Chien-Ming Wang Sucks

I think the title of this post says it all. It really pains me to write that too, because I am a really big Wang guy. I've written many times that Wang is a true ace. I'm not so sure I think that anymore. There's no two ways about it. Wang sucks right now. I can't believe how bad he sucks right now. I'm not even sure he'll be able to bounce back from this. He's God awful.

As I was watching the game, I couldn't help but feel excited when Wang pitched a 1-2-3 first inning. I'll admit it. I thought he was in the clear. Next thing I know Wang is walking off the field to the loudest boos I've heard in a while. He deserved everything the Yankee Stadium crowd threw at him. In 3 starts, Wang had now pitched a grand total of 6 innings and has allowed 23 earned runs, pitching to a ERA of 34.50. His WHIP is 4.83 and opponents are now hitting .622 off Wang. It would take 40 scoreless innings by Wang to get his ERA down to 4.50. 40 scoreless innings just to get to 4.50. Unreal. I love the Wanger, but he sucks right now. He's killing the team.

Anthony Claggett made his Yankee/MLB debut today and I'll be he wish he hadn't. Talk about a set back. He was worse than Wang was and that's hard to do. Admittedly, I don't know much about Claggett. Now, I don't know if I'll ever get the chance. I can't see him making a return to the bigs anytime soon. I am assuming of course that he gets sent back down. He has too, right?

My buddy Dave sent me 4 e-mails during the game. The subject of the first one was "Joe Giradi needs to be fired" and it read, "I am ruining my Saturday watching this Yankee garbage." His second e-mail had the same subject and read, "along with Eiland. And Cashman. Grovel to get Guidry and Mattingly back." His 3rd e-mail was titled "F tha Yankees" and he wrote, "I refuse to spend a dime while Giradi, Eiland and Cashman are running this team. You couldn't pay me to see this team. And they haver a ton of empty seats- Sell outs my ass." He concluded his tirade writing a 4th e-mail titled "Posada can't catch" and he wrote, "He's been the catcher for each of these ass whoopins- sit his ass at DH and play Molina if you want good pitching. Mussina was right after all." Dang Dave, tell me how you really feel. I feel your pain brother.

I don't think firing Girardi or Cashman is the answer. It's not their fault Wang is pitching as bad as he is. I also don't think you can put the blame on Posada. This is all on Wang. He's pitched long enough and well enough that his poor outings can't be blamed on anybody but Wang. I do think Dave Eiland has a small amount of responsibility here. I'm with Dave there. I much prefer Guidry to Eiland. Eiland was brought on because he was so great with all of the young pitchers. Those young pitchers, namely Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, haven't fared too well under Eiland's guidance. I wouldn't complain if Eiland was given the boot.

As for Posada, I agree with Dave a little bit. I don't think Jorge is the best game-caller, but I don't think the poor performance by the pitchers are the result of Jorge being behind the plate. Chien-Ming Wang throwing flat sinkers that are up in the zone isn't Jorge's fault. Posada sets the target and if the guy is off with his location, is it really his fault? On the other hand, I've seen guys, specifically Mike Mussina, perform much better with other catchers. I know Randy Johnson wasn't a Jorge fan either. So maybe there's a little something to it.

I'm not sure what to think about the new Yankee Stadium right now. It's looking like it's going to be a launching pad. There have been 17 home runs through the first 3 games in the new park. That's a lot of dingers. I'm inclined to think that as the weather warms up, the balls will be flying out of there at higher rates. I am very interested to see how the park plays into things as the season progresses. For more thoughts on that, check out what Steve at Was Watching has put together in his latest blog entry. I agree with Dave that the place looks empty at times. I think that has more to do with the Yankees pricing strategy than anything else. I hope they figure that out because it definitely looks empty on TV.

A.J. Burnett goes up against Carl Pavano tomorrow. Burnett needs to pitch another good game. He's done a good job so far and he really needs to pick the club up tomorrow and pick deep into the game. Hopefully, the Carl Pavano we all know and hate will show up. If CP pitches like we all expect him to, which is terribly, the new Yankee Stadium might eat him alive. Watch, now that I say that, he'll throw a gem.. Ah, who am I kidding? It's Carl Pavano.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie