance to sweep the four game series. That would have hurt - even if it is "just" April.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at April 6, 2008 05:11 PM

Comments

Wang K'ed six batters today. He definitely seems to be adjusting to hitters that are just sitting on the sinker (though how you sit on a nasty pitch like that is beyond me). If he starts racking up K's in addition to his customary worm holocaust, he could win Cy Youngs, especially now that Johan is out of the AL.

Posted by: Jordan Meisner [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 6, 2008 07:18 PM

The key for Wang is that he is using the slider and now a change, so that batters, especially those batting LH, can't just sit on his sinker, particularly when they are ahead in the count.

As much as Hughes's velocity has become an issue, Wang seemed to be topping out at 92-93. He has thrown as high as 97 in the past.

Posted by: Rich [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 6, 2008 08:08 PM