Wang Roughed Up In Return To Rotation

Chien-Ming Wang made his return to the Yankee rotation today. It was Wang's first start since April 18th. After spending about a month on the DL, Wang was activated and went to the bullpen, making 3 appearances in 13 days. He threw a total of 8 innings in those 3 relief appearances, pitching well, allowing only 2 earned runs in 8 innings. Then pretty much out of nowhere, Wang was announced as today's starter, with hopes that he could throw about 80 pitches, lasting 5-6 innings. While he didn't do as well as everyone hoped, it wasn't all bad.

I didn't expect Wang to be perfect right out of the gate. I wanted to see a kick-ass outing, but deep down knew it was a long shot. He hasn't really pitched all that much lately. One of the things plaguing Wang earlier this season was his arm strength, which was tied to his leg issues. It would be foolish to think that pitching a total of 8 innings in 13 days would be enough to keep Wang's arm strong. He was good in short bursts, which is why I think he did well in short relief appearances. As we saw today, Wang did really well in the first 2 innings. You can't get much better than perfect. The wheels kind of fell off in the 3rd but it's not as if he was getting hammered like he was before he went on the DL. It's going to take a few starts for Wang to get back into starting form. All things considered, I think today's start was a step in the right direction. He did after all lower his ERA from 16.07 to 14.46. Wang has a long way to go to get back to respectability. It'll take 41 and a-third scoreless innings to get his ERA to 4.50.

Mark Teixiera just knocked in 3 to tie it! A-Rod just singled him home to put the Yanks up 6-5. It's now a whole new ballgame.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie