Yankees vs. Indians Series Thread

[BronxBomberz]

Let's go Chien-Ming Wang, His 1st 2 starts were flukes!

One of his most distressing moments in pinstripes was also one of Chien-Ming Wang's shortest, a one-inning outing on Monday. Wang allowed eight runs, tying a career high, and he has allowed 15 runs over his first two outings -- in a total of 4 2/3 innings.

Wang's next assignment won't be much easier, coming against an Indians team that has boasted one of the game's more productive offenses over the first two weeks of the season.

But if Wang can indeed shed the bad vibes from those first two outings and finally thrive, he'll do so on a national stage, when the Yankees play the Indians in FOX's Saturday Game of the Week. Joe Buck will be on hand at Yankee Stadium to provide play-by-play, along with analyst Tim McCarver and reporters Ken Rosenthal and Chris Rose.

They, like the Yankees, are curious to see how Wang can rebound from two of the worst weeks of his professional career.

"We believe that he's going to turn it around," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Wang. "I don't think you forget to pitch from last June."

No, but you can grow a little rusty. And perhaps that's what has plagued Wang, who missed the latter half of last season with a mid-foot sprain of the Lisfranc ligament in his right foot and a partial tear of a tendon in the same foot. Wang seemed to be nearing his old form in Spring Training, posting a 4.15 ERA and walking just four batters in 21 2/3 innings. But he has started out this season on quite a different note.

Already, Wang has walked two more batters and allowed five more earned runs than he did throughout Grapefruit League play -- in merely a fraction of the innings.

In an attempt to counter that lack of success, Wang switched up his routine between starts, facing hitters rather than throwing his regular side session on Wednesday in Tampa, Fla. The idea was to jump-start Wang by more closely simulating game conditions.

If it works, the Yankees would effectively regain a pitcher who was their most consistent starter over the 2 1/2 years prior to his injury. Featuring his trademark mid-90s sinker, Wang was well on his way to a third straight 19-win season in 2008 before the foot injury derailed him.

"I think he's a little chapped about what's gone on so far," Girardi said of Wang's more recent struggles. "It's what you'd expect from any player. He doesn't enjoy what has gone on so far, and I can completely understand that."

Wang's counterpart in Saturday's game, Fausto Carmona, has never beaten the Yankees in three starts, although his nine innings of one-run ball in Game 2 of the 2007 American League Division Series -- the infamous "midge game" in Cleveland -- would have earned him a win on most other nights.

Pitching matchup
NYY: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (0-2, 28.93 ERA)
Wang took a pounding in his last start, charged with eight runs and chased in the second inning at Tropicana Field. For a second successive outing, Wang was unable to keep his sinker down in the zone and paid the price, serving up six hits while walking three -- including a bases-loaded free pass drawn by Evan Longoria on the last of Wang's 61 pitches. The right-hander was 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in two starts against the Indians last season, hurling seven innings of scoreless, four-hit ball on April 27 at Progressive Field, and he is 3-2 with a 2.97 ERA in five regular-season starts against the Tribe in his career.

CLE: RHP Fausto Carmona (0-2, 9.00 ERA)
Carmona endured a rough first inning in his last start, at Kansas City, using 42 pitches as the Royals scored three runs. But he battled back to get through five innings on 106 pitches. Carmona said he had such movement on his pitches that the ball was jumping out of the strike zone early. He'll try to fine-tune his repertoire and get back the consistency that made him such a sensation in 2007, when he finished with 19 wins and was fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting.

Tidbits
The five home runs the Yankees hit on Friday were the most they've hit in a game since Aug. 1, 2007, against the White Sox. ... Derek Jeter's home run in the eighth inning was the 209th of his career, pulling him even with him Jason Giambi for 10th place on the Yankees' all-time home run list. ... Only one active Indians player, Grady Sizemore, has hit a home run off Wang. No active Yankees player has hit one of Carmona.

Wang will learn if adjustment paid off | yankees.com: News

[DirtyKash]

Get ready for that Phil Hughes call up.

[JobaChamberlain]

Our bullpen is horrible imo. Rivera and bruney are the only ones that are worth anything.

[DirtyKash]

This new Yankee Stadium is a launching pad. There are going to be a ton of home runs hit in this place. The ball goes up anywhere in right field and it has a chance to go out.

[Providence A's]

14 runs in the 2nd inning by the Indians. Ridiculous. A 3-run homer, grand slam, and a solo homer.

[DirtyKash]

Wonder if we can get another Swisher pitching appearance today. Wang has killed the Yankees bullpen every time out, so it's possible.

[GiantsFanatic]

It must be A-Rod's fault.

[HollywoodLeo]

Let's go Chien-Ming Wang, His 1st 2 starts were flukes!

This one was a fluke as well.

He'll get em next time!

[DirtyKash]

At least the Yankees get to face Carl Pavano tomorrow. Should be interesting to see what he does in his debut at this new stadium. Can't be much worse than Wang.

[DirtyKash]

Epic game. 20-2.

[Kingdom]

At least the Yankees get to face Carl Pavano tomorrow. Should be interesting to see what he does in his debut at this new stadium. Can't be much worse than Wang.

Possible return of the S3F jinx?

[DravenX]

Forget watching the Braves lose. I might as well watch the Yankees lose since it would be more entertaining.

[BronxBomberz]

This new Yankee Stadium is a launching pad. There are going to be a ton of home runs hit in this place. The ball goes up anywhere in right field and it has a chance to go out.

Just imagine how it's gonna be in the Summer months. Damn, it's like Coors Field East.

[BronxBomberz]

At least the Yankees get to face Carl Pavano tomorrow. Should be interesting to see what he does in his debut at this new stadium. Can't be much worse than Wang.

We better spank Pavano around. Or else there is problems.

[BronxBomberz]

A.J. Burnett is going to start today for the Yankees. The Indians send out former Yankee, Carl Pavano.

Those who stuck around Friday afternoon to see Mariano Rivera's first save at the new Yankee Stadium were struck by a curious sight. Rivera was firing his cut fastballs not to Jorge Posada, who had started the game at catcher, but instead to Jose Molina.

It was the execution of a plan that Yankees manager Joe Girardi drew up in Spring Training, in an effort to give Posada and his surgically repaired right shoulder as much rest as possible. And it was not, Girardi said, the last time he will remove Posada late in a game. If the Yankees find themselves in a close game in Sunday's season finale against the Indians, for example, he won't hesitate to plug in Molina.

Given the Yankees' inconsistencies early this season, every game remains critical at this point, and Sunday's TBS Game of the Week is no exception. Chip Caray will call the game, along with analyst Ron Darling. And there's a chance that those two will need to work their way down the Yankees' catching depth chart.

"Nobody wants to come out of a game," Girardi said. "I don't care who you are. And Jorge has played very well for us. He's thrown the ball very well for us. I like what he's done for us. I'm sure it was hard for him to come out, and I understand that. It's a discussion that we've had, and we'll continue to discuss it. You don't want any player to be upset."

Posada was visibly perturbed discussing the situation prior to Saturday's game, though he did continue to walk the company line.

"He's the manager," Posada said.

Girardi first talked to Posada about the plan in Spring Training, which he designed to give his primary catcher as much rest as possible. Recuperating from arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, Posada was able to swing with authority long before he was able to throw with any sort of force, making him something of a defensive liability early in camp.

He's since progressed to the point that his shoulder is close to 100 percent. Exhibition A came in Thursday's home opener at the Stadium, when Posada gunned down one of the league's premier basestealers, Grady Sizemore. And teams, Posada has found, are no longer testing him.

Posada believes that his right arm will grow even stronger as the days grow warmer, and as more and more time passes since the surgery. But until then, he may have to sacrifice.

"I guess I've got to prove myself," Posada said.

So does the Yankees' rotation, which, after Chien-Ming Wang's abbreviated outing Saturday, has now pitched a combined 11 2/3 innings over the past three days. Looking to buck that trend will be A.J. Burnett, who saved the bullpen by firing eight innings in his last start. Burnett and Andy Pettitte have been by far the team's most effective starters through two turns of the rotation.

The Indians will counter with a right-hander who received the loudest jeers of anyone prior to Thursday's home opener -- Carl Pavano. Now a member of the opposition, Pavano has endured a dreadful -- but healthy -- first two starts of the season, allowing 13 runs in seven innings.

Pitching matchup
NYY: RHP A.J. Burnett (2-0, 2.70 ERA)
Burnett has proven to be a horse in his first two turns through the rotation, logging victories in both of his starts as a Yankee. He last started Tuesday at Tampa Bay and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, showcasing dominant command of his pitches and striking out nine in a 103-pitch performance. Burnett allowed two runs on three hits in the start, with Carl Crawford busting up the bid with a single to left leading off the seventh. Burnett lost his only start against the Indians in 2008, allowing three runs in 7 2/3 innings on May 12 at Progressive Field while pitching for the Blue Jays. He is 1-4 with a 7.20 ERA in five career starts against the Tribe.

CLE: RHP Carl Pavano (0-2, 16.71 ERA)
Pavano made big strides from his first outing to the second. After allowing nine runs in an one-plus inning at Texas, the veteran delivered six innings and fanned eight on Tuesday in Kansas City. Although he allowed four earned runs and took a loss, Pavano looked more like the impressive pitcher the Indians had seen in Spring Training. Manager Eric Wedge liked the way Pavano used both sides of the plate with his fastball and dropped in his slider against the Royals. The eight strikeouts marked Pavano's highest total since June 27, 2004.

Tidbits
The Yankees would not reveal the test results from the most recent MRI on outfielder Xavier Nady's right shoulder, taken Saturday afternoon. Team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad will first review the test results with Nady's specialist, Dr. Lewis Yocum, before determining a course of action. ... Third baseman Alex Rodriguez, recovering from arthroscopic hip surgery, texted Girardi on Friday night to say that he was doing fine, though the Yankees do not expect A-Rod to play in a rehab game for at least a week. "There's still a lot of things that he's got to be able to do," Girardi said. ... The switch-hitting Ramiro Pena started at third base on Saturday rather than Cody Ransom, a deference to Indians starter Fausto Carmona's impressive splits against right-handed hitters.

Yanks want to keep Posada fresh | yankees.com: News

Let's go yankees!