Mr. Chien Ming Wang, No Offense

Everybody have fun tonight.  Everybody have fun tonight.  Everybody Wang Chung tonight.  -Wang Chung

Public Service Announcement:  Ok, here we go!  The New York Yankees have been just awful lately.  Just terrible lately.  Downright atrocious lately.  If you say it loud enough, you’ll always sound precocious.  Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye!  The Yankees have now lost three in a row.  The Yankees are now 4-6 in their last ten.  The Yankees are now five games back in the AL Beast.  How does that happen?  I’ll tell you how it happens.  I’ll tell you pitching wins championships.  I’ll tell you you’re only as good as your next starter.  I’ll tell you if Chien-Ming Wang is your next starter, you’re in big trouble.  Trouble with a capital “T” and that rhymes with “P” and that stands for pitching!       

Mr. Wang, no offense, once won the most games in Major League Baseball.  Mr. Wang, no offense, was once at the top of the Yankees rotation and the ace of a staff that featured such veterans as Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte.  He was the fastest Major Leaguer to record 50 wins as a starter since Dwight Gooden.  The quickest Yankee to 50 wins since Louisiana Lightning himself, since Ron Guidry.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Last night, Chien-Ming Wang was removed for a pinch-hitter after five innings in the Yankees’ loss to the Atlanta Braves.  As bad as that sounds, it matched his longest outing in seven starts this season.  Egads man!  That ties the Yankees record for consecutive starts of five innings or less.  That ties the record set by a forty-two tear-old knuckleballer whose knuckleball stopped knuckling.  That ties the record set by Joe Niekro in 1986.  

Wait, it gets worse.  Wang’s 38 earned runs in his seven starts matched the highest such total over a span of seven starts in one season by any Yankees pitcher in the last 85 years.  85 years!  The only other Yankees pitcher to allow 38 earned runs over seven starts during that time was big fat David Wells in 1997.  My main Earl Weaver always says, “The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers.”  The Yankees have the three run homer thing down, if only they could take care of that other part.  Ha ha ha!  Roll Sox, roll! 

Public Spectacle: 

Peace out homies.  Six two and Even!

Need More? Chien-Ming Wang, MLB, New York Yankees