Yes, we all know Chien-Ming Wang has been terrible. Six innings in three starts is literally impossible. Well, it was. His ERA rose from 28.93 to 34.50.
But what can we do to solve this situation?
According to Tyler Kepner, the Yankees can’t option him and they can’t put him on the disabled list.
Wang is out of minor-league options, and according to Girardi, there is no way he could be sent to the minors without allowing other teams the chance to claim him. There is no scenario under which Wang could agree to an assignment and bypass the waiver system. If the Yankees try to send him down, they would lose him. It’s that simple.
Girardi is also on record as saying Wang is not injured, so the disabled list is not an option, either. The most logical route is to skip Wang on Friday and let him pitch on April 28 at Detroit. That gives him nine days off to work on mechanics and re-build his confidence.
Kevin Devaney Jr. explains more about the waiver rule:
A team cannot send a player to the minors unless they have options or the player agrees and has at least five years of service. Wang has no options and hasn’t been in the majors long enough.
So what can the Yankees do? In Kepner’s entry, he explains that because of this Thursday’s off-day, the Yankees can skip his turn in Boston. Joe Girardi said “there’s some room to play with some things.”
Nothing has been made final, but something has to be done. The Yankees can’t keep throwing him out there like this.
2 comments:
They should send Wang to see Harvey Dorfman, the famous sports psychologist who had helped Roy Halladay.
It's a matter of finding his groove, working on his mechanics, getting his confidence back. The "how" is the tricky part. Putting him in the bullpen for long relief? It worked out for Mussina, even though he didn't particularly relish the assignment.
Wang is in one of those odd funks coming off mainly strong seasons, albeit with an injury last year. Can he turned it around? It's just three starts in, something not to be particularly alarmed with just yet. Pitchers have started off poorly and then rebounded the rest of the year.
Post a Comment