RebelAzn
May 3rd, 2008, 04:39 AM
Without this guy, Yankees would be in sad state. Yankee has 15 victories this year, Chien-Ming was responsible for 7 of those wins while rest of Yankee pitchers are combined for the other 8. This guy could win the Cy Young award this year. He is the 2nd fastest picture to reach 50 wins besides Dwight Gooden.
http://www.courant.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sports/hc-yankees0503.artmay03,0,4883202.story
Wang Wins 6th For Yankees
By JIM BAUMBACH | Newsday
May 3, 2008
NEW YORK - — Forget the youth movement with the Yankees rotation. They need to find a way to clone Chien-Ming Wang.
With their offense hitting the snooze button and the rest of their pitching staff struggling, Wang has become just about the only sure thing the Yankees have. Imagine for a second where they'd be without him.
Against the Mariners on Friday night, Wang allowed one run, three hits and two walks in six innings, helping the Yankees break their three-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory before 52,199 at Yankee Stadium.
Wang improved to 6-0, the most wins in the American League, and notched his 11th straight victory when starting after a Yankees loss.
Manager Joe Girardi knocked on his wooden desk when that streak was mentioned to him. He said he didn't know about it, but he clearly wasn't surprised.
"We've won 15 games, and seven of those games are his [starts]," Girardi said. "So he's been pretty important to us."
Wang is 22-6 overall when he starts after a loss, and the Yankees are 27-7 in those games.
Wang is also 7-0 in seven career starts against the Mariners.
The Yankees' offense, with help from the Mariners' shoddy defense, gave Wang a 3-0 lead against Erik Bedard (2-1) after two innings. He did exactly what Ian Kennedy couldn't do the night before: make an early three-run lead stand up.
Hideki Matsui's two-out RBI single to left field in the first and Melky Cabrera's two-run double in the second was all the offense Wang and the Yankees needed. Morgan Ensberg's RBI single and Jose Molina's sacrifice fly in the eighth provided a cushion.
Kyle Farnsworth, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera each threw a scoreless inning to complete the four-hitter.
Wang may not say much in the clubhouse, but he's easily one of the most popular players on the team. It's almost as if everyone gets a rise whenever he pitches.
"He's our guy," Rivera said.
"You know you're going to be active in the field," Girardi said. "You're going to be moving around, making plays. Players like that."
That was especially true on an unseasonably cold, breezy night. There was a 16-mph wind blowing from left to right and the temperature was in the mid-40s, so the Yankees were more than happy to be active.
The only sign of worry came when Wang called Molina to the mound in the fifth and Molina called Girardi out. Wang had a cramp at the base of his right thumb, but within seconds it went away. He pitched the sixth, but Girardi then replaced him with Farnsworth.
"We figured it was best to get him out," Girardi said.
The Mariners made four errors in the first three innings, and two of the Yankees' runs were a direct result of them.
The Yankees had just four hits against Bedard, but for a team that came in hitting .241 (59-for-245) with runners in scoring position, 12th in the American League, they saw it as progress.
"That's what you have to do, especially against a guy like Bedard," Girardi said.
http://www.courant.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sports/hc-yankees0503.artmay03,0,4883202.story
Wang Wins 6th For Yankees
By JIM BAUMBACH | Newsday
May 3, 2008
NEW YORK - — Forget the youth movement with the Yankees rotation. They need to find a way to clone Chien-Ming Wang.
With their offense hitting the snooze button and the rest of their pitching staff struggling, Wang has become just about the only sure thing the Yankees have. Imagine for a second where they'd be without him.
Against the Mariners on Friday night, Wang allowed one run, three hits and two walks in six innings, helping the Yankees break their three-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory before 52,199 at Yankee Stadium.
Wang improved to 6-0, the most wins in the American League, and notched his 11th straight victory when starting after a Yankees loss.
Manager Joe Girardi knocked on his wooden desk when that streak was mentioned to him. He said he didn't know about it, but he clearly wasn't surprised.
"We've won 15 games, and seven of those games are his [starts]," Girardi said. "So he's been pretty important to us."
Wang is 22-6 overall when he starts after a loss, and the Yankees are 27-7 in those games.
Wang is also 7-0 in seven career starts against the Mariners.
The Yankees' offense, with help from the Mariners' shoddy defense, gave Wang a 3-0 lead against Erik Bedard (2-1) after two innings. He did exactly what Ian Kennedy couldn't do the night before: make an early three-run lead stand up.
Hideki Matsui's two-out RBI single to left field in the first and Melky Cabrera's two-run double in the second was all the offense Wang and the Yankees needed. Morgan Ensberg's RBI single and Jose Molina's sacrifice fly in the eighth provided a cushion.
Kyle Farnsworth, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera each threw a scoreless inning to complete the four-hitter.
Wang may not say much in the clubhouse, but he's easily one of the most popular players on the team. It's almost as if everyone gets a rise whenever he pitches.
"He's our guy," Rivera said.
"You know you're going to be active in the field," Girardi said. "You're going to be moving around, making plays. Players like that."
That was especially true on an unseasonably cold, breezy night. There was a 16-mph wind blowing from left to right and the temperature was in the mid-40s, so the Yankees were more than happy to be active.
The only sign of worry came when Wang called Molina to the mound in the fifth and Molina called Girardi out. Wang had a cramp at the base of his right thumb, but within seconds it went away. He pitched the sixth, but Girardi then replaced him with Farnsworth.
"We figured it was best to get him out," Girardi said.
The Mariners made four errors in the first three innings, and two of the Yankees' runs were a direct result of them.
The Yankees had just four hits against Bedard, but for a team that came in hitting .241 (59-for-245) with runners in scoring position, 12th in the American League, they saw it as progress.
"That's what you have to do, especially against a guy like Bedard," Girardi said.