New York Yankees News
Young right-hander impressives, entertains teammates
By Ryan Mink / MLB.com
Chien-Ming Wang sat peacefully at his locker, flipping through a Lexus brochure while listening to his iPod. Nobody took notice and Wang certainly isn't one to stir up the clubhouse.
Yankees third-base coach Larry Bowa, on the other hand, likes to bark at players during walks from the bathroom to the coaches' room. His target that day was Wang, the quiet Taiwan native.
"What the [heck] did you do, Wang?" Bowa shouted, breaking the room's near silence. Bowa was insinuating that Wang had ditched his pregame routine despite seeing the pitcher's sweat-drenched back.
"Get outta here!"
Wang just stared up in confusion, pretending not to know what Bowa was saying. It's all part of his act and almost fooled Bowa.
"Every time I get on him, he pitches eight innings," Bowa explained to a somewhat bewildered Shawn Chacon.
It seems that added stress almost fuels Wang, who at the age of 26 has become one of the best young pitchers in baseball. But it's humor that has made him fit into the Yankees' clubhouse.
Wang returns the joke when the game starts. As the Yankees prepare for their first inning at the plate, Wang points to Bowa in the dugout and yells, "Out," signaling for him to get out and coach third base.
"The things that he says and the way he says them are just priceless," first baseman Andy Phillips said with a broad smile on his face.
Wang, a six-year United States resident, still speaks very broken English -- although his coaches say he knows more than he lets on. Wang said he requested a translator in the Minors, but "it never happened."
Now he doesn't want one. Wang enjoys soaking in the language.
He gets some English lessons from his apartment neighbors, but doesn't plan on taking any formal tutoring. Wang often spends his time memorizing funny one-liners to use with his teammates, but Bowa said they aren't fit to print.
Most of the time Wang sits silently facing his locker, as if he doesn't want to bother anybody.
"He doesn't really understand where he fits in this clubhouse yet," Bowa said. "But everybody looks at him in a different light. They look at him as a star, as a high-priced performer. And they count on him every time he pitches."
Whenever his teammates talk about him there are two things they mention -- Wang feels no pressure and has one killer sinker.
It's the first attribute that has made the second-year starter tailor-made to play in baseball's premier pressure-cooker.
"I'm sure there have been times, but I've never seen him get excited or upset about anything," Mike Mussina said with a laugh. "I don't know if that's the language barrier or just how he is. But being a pitcher, that's a good thing to have."
On June 18 at Washington, Wang took a one-run lead into the ninth inning, but allowed a walk-off homer to Ryan Zimmerman. It was the only time any of his coaches or teammates could remember seeing Wang show any emotion, as he threw his glove upon returning to the dugout.
The next day, pitching coach Ron Guidry joked with Wang, telling him that the next time he sent him out to finish off a complete game, he better do it. Guidry told Wang that if he didn't pitch well in his next start, they were going to fight the next day in the bullpen.
Wang went seven innings and picked up a win in his next outing.
"I've come to learn that nothing really fazes him," Guidry said. "I don't know if it's that he's not caught up in the realm of where he's at, what all this stuff means. He just goes out and pitches and tries to do the best job he can."
Wang (14-11, 4.01 ERA) leads the Yankees with 12 starts of at least seven innings and averages near 6 2/3 innings per start. Wang is eighth in the Major Leagues entering Thursday's action in innings pitched in 21 starts.
Asked if he has been pleased with his success, Wang shook his hand as if to say, "So-so."
"Maybe lucky?" he said with a bashful grin. "I want better, better, better."
Catcher Jorge Posada says without hesitation that Wang has the best stuff in the Yankees' rotation. Guidry feels Wang could be an ace for the Yankees, if not another team, in a couple years.
While Wang can throw as hard as Randy Johnson, he averages fewer than three strikeouts per nine innings. Guidry said Wang could blow away opponents with a mid-90s fastball if he wanted to, but Wang would rather throw his devastating sinker.
"That's his bread-and-butter pitch," Guidry said. "It's like a bowling bowl. When you watch guys hit it, it doesn't go anywhere."
Wang learned the sinker when he attended the Taipei College of Physical Education in Taiwan. But it's not the groundball pitch that has made Wang seem like a steady veteran in just his sophomore season.
"I just think the Asian guys who come over here are so well schooled," Bowa said, also using Hideki Matsui as evidence. "Their work ethic is second to none. They've just been taught all along the way how way you play the game. You respect the game."
That was never more evident in Wang's next to last start against the Mariners. Wang didn't have his best stuff and was constantly in trouble. Three Alex Rodriguez errors behind him didn't help.
But Wang never lost his composure and allowed just two earned runs in seven innings to pick up the win.
Asked about the errors after the game, Wang simply said, "Nobody's perfect."
It's as if Wang has been in the league for years. Even before Wang made his Major League debut in April 2005, manager Joe Torre said he was pleased with flashes of veteran poise from the pitcher. Now Torre counts on Wang to give the bullpen a rest every fifth day.
"We rely on him," Torre said. "When you put him in the company of Randy and Moose, that's a pretty good neighborhood. He's earned that spot. Unfortunately [because he's so young] we expect him to do well all the time."
But despite his success, Wang remains a pitcher not too many teams know about.
Mariners batting coach Jeff Pentland hadn't heard much about Wang -- other than that he had a good sinker -- before facing him on July 17. After spending a couple hours of watching him on tape, Pentland compared Wang to Roy Halladay, the Blue Jays' former Cy Young winner.
"I'm sure he could care less if anybody knows who he was," Phillips said.
That's just the way Wang is.
Ryan Mink is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
2006/07/28
2006/07/18
7/17 Wang undoes the damage of Bombers' four errors
Yankees just keep on winning
It's very rare for a team to win a game when the final linescore shows the same number in both the runs and errors columns.
But that's how good life is for the Yankees right now.
New York continued its post-All-Star streak on Monday night, winning for the fourth consecutive day with a 4-2 victory over the Mariners.
Chien-Ming Wang bailed out his team on several occasions after it tied a season high with four errors, three of them committed by Alex Rodriguez at third base.
"He got everybody out of a lot of jams tonight," said manager Joe Torre. "The kid is special -- he doesn't panic. He came right back and got some huge outs for us. We need to play better defense than that, but with the ground-ball possibility when he pitches, we played well when we needed to."
"Wang kept getting ground ball after ground ball. He's unbelievable," A-Rod said. "He pitched a great game today."
New York has now won eight of its last nine games, having swept the White Sox over the weekend. The Yankees used a three-run second inning on Monday to take a lead they would never relinquish.
Wang (10-4) allowed two runs over seven innings, earning his 10th win of the season. Mike Myers and Scott Proctor combined for a scoreless eighth, then Mariano Rivera escaped a jam of his own, notching his 22nd save of the season.
The Yankees are the first team in the Majors with three 10-game winners on their staff, with Wang joining Mike Mussina (11-3) and Randy Johnson (10-7).
Wang gave up a rare first-inning run, just the first time in his last 14 starts and third time in 20 starts this season that the opposition had struck against him in the opening frame. Ichiro Suzuki singled and eventually scored on Raul Ibanez's sacrifice fly, giving the Mariners an early lead.
"The pitching coach told me [I was] going too quickly and throwing out my front shoulder," Wang said. "I tried to throw so hard, and it opened too quickly."
Seattle starter Jarrod Washburn (4-10) didn't hold that lead for long. The Yankees scored three runs in the second inning, with Miguel Cairo's two-run single giving New York the lead. Johnny Damon added an RBI single, making it a 3-1 game.
Jason Giambi crushed a 2-1 pitch from Washburn with two outs in the fifth, parking his 28th home run of the season into the upper deck to put the Yankees ahead, 4-1.
"Jarrod threw a great game," Giambi said. "We got some big hits when we needed them, pushed some runs across. I got a slider that hung in the strike zone, put it in play, hit it well, and it went into the upper deck. I'm getting my pitch and not missing it."
Wang retired the side in order in the second and third innings, but A-Rod's first error of the night put the leadoff man on in the fourth. Wang quickly induced a double play off the bat of Ibanez, helping him put another zero on the scoreboard.
"It's worse if it causes runs," Torre said of the error. "It didn't cause any runs tonight. We dodged a bullet."
Rodriguez's second error came in the fifth, turning a potential inning-ending double play into first and second with one out for Seattle. Wang worked his way out of the jam with a pair of ground balls, stranding the bases loaded.
"I just try to not give them too much," Wang said. "Nobody's perfect."
"The thing that Wang does so great is that you can make some mistakes behind him and he gets the double play," Giambi said. "He can constantly work himself out of big situations. He came up with some big outs after we made some mistakes."
Seattle countered with a run in the sixth, but Wang got his second double-play ball of the night to end the inning, foiling yet another potential rally.
"We had our chances but just didn't capitalize," said Seattle manager Mike Hargrove. "He's got a very good sinker. When guys get in trouble, guys go with their go-to pitch. He used his sinker and got a lot of ground balls."
As if Rodriguez's night wasn't bad enough with the career-high three errors, he was removed from the game after the seventh inning with a bruised left big toe, the result of a foul ball off his foot in the fifth. He will have X-rays taken on Tuesday morning, and is questionable for Tuesday night's game.
"He was favoring it a lot," Torre said. "After he struck out, I went over to talk to him and sent him inside to ice it. In a close game, if he loses his mobility, it's not going to help us."
The Yankees remain a half-game behind the Red Sox in the American League East, as Boston came from behind to defeat Kansas City, 5-4, at Fenway Park. Sidney Ponson, making his first start in pinstripes, will try to extend the Yankees' streak to five games on Tuesday.
The Yankees hope to play a cleaner game than it did on Monday, but if the final result is the same, they won't be complaining.
"Sometimes you're going to win ugly," Derek Jeter said of Monday's victory. "As long as you win, that's the key."
Mark Feinsand is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
It's very rare for a team to win a game when the final linescore shows the same number in both the runs and errors columns.
But that's how good life is for the Yankees right now.
New York continued its post-All-Star streak on Monday night, winning for the fourth consecutive day with a 4-2 victory over the Mariners.
Chien-Ming Wang bailed out his team on several occasions after it tied a season high with four errors, three of them committed by Alex Rodriguez at third base.
"He got everybody out of a lot of jams tonight," said manager Joe Torre. "The kid is special -- he doesn't panic. He came right back and got some huge outs for us. We need to play better defense than that, but with the ground-ball possibility when he pitches, we played well when we needed to."
"Wang kept getting ground ball after ground ball. He's unbelievable," A-Rod said. "He pitched a great game today."
New York has now won eight of its last nine games, having swept the White Sox over the weekend. The Yankees used a three-run second inning on Monday to take a lead they would never relinquish.
Wang (10-4) allowed two runs over seven innings, earning his 10th win of the season. Mike Myers and Scott Proctor combined for a scoreless eighth, then Mariano Rivera escaped a jam of his own, notching his 22nd save of the season.
The Yankees are the first team in the Majors with three 10-game winners on their staff, with Wang joining Mike Mussina (11-3) and Randy Johnson (10-7).
Wang gave up a rare first-inning run, just the first time in his last 14 starts and third time in 20 starts this season that the opposition had struck against him in the opening frame. Ichiro Suzuki singled and eventually scored on Raul Ibanez's sacrifice fly, giving the Mariners an early lead.
"The pitching coach told me [I was] going too quickly and throwing out my front shoulder," Wang said. "I tried to throw so hard, and it opened too quickly."
Seattle starter Jarrod Washburn (4-10) didn't hold that lead for long. The Yankees scored three runs in the second inning, with Miguel Cairo's two-run single giving New York the lead. Johnny Damon added an RBI single, making it a 3-1 game.
Jason Giambi crushed a 2-1 pitch from Washburn with two outs in the fifth, parking his 28th home run of the season into the upper deck to put the Yankees ahead, 4-1.
"Jarrod threw a great game," Giambi said. "We got some big hits when we needed them, pushed some runs across. I got a slider that hung in the strike zone, put it in play, hit it well, and it went into the upper deck. I'm getting my pitch and not missing it."
Wang retired the side in order in the second and third innings, but A-Rod's first error of the night put the leadoff man on in the fourth. Wang quickly induced a double play off the bat of Ibanez, helping him put another zero on the scoreboard.
"It's worse if it causes runs," Torre said of the error. "It didn't cause any runs tonight. We dodged a bullet."
Rodriguez's second error came in the fifth, turning a potential inning-ending double play into first and second with one out for Seattle. Wang worked his way out of the jam with a pair of ground balls, stranding the bases loaded.
"I just try to not give them too much," Wang said. "Nobody's perfect."
"The thing that Wang does so great is that you can make some mistakes behind him and he gets the double play," Giambi said. "He can constantly work himself out of big situations. He came up with some big outs after we made some mistakes."
Seattle countered with a run in the sixth, but Wang got his second double-play ball of the night to end the inning, foiling yet another potential rally.
"We had our chances but just didn't capitalize," said Seattle manager Mike Hargrove. "He's got a very good sinker. When guys get in trouble, guys go with their go-to pitch. He used his sinker and got a lot of ground balls."
As if Rodriguez's night wasn't bad enough with the career-high three errors, he was removed from the game after the seventh inning with a bruised left big toe, the result of a foul ball off his foot in the fifth. He will have X-rays taken on Tuesday morning, and is questionable for Tuesday night's game.
"He was favoring it a lot," Torre said. "After he struck out, I went over to talk to him and sent him inside to ice it. In a close game, if he loses his mobility, it's not going to help us."
The Yankees remain a half-game behind the Red Sox in the American League East, as Boston came from behind to defeat Kansas City, 5-4, at Fenway Park. Sidney Ponson, making his first start in pinstripes, will try to extend the Yankees' streak to five games on Tuesday.
The Yankees hope to play a cleaner game than it did on Monday, but if the final result is the same, they won't be complaining.
"Sometimes you're going to win ugly," Derek Jeter said of Monday's victory. "As long as you win, that's the key."
Mark Feinsand is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
2006/07/17
17th of July
MacUser: Remember, remember the 17th of July
It’s the Mac holiday celebrated the world over as "iCal day." Open up that Applications folder and gaze upon the iCal icon. What mysteries does its July 17th date hold? What might we learn about the thought process of Steve Jobs et al if we could only understand what July 17th really meant?
On the other hand, perhaps we can merely settle for the fact that July 17th, 2002 was the day that Apple introduced iCal. Well, hurrah. Happy 4th birthday, iCal.
It’s the Mac holiday celebrated the world over as "iCal day." Open up that Applications folder and gaze upon the iCal icon. What mysteries does its July 17th date hold? What might we learn about the thought process of Steve Jobs et al if we could only understand what July 17th really meant?
On the other hand, perhaps we can merely settle for the fact that July 17th, 2002 was the day that Apple introduced iCal. Well, hurrah. Happy 4th birthday, iCal.
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