Now I imagine 90% of Yanks fans are ready to lynch Wang, but this isn't a horrible article by any stretch... Discuss.
Wang sucks. Even when he was still winning games his slider was up. Teams just hadn't caught up to him yet. He's not going to get better. And Dave Eiland's opinion on pitching is about as useful to me right now as a Bernie Madoff stock tip. Fuck Wang. Fuck Eiland. Fuck Girardi. It's time to give Hughes the ball for good. Explore trade options for Wang and let some other team see if they can fix him.
No way. You absolutely give him one more chance to right the ship especially since his next scheduled start is against the Washington Nationals. He's done enough in the past to deserve it. I don't understand the rush to put Hughes back in the rotation. I could understand if it was August. It's June. Back off the ledge. Yanks have time to sort it out. Best case scenario, Wang and Hughes both pitch effectively and we can move Joba to the pen in September because as I've been saying all year this pen sucks.
It wouldn't be a conversation about the Yankees' pitching staff if there wasn't at least one reference to Joba going back to the pen. And I'm not jumping off a bridge. I'm just sick and tired of everyone being given more rope to hang themselves, until their toes are touching the floor. Hughes has shown himself to be a capable member of the rotation. Wang has not. It's not like this is the first time I'm complaining about Wang either. I was saying it long before he got hurt that he was trying to be a completely different pitcher than he is, and that it was eventually going to bite him in the ass. He doesn't want to throw his sinker. That's a problem for him, and it's a problem that the coaching staff should have addressed a long time ago. They haven't. Therefore, Wang should go, and he should be quickly followed by Eiland and Girardi.
Completely disagree. Wang hasnt proven he belongs in the majors? How about 2006 and 2007? If you could gaurantee me right now that HUghes would be wang of those two years for the rest of his career I would sign for that right now! My point is this guy is only 5 starts or so removed from our ace. We cannot possibly just discard him as trash. Its ridiculous. Does he frustrate me? Of course. Is he garbage? No way. He looked better last night than he did the start prior. Thats progress. If Swisher makes that catch and doesnt get doubled off 1st maybe its a better start for Wang. Now, if the Yankees get Wang back to what he was then we have 6 starters. What we do from there I have no idea. But its absolutely worth trying to see if we can get ourselves into the position of having that "problem"
Wang has not this year. In limited use. I'd give him another shot. He doesn't want to throw his sinker when it's not effective. It hasn't been effective, and he's been trying to adjust mid-game. Basically, his sinker hasn't been sinking. When it does, he throws it, and does well with it. He's added an additional pitch (slider and changeup) so he doesn't have to rely on the sinker all the time, whether it's because it's not sinking, or because they're laying off the low sinker. They're not great pitches, but they can be effective. Certainly more effective than a sinker that stays up in the zone. The problem with Wang lately has been command of the sinker (in game situations). And you think the problem is that he hasn't thrown it enough? Yeah, and this is the kind of knee-jerk reaction so typical of Yankee fans that it makes me embarrassed to be one sometimes. Hey, everyone! The team that is one game out of first place should fire its manager and pitching coach!
Sorry to be an embarassment to you. I've been calling for Girardi's head to roll for most of his tenure so far. I'm just consistent. I don't need you to back me on it. Sorry, there's just no triganometrical statistic for managerial shitheadness for me to quote. As for Wang, I'm consistent there too. I've been saying I have a problem with him since long before he ever got hurt, and for the same reason I'm saying it now. The guy doesn't want to throw his best pitch. He wants to be a strikeout pitcher, and has ever since his arbitration. He's not, and forcing it makes him a worse pitcher. If he wants to go back to throwing lots of sliders, then wonderful. I'm all in favor of keeping him. If he's going to continue to be stubborn though, he can take a walk. This is where I blame Girardi and Eiland. What exactly is a manager expected to do? Because every time I bring up another issue with Girardi there's a reason why it's irrelevant. If the guy isn't responsible for anything, then what is he needed for? To hand the lineup card to the ump? I'm pretty sure the bat boy can handle it. To give pep talks when the team is losing? Thanks Herm. So what is it that he's there for?
Who the fuck do you want? 90% of us wanted Torre gone, good and happy. Who out there would you replace Girardi with? Please.
You have zero basis for this crap with Wang. You say he's not throwing his best pitch. Have you seen his sinker lately? It's not sinking consistently. He's been struggling to get through games. The problem is not the slider or four-seamer or that he's "trying" to be a strikeout pitcher (but I'm sure he's told you this, right?)... those aren't the pitches that get hit hard. The pitches that get hit hard are the sinkers that don't sink. As for the other stuff, you're not consistent. You're flaky... because you're hedging your bets. Two game losing streak and it's back to your "consistent" position of "Fire everyone!" Where was that talk when they were winning? Oh, right... you were just enjoying them winning. It's a 162-game season. There will be losing streaks. It's not going to be a cakewalk to the finish line. People need to get a serious grip on reality and start to understand that. Or just continue to freak out. Whatever. I don't care.
Alio has always been consistently manic, Cappy. Don't get uptight about it. I watched this on NESN and Eckersly, who is a complete tool but not quite Waldmanesque, said something about Wang's sinker, when its sinking, ends up out of the strike zone. Guys are laying off his best pitch and taking it for balls and he's having problems adapting. I think his injury is more accountable for his horrendous year, but if the league has figured him out, he's toast.
Greg Maddux never threw a strike in his life. Neither did David Cone for that matter. The league never figured them out. Im not buying this Wang is done business. I saw a lot of guys look stupid at the plate last night. Of course I saw a lot of guys look great also. Its coming back for Wang, Im telling you. You all know im a negative irrational bastard. But im not crazy enough to throw away a guy whos won 45 games in 2 plus years because of 5 or 6 bad starts coming off an injury. Its lunacy people.
Yah, I know, just throwing it out there for the benefit of you poor saps who don't live in New England and get the Sox broadcasts. Fuck all if I know whether Eckersly knows what he's talking about. Seems pretty stupid, but, it is Boston you know.
All I know about Eck as a broadcaster is that he called Justin Masterson "Justin Masturbate" during a game.
Hedging my bets? I've been vocal even when they're winning that I don't want Girardi here. That's consistent, not hedging my bets. And I've been anti-Eiland for a pretty long time too (hell, I don't remember the last good thing I said about him.) And if you don't care, don't respond. It actually takes more effort to type out a response and hit Submit Reply than to just ignore me. ---------- Anyway, that's an interesting post Dierking. I wonder how much truth there is to it, but it would make sense. And if it's the case, I'd happily admit to be wrong (well, not happily because it would suck for Wang, but I'd at least be fine admitting I was wrong.) If he's throwing the same stuff he used to, but guys aren't being fooled, like you said, he's toast. I'll admit it could be selective memory on my part (and I'm not going to go back and watch film to determine whether I'm right or wrong) but I've been saying for the past few years that he's throwing different pitches and looking for Ks, rather than the ground ball outs that were making a 19 game winner. Maybe it's a combination? Maybe because he realizes the league has caught up to the sinker he's trying to throw other stuff to get outs? I could see that. In that case, it comes back to Eiland. Either he has to give Wang the confidence to throw his sinker, or he has to teach him to work without it.
Is anyone really suprised by this? Wang has always been a statistical anomaly. Obviously he's not as bad as he's looked this year but expecting him to sustain that level of success with a 4 k/9 was ridiculous.
More or less. Pitching to contact is one thing but Wang's inability to get hitters to swing and miss was going to catch up with him sooner or later. When nearly every batter is putting the ball in play there is a lot that can go wrong.
I hear ya but the whole idea is the kind of contact his pitches induce. In 06 he had like a 3.1 k/9 and had a great year...07 he was in the 4s. The whole problem now is his location and his sinker aint sinkin right.Thats why hes gettin hit hard
Hasn't Wang been given enough chances as a starter this season? He hasn't even had anything remotely resembling a decent start this year...but he was OK in the pen. Phil on the other hand had a few good starts and really only one disasterous start.
