BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: NY Daily News/Feinsand: Don’t blame Wang for National disaster

Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand

Thursday, June 18, 2009

NY Daily News/Feinsand: Don’t blame Wang for National disaster

Chien-Ming Wang did his job tonight.

I know that won’t be a popular thing to say to Yankees fans right now as they deal with the humiliation of losing a game to the Nationals, but it’s true. Wang gave up three runs in five innings, and if not for a terrible call by the first-base ump in the fifth, it probably would have been two runs in five, possibly allowing him to come back out for the sixth.

Was it vintage Wang? No. Was it much closer to vintage Wang than anything we’ve seen this year? Absolutely. For that reason alone, he deserves to remain in the rotation. As long as he doesn’t take a huge step backwards and get lit up in his next start, this is likely going to be his spot for the foreseeable future.

Wang used his sinker effectively, getting 10 ground ball outs in five innings. Three of the five hits he gave up were seeing-eye grounders (the other three were very hard-hit balls, but every pitcher gives up some of those) and he only walked one batter unintentionally. More important, he looked much more confident, like the silent assassin that mowed down the rest of the AL from 2006-08 before his foot injury sidetracked him.

Girardi said it was “pretty safe to say” that Wang would get the ball again on Tuesday in Atlanta, though the manager wanted to review a tape of the game before making any official announcements.

Baseball-Birthdays.com Posted: June 18, 2009 at 09:48 AM | 24 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: nationals, yankees

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

1. Best Regards, Larry M. Posted: June 18, 2009 at 11:18 AM (#3223207)

They lost to John Lannan more than the rest of the team. No shame in that.

2. Dan Turkenkopf Posted: June 18, 2009 at 12:04 PM (#3223215)

They lost to John Lannan more than the rest of the team. No shame in that.

That and it's one game.

Yes, the Nats aren't very good this season (although they haven't played as bad as their record) and I know it makes for a catchy headline, but "Disaster" goes a little far.

3. TVerik Posted: June 18, 2009 at 12:29 PM (#3223224)

Yeah, that guy's a working-class hero.

4. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: June 18, 2009 at 12:52 PM (#3223236)

though the manager wanted to review a tape of the game before making any official announcements.

I believe it was Bum Phillips who said (when asked if he had watched the film of his previous game) "The films looked suspiciously like the game itself"

5. How to lose a guy in jemile weeks Posted: June 18, 2009 at 01:06 PM (#3223247)

"Disaster" goes a little far.

Yeah, if you discount the bullpen, which didn't have to pitch much last night, the Nats don't look all that bad.

6. Best Regards, Larry M. Posted: June 18, 2009 at 01:40 PM (#3223275)

They gave up three runs, which isn't bad, and the Nats don't have a bad lineup. They just got shut down by a good young pitcher who they had never seen. That's not at all surprising or particularly upsetting.

7. snapper (history's 42nd greatest monster) Posted: June 18, 2009 at 01:45 PM (#3223283)

I agree that it wasn't a disaster, and the bullpen looked good. But, I don't think you can say Wang did his job. He was better, but not good.

I still think Phil Hughes is the better pitcher right now.

8. Best Regards, Larry M. Posted: June 18, 2009 at 02:05 PM (#3223324)

The Nats announcers have had some great comments the last couple of games.

"The Yankees had to build the original Yankee Stadium because Highlander Park (sic) didn't have enough seats to hold all the fans who wanted to see Babe Ruth"

"Alex Rodriguez has gotten over it, but he was very upset when the Rangers moved him to third base in favor of Michael Young a few years ago"

9. Jolly Old St. Neck Wound, Moral Idiot

Posted: June 18, 2009 at 02:26 PM (#3223349)

The Nats announcers have had some great comments the last couple of games.

"The Yankees had to build the original Yankee Stadium because Highlander Park (sic) didn't have enough seats to hold all the fans who wanted to see Babe Ruth"

"Alex Rodriguez has gotten over it, but he was very upset when the Rangers moved him to third base in favor of Michael Young a few years ago"

I only watch the Nats on TV when they're playing the Yankees, which is once every three years, so I tend to forget some of the things their announcers can come up with. And since I was in the middle of a tournament last night, I only caught snippets of their musings in between shots. But I have to say that I've never heard a more clueless and ahistorical set of broadcasters in my entire life**, whoever they were. They combine the knowledge the eloquence of Curt Smith with the sort of insight that one acquires from the cartoon on the back of an old Topps baseball card. They didn't miss a single cliche.

**And that includes John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

10. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: June 18, 2009 at 02:34 PM (#3223363)

just for the record, who are these guys?

11. TerpNats Posted: June 18, 2009 at 02:42 PM (#3223373)

just for the record, who are these guys?

Bob Carpenter and Rob Dibble. Not exactly Harry and Whitey.

Did they honestly forget the Yankees spent a decade at the Polo Grounds? (And by the time they were forced to vacate by the Giants, Highlander Park was probably long gone, converted into Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.)

12. twon8 Posted: June 18, 2009 at 02:49 PM (#3223381)

Three of the five hits he gave up were seeing-eye grounders (the other three were very hard-hit balls

Four of the five were seeing eye grounders, the other four were very hard hit.

13. aleskel

Posted: June 18, 2009 at 02:53 PM (#3223385)

(And by the time they were forced to vacate by the Giants, Highlander Park was probably long gone, converted into Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.)

Wiki sez Hilltop Park was demolished in 1914; Columbia-Presbyterian wasn't built until the late 20s.

14. Jolly Old St. Neck Wound, Moral Idiot

Posted: June 18, 2009 at 02:54 PM (#3223387)

Did they honestly forget the Yankees spent a decade at the Polo Grounds?

I would say that there's about a one in a thousand chance that they would ever have known this in the first place. There's probably only a 50-50 chance that Rob Dibble could even tell you what team played in Crosley Field.

15. Moneyball can't buy you love (Joey B.) Posted: June 18, 2009 at 03:12 PM (#3223408)

Lannan is one of the better pitchers most fans don't know, and not that far away from becoming a true top-line starter in my opinion.

16. Famous Original Joe C Posted: June 18, 2009 at 03:19 PM (#3223417)

Lannan is one of the better pitchers most fans don't know, and not that far away from becoming a true top-line starter in my opinion.

He's going to need to either bump his strikeouts or drop his walk rate a bit if he's going to have long term success.

17. Best Regards, Larry M. Posted: June 18, 2009 at 03:24 PM (#3223424)

Yes, one of my points about their idiocy was that there was never any park named "Highlander Park"

And they left the Polo Grounds not because they didn't have enough room for the fans there, but because the Giants said, "You're outdrawing us in our own park, get the #### out."

18. aleskel

Posted: June 18, 2009 at 03:25 PM (#3223426)

Lannan is one of the better pitchers most fans don't know, and not that far away from becoming a true top-line starter in my opinion.

He's going to need to either bump his strikeouts or drop his walk rate a bit if he's going to have long term success.

yeah, he was impressive last night - didn't leave a single pitch over the middle of the plate - but his stuff doesn't look overpowering. I'd be glad to be proven wrong.

19. Best Regards, Larry M. Posted: June 18, 2009 at 03:26 PM (#3223428)

They also wondered who the second retired #8 was for. There's a reason you have those media guides, guys.

20. Moneyball can't buy you love (Joey B.) Posted: June 18, 2009 at 03:32 PM (#3223440)

He's not overpowering and will probably never be a high strikeout guy, but his control seems to be improving and the walk rate has been slowly but steadily getting better.

He's also hurt a bit by playing on a horrid defensive team, though the defense actually played well last night for a change.

21. aleskel

Posted: June 18, 2009 at 03:42 PM (#3223457)

I'm definitely going to root for Lannan, seeing as he's from my dad's hometown of Long Beach, Long Island. This makes him the only "famous" person from Long Beach I know who isn't Jewish.

22. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: June 18, 2009 at 08:10 PM (#3223866)

"Don’t blame Wang for National disaster"

Sooner or later, Republicans try to blame everything on the Clenis.

23. Obama Bomaye Posted: June 18, 2009 at 09:13 PM (#3223990)

This makes him the only "famous" person from Long Beach I know who isn't Jewish.

What about the Corleones?

24. Tom Cervo, backup catcher Posted: June 18, 2009 at 10:15 PM (#3224061)

My favorite Nats broadcaster moment was when they decided to talk about Jeter's defense.

They claimed that the only reason he doesn't have more gold gloves is because of Omar Vizquel; I guess the guy playing 3B for the Yankees doesn't exist.

Jeter has great range, and to prove this he made the flip play against the A's.

Sabermetrics has never won a championship. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a team made up of Bill James and Rob Neyer, but there you go...

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

<< Back to main

Thursday, June 18, 2009

NY Daily News/Feinsand: Don’t blame Wang for National disaster

Reader Comments and Retorts

Support BBTF

Bookmarks

Hot Topics