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Baseball “RANT” – With Wang Gone Where do the Yanks Go?

Hello Bloggers

Your favorite sports writers here giving you an update in what we know best. New York Sports what else?! Plenty is happening in the world of sports, I’m sorry we couldnt get the basketball game last night but I will most likely have some thoughts in the upcoming days about that one.

Lets start of with the Yankees. In a impressive win in Houston yesterday where the Yankees put a whooping on the Astros, but the Yankees lost Ace Chien-Ming Wang. Wang had gone through a rough stretch before this road trip but now after dominating starts in Oakland and in Houston he looked like he began reverting to Chien-Ming Wang of old. He worked fast, he threw the heavy sinker, and he got out of many innings with the pitchers best friend, the double play. Now he comes a R-ANT’s Rant here. This should be a wake up call to how stupid Interleague play is. The Yankees have started to become the media made them out to be in Spring Training. They won a well pitched game by Joba Chamberlain by the score of 2-1, They also won 8-4 behind another win by the Moose, making that 10 wins on the seasons; reaching some people’s season prediction for him this season by the 14th of June. Now in a game that had offense and great starting pitching and the bullpen pitching extremely well the Yankees lost a vital cog. Chien-Ming Wang. He will be in a cast for 6 weeks, yes 6 weeks. By my calculations end of July that he will be in a cast. With out interleague play he would probably be sitting in the dug out letting matsui hit for him due to the DH instead of hurting his foot with what seems to be a Lisfranc sprain(which ended Strahans season not too long ago). Interleague play has to go but another time for that rant. Every team deals with injuries; Yankees no strangers to injuries already with losing A-Rod(who is very quietly hitting .326 this season) and Jorge Posada and two thirds of the “young guns” of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. How do the Yankees replace 19 wins and a calming factor every five days when number 40 takes the mound. The Yankees will have to look for a way to hold water with thier pitching staff losing one of thier most consistent pieces.

Where can the Yankees look to get some stability and some wins that will be missed the ace Wang. Right now the Yankees are a season high 4 games above the .500 mark and yet are still 6 behind (depending on what the Red Sox do against the Phillies tonight as the Yankees are off tonight)

Anthony will have some guys to look at these are some of the guys i want to take a look at and he will take a look at the trading market as you will have to but hopefully not over spend for some one in a desperate time.

  1. Jeff Karstens- He has some Major League experience. Karstens is a gritty pitcher that will give you a tough gritty outing. I view the game against boston where he was struck off the leg and finished the inning on what was realized as a broken leg. Karstens looks as if he might be able to do some damage if given the chance. He has not been off to a great start this year but does have the talent as last year he was 5-0 with 1.49 ERA.
  2. Kei Igawa- GOD NO! I hope Cashman decides not to give him another shot because if Cashman decides he is this years Aaron Small it could be a long year and we need to start gettin ready for the football seasonCould Alan Horne be the next big thing in the Bronx this summer?
  3. Alan Horne- One of the Yankees other “Blue Chippers” that are healthy now and do not have to be waited on. Alan Horne is a young pitcher who is currently progressing through the farm system to be a starter for this team. Cashman and Hank Steinbrenner seem to be very high on him. His numbers for last season in 12-4 from 27 starts that take 153.1 inning with a 165 K’s with a 3.11 ERA. This season in AAA He is 2-0 3.44 ERA with a a Strikeout an Inning at 25 years old. He looks like he could possibly be making some heads turn this year.
  4. Ross Ohlendorf -Here is the shocker right here reported right here on JOBARULES1918. Move Ross Ohlendorf into a starting role he was the Yankees long reliever this season. He has pitched at high level for the Yankees since late last season. He has started before. Ohlendorf did struggle a bit in AAA as a starter due to being streaky. He might be a very serviceable pitcher. As for the long man role you can keep Dan Giese who has pitched excellent in relief of Joba Chamberlain in the role of long man or move Dan Giese into a starting role as he proved he can pitch against major leaguers for an extended stretch as he was doing before.

David Robertson as reported by Kevin Kernan and the New York Post by says that he has the chance to become the next shut down reliever ala Joba Chamberlain. In 42 2/3 innings he has 60 strike outs and Robertson also has allowed only 18 walks. Robertson does not throw as hard as Joba does he throws into the low 90s with his fastball but is said to have a devastating curveball. Be on the look out for this kid. He might be the real deal.

Thanks for reading. Ant will have some guys he is keeping his eyes open for the next couple of weeks to take over for Wang and he will also take a look at the Trading Market.

Hello Bloggers,

Ant here-

Well I really don’t know were to begin. I am deeply saddened by the news that my favorite pitcher is going to be out for the next 6 weeks. Then a 4-6 week rehab assignment, which will probably end sooner than that if all goes well. I 100 % agree with my buddy Rick here that Interleague play must go. Instead taking mid inning piss Chien Ming Wang had to go to the plate and hit. He got on base and then was forced to run. When he ran he pulled up with a limp running around third. Interleague play blows!!! The yanks just lost there ace for most of the season due to this bullshit. Oh I found were to begin, I’m pissed off that we just got screwed because of the bullshit play known as interleague play. I am completely against it and think that something should be done in order to get rid of this unnecessary time of the schedule. Its one thing to go ahead have the pitchers hit in the World Series, because it is the world series. IF INTERLEAGUE PLAY IS SO IMPORTANT TO THE LEAGUE MAKING MONEY, THAN IT SHOULD WORK BOTH WAYS. HOW IS THE LEAGUE GOING TO MAKE UP FOR THE YANKEES LOSING THE NEXT 10-13 WINS THAT WANG WAS GOING TO GIVE THEM. They can’t and won’t so now I’m going to look into how the Yankees are going to make these wins up until Wang gets back.

One way to go is the farm system. Two pitchers in the farm system that I have my eye on are Jeff Marquez and Jason Jones. I’ll start with Jones. Jones numbers so far are: 8-2 rec, with a 2.30 ERA, 82.0 IP, 76 H, 24 R, 21 ER, 22 BB, and 45 K’S. This kid has really good numbers, especially his ERA. A very low ERA at 2.30. Although he is only in double A, i think he should be pushed up to triple A and given a chance to see what he can do. That move will take some time to happen possibly three weeks or so. There really isnt much to lose,e except the fact that they might realize that he isn’t the guy for the job or that he, in their mind, may not be a good big leaguer were as some one else may have him as a good pitcher. Then they may be able to use his experience this year as a way to showcase his talent. The possibility of a trade will be much high once he has proven that he can pitch in the big show. Hopefully a team like the Indians will like him and then we can trade him to them for a C.C. , then hope that he was mis scouted and sucks. The C.C. talk will have to wait a paragraph or two tho. I really can’t see any way that this move up to triple A at least or possibly a few starts in the majors could actually hurt unless they feel he isn’t ready yet. Or that they have some one else that will do the job even better.

Now for Jeff Marquez. I don’t think this kid is really anything special. His numbers aren’t good, he is 6-7, with a 4.69 Era, 80.2 IP, 93 H, 51 R, 42 ER, 12 HR, 24 BB, AND 33 K’S. Personally i am not really a fan of him. His numbers have shown he is very inconsistent. I don’t think he is going to make it in the big leagues. And if he does I’ m just some asshole on a computer writing about him for free, so really what do I know. Marquez numbers in double A were much better than they are now, but again that is double a and he made a move up to triple a and is struggling. How could they think that he will be able to pitch in the majors if he has struggled from jumping from double A to triple A. When he was in double a he went 15-9 with a 3.65 ERA. Which is very good, but that was double a. He has nasty stuff, he just won’t pan out for a couple of years the way he has progressed this year.

Ok i will get to the rest in a second, but i want to go out and say that i hate reading the newspapers. I will read them every day for sports news and read all the articles, but there are way to many times that the paper will name some one that is supposed to be good and eventually panning out to suck. I feel that every guy that gets a little publicity is supposed to be one of the top prospects and will turn things around. Im sick of that shit, can somebody please grow a sack and tell the reader what they are actually feeling, rather than sugar coating everything. DAM IT!! Not everyone is a phenomenal player.

C.C. needs to become a Yankee. I think that he will be a formidable option to take over for were Wang had to leave due to injury. He isn’t having a good year right now but he was a cy young award winner and i dont think you go from Cy young award winner to a bum in a year.He also plays on the indians and that may be part of the reason why he isn’t playing that well. I think that he will be able to provide much needed experience and a great pitcher to front of the rotatiion starter. If C.C. comes to NY just imagine C.C., Joba, Moose, Pettite and either Hughes or Wang if he gets back in time. Then i want to see a team come into NY and win a 5 or 7 game series in the playoffs. You got a great pitcher in C.C., A good lively arm in Joba, a very experienced Moose, a great postseson performer in Pettite and Wang who is dominate or Hughes who came to pitch last year in the postseason. I wouldn’t be to worried with that rotation. Another guy on the radar is Rich Harden. He is a great pitcher but the problem is that he always gets hurt. The yanks wouldn’t be helped with trading away a couple young pieces and make it into a great pitcher that is always getting injured. If the Yankees make a move it is going to have to be a group of players that will be sent away. One that is an option to be traded is Melky Cabrera. If he gets traded be careful and watch out for a kid by the name of Brett Gardner. He is batting .290 wit 3 hrs, 28 rbi and 25 sb. So he has what it takes to make a great leadoff hitter. You heard it right here on “RANTS”, the kid is sick.

C.C. COME ON DOWN TO THE BRONX BABY!!!

And in conclusion, the next few weeks are going to be very interesting in Yankee land. What will they do? They realize they have to make up for Wang’s wins he would give them. Will they make atrade or not, im not sure but i do hope that something will get done. Pitching Pitching Pitching thats what wins in the playoffs. My suggestion Yankee brass take care of it.

June 17, 2008 - Posted by jobarules1918 | New York Sports, New York Yankees, sports | , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

5 Comments »

  1. [...] myworldofbaseball wrote an interesting post today and shared it with the world.Here’s a quick excerpt [...]

    Pingback by Baseball “RANT” - With Wang Gone Where do the Yanks Go? | June 17, 2008 | Reply

  2. Well for this particular blog, I have no personal interest being that I am a Met fan but both of you guys brought up the discussion of Interleague play.

    Now granted it’s a shame that the Yankees lost their Ace on what one could call a “freak” occurence. But the talk after this occurence among Yankee fans/ the rest of baseball fans is whether or not Interleague play is necessary. Most Yankee fans that woke up Monday morning and read the news about the loss of Wang had this first thought: “Get rid of Interleague play.” Now there are a good amount of Yankee fans that have always had this opinion. (Rick I’m not sure if you did but I know personally that Ant had this particular opinion). I would however say that there was also a good amount of fans that liked Interleague play or had no opinion either way.

    Now these fans that liked Interleague play probably liked it because they thought it’d be interesting to see their pitchers hit for once. And that’s just human curiousity, getting to see something you don’t normally get to see. Now after this incident with Wang, I think it’s safe to say every fan in Yankeeland hates Interleague play.

    But I see little justification for this hatred. Ok, you lost your ace because he had to run around the bases, but no one could have predicted that. That’s just bad luck. Ask any pitcher in any of the two leagues if that’s something that’s on their mind, I bet it doesn’t rank very high amongst their concerns. Most people, myself included, don’t think it’s that much of a struggle to run around a set of bases. And let’s remember Wang is a pitcher that pushes off his feet and lands on his feet for anywhere from 70-100 pitches a game. Who’s to say that he didn’t aggrevate the injury while pitching? And if for those of you who say that the baserunning was the final “nail in the coffin”, who’s to say that he wouldn’t have hurt it pitching? There’s a lot of what ifs to consider with this argument.

    Now here’s my take on Interleague play. I personally enjoy watching the pitchers hit and here’s why. It adds a little spice to the game. Now people will argue that the HD brings excitement and fans to the game. This is true, everyone loves to see Big Papi come up to the plate and hit a walk off. I love it too (Hell I’ve seen it…IN FENWAY)But Big Papi is paid to do that. Just like a pitcher is paid to pitch well. So when a player who doesn’t bat often bats and something big happens, it’s great to watch.

    Side Note- I saw Shawn Estes hit a home run off of Roger Clemens in Shea. It was a great day for me and fellow Mets fans. I’ve also seen Josh Beckett hit a home run off the Phillies. Again, a great day for me a fellow Mets fans.

    Is it exciting to see Big Papi jack one? Yea. Is it exciting to see Josh Beckett jack one? Defenitely.

    Another point about Interleague play is how the teams approach it. Both teams have a struggle which makes the games interesting. American league teams have to have the pitcher hit and most have to have their DH play a postion like first base. National league teams have to add a DH to the lineup.

    National league teams ususally don’t have a DH type player because they don’t need to have one. American league teams usually have a DH who doesn’t play the field enough. There’s problems for both types of teams.

    So should their be Interleague play? To me it doesn’t hurt and I don’t see the MLB changing their ways anytime soon especially with the money they make. And it’s all about the money…

    Comment by Stevo | June 18, 2008 | Reply

  3. Steveo wants going on man thanks for the comment. OK do i hate interleague play: No. I think for some of those rivalry games its sorta fun. When the idea was new back in the late ’90s it was radical to see Yankees/Mets every year was something exciting for the fans and for a point in time even the ball players even though Torre and Jeter have been downplaying it since it started. So if your’e Chicago or NY or SF and Oak yea this is a great idea and a good way to put Meat in the Seats.

    Who really cares if the Yankees play Houston seriously. Who wants to see Tampa Bay and the Brewers. Is there an intrigue factor? Yes i agree. Now the fact that the Yankees will miss Wang for almost 10 weeks. Now the Yankees are with out thier Ace for half the season because of this.

    You are also right as this is a freak accident of just running which all pitchers for covering first and obviously pushing off when pitching. As you said you are a Met fan. During the offseason you gave a star pitcher 137.5 Million dollars. Now why go ahead and put your huge investment at a bigger risk by having him do something that isnt an everyday task like swing a bat and run the bases and put your star player at risk.

    Wang will be missed for likely two months and then some. It is looking around September. Now you’re missing his 19 wins and not only his 19 wins but the innings he eats up from Moose who is a 6 inning pitcher this year and the likes of guys like Ian Kennedy when he gets back and possibly Phil Hughes when he gets back as well. This is a big loss. To lose your best pitcher on a play where he is typically not and put your season in jeopardy it seems very stupid to keep the pitcher hitting rule.

    I am well aware there is a purist/traditionalist point of view for the pitcher hitting because that is how it was back when the founding fathers played. This is a different game with large contracts. I think its in the best interest to protect the investments. Protect the season of the teams. Let the DH hit.

    Should interleague go? probably because the novelty has worn off a bit but they are fun to argue with friends with opposing views of teams. You are right MLB is making wayyy too much money to get rid of it. It doesnt mean MLB shouldn’t start thinkin about protecting the product on the field.

    Thanks for the comment again.

    Comment by jobarules1918 | June 18, 2008 | Reply

  4. Nice blogging,

    But really my only rants about baseball are these, 1. The mets and yankees suck this year. The mets even brought in Johan Santanna! And they still suck. And the yankees just need to players. Half of the team has been on the team for like 10 years. Get some New People.

    2. The mets fly down to LA, and they fire Willie. And they won. Its stupid. They make him fly 4 hrs to LA and then when they get down there AFTER THEY WIN they fire bolth Rick and Willie

    Comment by Brian | June 19, 2008 | Reply

  5. Thanks for the commment Brian!

    The mets and Yankees have been very inconsistent. The Mets and Yankees started these season as two aging underachieving ball clubs. I do not think the Yankees are done. They are currently 5.5 out of first place and have been playing very well for the last week, week and a half. They currently have a-rod batting is batting .337 on the season and for a-rod to be hitting this well and not get mention is kind of surprising. Johnny Damon was hitting .332 so even though there are some “seasoned vets” on this team there is no doubt the offense is still very potent. If the Yankees can keep Cano hitting like he has been for the last week then the offense will be fine.

    The question is pitching i doubt Sidney Ponson is the answer but Darrell “Razzle Dazzle” Rasner has been pitching very well and Pettitte and Moose have been very good. Joba is on the bump today so this will be big to see how he pitches with no limits on him and if the season will be built towards next year or can they contend.

    2- The mets- as a Yankee fan i never am fond of the team in Queens. I always found myself rooting for Willie as he has won 6 rings- 2 as a player 4 as a coach. What the mets did to him is absolutely just low. Willie deserved better. I have no issue if you wanna fire some one. Fire some one like a man. Do not make a man get on a plane fly 3000 miles away from his family and fire him and try to pull a fast one on the media. When people think theyre better than the ny media than they will fight back. Mets look like a joke right now. Not that the Yankees handling with Torre was much better but they let him finish the years and they let him decide his fate. Willie looks like the matyr here and i say good for the mets.

    The mets should have blown the team up after last season. Why is castillo getting a contract extension. Why is el duque still on the team. Why is delgado still playing first and batting high in the order. Why are they counting on Alou when you can pencil him in for about half the games you play. Why was schneider still playing after he had a concussion that landed him on the DL 2 weeks later. The minors are a mess right now because when schneider went down they called up a 3rd catcher instead of another outfielder. Johan will be fine but i still agree with keeping Hughes around. This will pan out in the long run. I just do not see the Mets beating the Phillies and they never beat Atlanta in Atlanta. The Mets have issues. I dont know why they fired Rick Peterson when the ERA was ranked 4th in the NL, like that was a bad thing. Why is a 1st base coach getting canned? The mets look like a joke of a franchise. They have a 2nd team in ny complex. They wonder why they get treated as the Yankees little brother. It would have nothing to do with the fact that they act like it, would it ?

    again thank you for the comment we appreciate your comments and discussion on these topics

    Comment by jobarules1918 | June 19, 2008 | Reply


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