My Take on Wang: Send Him to the Bullpen

We are 12 games into the seasons Yankee fans. We are 6-6. With our new improved rotation we all expected better. However we start off slowly every season. Pettitte and Sabathia are second half pitchers, and we don't yet have A-Rod. It can't surprise us this much. However, one thing does surprise me. Chien-Ming Wang has 3 of our 6 losses.

Wang has been one word. Awful. Call him whatever you want, but they will all be synonyms of that word. Through 3 starts, he hasn't finished the second inning twice, given up at least 7 runs in each start (8 in his last two), and is 0-3 with a 34.50 ERA. Something isn't right.

This is supposed to be the same pitcher that won 19 games two years in a row. The same pitcher that started last season 8-2. Before this season he has lost two starts in a row just once (beginning of 2007). And now we come into this season, he had a nice spring, and we feel that we have a potential ace on most teams as our number 3 pitcher. Then he comes out and gets bombed for 3 straight starts. The crowd at Yankee Stadium really let him hear it yesterday as he walked off the mound with the Yankees already essentially out of the game. Almost 50,000 fans booed him off the mound as he came out of the game with his ERA somehow higher than when he came in.

Something is going wrong with him. I don't know what it is. The Yankees need to figure that out. He's leaving pitches up in the middle of the plate. His sinker isn't sinking. Whatever "adjustment" the Yankees made between this start and his last one did nothing. They need to figure out what is wrong. However, they can't afford to keep sending him out to get destroyed while he's trying to figure it out. That will cost the Yankees games. They are .500 now because of him. 

He can't be sent down to the minors. He is out of options, so he would have to pass through waivers where he would almost certainly be claimed. Whatever work he has to go through, it has to be here.

So, they can't send him down, and they can't keep sending him out there. That leaves one option. Bench him. Demote him to the bullpen to figure it out. Send him up against real hitters like before, but more than just one time. I don't know how they are going to solve his struggles, but they need to. He's a big part of this rotation. The Yankees are counting on him for 15-20 wins. They can't afford him to pull an Ian Kennedy of last year, or an August Mike Mussina of 2007 for an extended period of time. 

Now that I come to think of it, Mussina was demoted to the bullpen. He figured out his problems there, had one relief appearance, got some confidence back, and came back to be the Yankees best pitcher in September of that year. I think that is what needs to be done with Wang (despite the fact that his ERA is almost twice as bad as Mussina's in August of 2007). Bring up Hughes or Kennedy from the minors (both are pitching great!), and put Wang in the bullpen. Have him figure it out there.

I know that he's capable of turing it around. He's a two time 19 game winner and only 29 years old. Last years injury can hardly be considered as a "career threatening injury." However, the way the Yankees have to do it isn't to keep sending him out there. His next scheduled start is against the Red Sox. Don't let him make it. There is an off day in between the end of the Oakland series and the beginning of the Red Sox series. You can skip Wang and go right to Burnett. Use the bullpen time to figure him out. Use Hughes and Kennedy if you have to. Do whatever it takes. Just don't send him out there unless you feel confident he has his problems solved.

Also, like I said in my last article, I'm visiting Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. I'm sitting in Field Infield seats. Anything on what the experience is like or how the seats are would be appreciated. Thanks!

Yankees want Joba in rotation: BIG MISTAKE

Mlb.com has reported that Yankees RHP Joba Chamberlain is preparing for a full season in the Yankees starting rotation. This has been a big controversy in the last few years. Start him, or put him in the pen? I, for one, am against starting him. I have been from the start. I have many reasons, and those reasons make it so that it just doesn't make sense to put him in the rotation

Joba has already proven himself as a brilliant reliever. He posted a 0.38 ERA in 2007 in middle relief, and had a strong season in 2008 out of the pen as well. Yankee fans, and the front office knows that he can pitch out of the bullpen. He would shorten up the game. The starters only have to go 7 innings, because the last 2 innings are locked down. That way, guys like CC Sabathia don't have to throw 251 innings during the regular season, and might be successful when it really matters in the playoffs. They may even have to throw less. The Yankees bullpen was the strength of this team last year, and if guys like Veras, Ramirez, Coke, Marte, and Bruney come through like last season, the game is even more shortened for the starter.

Joba has a lot of energy. What I have noticed is that he runs himself on enthusiasm, and it helps him pitch in games. The "fist pump" is a perfect example of him showing his enthusiasm. It is very difficult to keep that enthusiasm for a 7 inning start, but he is easy to keep it for an inning. That energy he has in the pen won't be there as much if he is starting.

He may get hurt. He could break down if he starts. He broke down in August last year, and that turned out to be costly to the teams playoffs chances. Who's to say it won't happen again? Would you rather have no Joba at all?

Putting Joba in the rotation would mean another year without Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Alfredo Aceves to develop. You guys all know that I am big on wanting these kids to develop. They have all proven that they can pitch at the big league level. I think that they have a lot of potential to be just as good as Chamberlain, and I feel that the sooner you develop them, the sooner they will become that good.

He should be a reliever. There is no bad to it, and almost no risk. He can take Rivera's place in 3 years and the Yankees will still have one of the best closers in the game. He throws too many pitches to be a starter. He will be gone after the 5th on most starts. I just think he is best suited for the bullpen

So what do you guys think. Leave your comments with your decision. Starter or reliever? If I may try and influence your decision even more, what is it you want. For him to influence 80 games, or 30 with the chance of breaking down?  

Yankees Could Get Garcia

The New York Yankees have emerged as top candidates, along with the New York Mets, as favorites to land RHP Freddy Garcia, according to FOXsports.com. The Mets probably need him much more, as after Santana the Mets have nothing but question marks. The Yankees, however, need someone too.

The Yankees need a number 5 starter. The Yankees would like Andy Pettitte back, but as you already know I am against that. They also could use the kids, and have some competition from Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Alfredo Aceves, and even Phil Coke. They could pursue the trade market, and see if teams are fielding offers. They also could go, once again, back into the free agent and pursue guys still available, like Ben Sheets, and, Freddy Garcia.

I, for one, do not believe that he should be a Yankee. I have no problem with him as a person, but his health is a question. He hasn't pitched a full season in 2 years, and the last time he posted a good ERA was 3 years ago. The Yankees are already going to take a chance with AJ Burnett, hope Mariano Rivera has no lasting effects from surgery, and hope Joba Chamberlain can stay healthy as a starter. The Yankees need to start developing these young kids, the sooner they do it, the sooner they will develop. Getting Freddy Garcia will mean another year without the kids having a full year in the majors. Sacrificing young, cheap talent for another injury prone pitcher could wind up being a disaster. If they get him, and he gets hurt, it's another 5-10 million dollars wasted. I think they've wasted enough money the last bunch of years. In the last 10 years or so, every single free agent pitcher they have gotten, with the acception of Mike Mussina, has not lived up to expectations. I did not agree with the signing of AJ Burnett (if I had this blog when they got him, I would have written about it. I would have preferred Derek Lowe. I hope I'm wrong about Burnett), and I don't agree with the possible signing of Freddy Garcia. Go with the kids. Let them develop. They will regret it if they don't.

What do you think they should do?