A lot of teams wouldn’t be so quick to part with a guy who won 19 games two years in a row (2006, 2007), but the Yankees had seen enough of Chien Ming Wang. Wang’s situation is an unfortunate one. Once regarded as one of the top pitchers in the game with a dangerous sinker, we saw with Wang how quickly things can fall apart. Unfortunately that’s how life goes sometimes, but it was tough to see it happen to such a hard working, soft spoken guy. Especially one who did such a great job for the Yankees. For those of you who don’t know, Wang tore a tendon in his foot in 2008 while running the bases playing the Houston Astros. That put him on the DL for the rest of the year, a year in which he already had won eight games. It would have been interesting to see what he would have done if he stayed healthy for the rest of the year. Another 19 or even 20 win season? I guess well never know. I’m sure of one thing though, a healthy Wang for the rest of that year in 2008 could have made a difference of the Yankees not making the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
Wang was never really the same after that injury in 2009. Experts have weighed in on why Wang struggled so much after coming back from his foot injury. The most popular thought has to do with the injury to his foot effecting his delivery, eventually leading to shoulder problems, and him having to get shoulder surgery. His starts were difficult to watch in 2009, and for the people like myself who enjoyed watching him pitch over the passed few years, it was frustrating to watch him get beat up the way he did, never really able to “get right”. He never really had control like he used to, and he was leaving too many pitches up in the zone, making it impossible to be effective. Even with all that was it really enough for the Yanks to say goodbye?
The Yankees saved 4 million dollars by not resigning Wang, a price that by no means is above the Bombers budget. It seems like the Yankees felt he never really would have recovered from his injuries, and weren't willing to give him a chance. I personally would have taken a shot on Wang. I know it’s been said time and time again but he did win 19 games in back to back seasons, more than any other pitcher in that time. If he can get back to where he used to be, at only 30 years old he still could have been a big part of the Yankees rotation. Pettite may only have another year or so, and once he’s gone I wouldn’t have minded seeing a rotation that included Sabathia, Burnett, Wang, Hughes. The Nationals were willing to take a chance with Wang(although I suppose the Nationals are willing to try just about anything at this point), as he spends his time recovering from his shoulder surgery with them. He’s been throwing bullpens and is slowing working his way to a comeback in May. I have a feeling he’ll wind up coming back and having a really nice season. If he does, it will be good to see him do well. I’m sure the Washington coaching staff will keep a watchful eye anytime Wang reaches base.
With all this in mind my question to the rest of the baseball world is this. Should the Yankees have given Wang another chance? Do you think he can get back to the Wang of old and be successful with the Nationals?
