When the Yankees signed Roger Clemens last month, it was under the premise he'd be only part of the solution and not carry the team. Over his last two starts, it appears that Chien-Ming Wang has assumed the role of staff ace.
Runs were at an expected premium against reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb, who shook off a three-run first inning to limit the Yankees to three singles over the next six. A runner-up to Johan Santana in last season's AL Cy Young voting, Wang continued to build another case when he neutralized the Diamondbacks and paced the Yankees to a 4-1 win. Though Tuesday was the first time D-Backs manager Bob Melvin had seen Wang in person, it was enough for him to put Wang in place with Webb and Toronto's Roy Halladay as the game's premier sinkerball pitchers.
"He's outstanding," Melvin said. "Similar to Webby you know what's coming but there are times where there's very little you can do with it, except hit it on the ground."
The funny thing is, Wang thought he was only "so-so." He complained about leaving too many balls up, which deviated from his strength. Out of his 24 batters retired, just seven were via the ground ball, but it was still enough to hold Arizona to one run over seven innings that followed a complete game last Wednesday in Chicago. In his last six starts, Wang has allowed three earned runs or fewer, good for a 2.30 ERA during that stretch.
By Jon Lane / YESNetwork.com
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