Chien-Ming Wang is an Unmitigated Disaster

2006: 19-6 with a 3.63 ERA

2007: 19-7 while posting a 3.70 ERA

2008: 8-2 (before he went down with an injured foot in June) with an ERA of 4.07

2009: 0-3 (working on loss number 4 as I type) with an expansive ERA of 14.34

When I crafted my preview of the New York Yankees pitching staff I never for one second doubted the stability Wang would bring to the top of the starting rotation. This was a guy who easily established himself as a front-line starter if not a full fledged ace. Yet here we are, June 10, and Chien-Ming Wang has turned into one of the biggest anomalies in the Majors. He has not just been bad, he has been flat out embarrassing.

He is not hurt, he is not tired, he is not old; he just flat out stinks.

What to do about Wang?

Now the Yankees have a huge problem on their hands; sending a 29 year old pitcher, in his third year of arbitration, to the minors is not an alternative due to contractual obligations. Chien-Ming Wang is out of options, which means designating him for assignment (sending him to the minors) would put him on waivers, MEANING any team in baseball could pick him up for nothing more than the remaining money on his $4 million 2009 contract. And who wouldn’t take their chance on a 29 year old erstwhile ace? (Editor’s Note: Grabbed the erstwhile ace bit from the most excellent folks at River Ave. Blues)

So, the Yankees can either let him sit and rot in the bullpen, continue to start him (where losses are guaranteed and bullpen abuse is a given), fake an injury so he can go on an extended rehab assignment for a beer league softball team, or release him and lose a once formidable starter to another team.

Is it possible that Wang has irreversibly lost it? Perhaps. Is that likely? No. It is obvious that Wang is suffering from a protracted lack of confidence while experiencing lingering effects from his foot injury which kept Wang from working his legs as hard as needed during the off season. Either way, Wang’s sinker is not biting and his control is still in Taiwan. This has left the Yankees with a huge mess and an unneeded headache during a pennant race against a team they can’t beat.

Before the season any and all baseball pundits would have thought of Chien-Ming Wang as a difference maker in the AL East. Well they were correct to a degree as the Wanger has made an enormous difference as the New York Yankees albatross – 2009 edition.

Where do the Yankees go from here?

After tonight’s massacre in Boston (would you believe he actually lowered his ERA from 14.46 to 14.34 during this start) I would give Wang one more start to see if he can begin to figure something out and find himself. His next start would come against the Washington Nationals who might be worse than my company softball team. Barring another failure he must be yanked from the rotation and replaced by a major league ready Phil Hughes.

And as for Boston’s abuse of the Yankees, well that’s another post…

Image Used in this Post

2007 Chien-Ming Wang Portrait courtesy of Flickr user Yankees Fans published under the CC license.