Wrapping it up from Chicago
-
- April
- 23
Bobby Abreu is 22 of 53 with six homers in 14 games at U.S. Cellular Field.
Chien-Ming Wang won his 50th game tonight in the 85th start of his career. The last pitcher to get to 50 wins that quickly was Dwight Gooden, who reached No. 50 in 82 starts. That came in 1986
The last Yankee to do that was Ron Guidry, who won his 50th in 82 starts in 1979.
Wang had no idea about the milestone until I mentioned it to him.
“Dwight Gooden?” he said. “Who’s that?”
“He pitched for the Mets,” I said.
“You mean Doc Gooden,” he said. “Same guy?”
Joba Chamberlain, who was listening to our conversation, was laughing hysterically.
All kidding aside, Wang took a step forward tonight in that he pitched six innings and won a game without his best stuff. His sinker was up and his slider was flat. He won by throwing splits and changeups. As Joe Girardi said, that’s what great pitchers do.
He’s 4-0 in five starts. Given that the Yankees are 11-10, Wang has been crucial as the team tries to survive this rough stretch and all their injuries and other issues.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 12:59 am by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
2-0 since the Pope came to the bronx!
Maybe the rumors are true, and Cashman is bringing in Oswalt to pitch the 7th inning. Oswalt to Joba to Mo. Next year Sabathia will be signed to take over the 6th.
Innings 1-5 are more about positioning anyway.
As Pete notes, Chien-ming Wang joins Ron Guidry and Doc Gooden as the only pitchers to get to 50 wins in their first 85 starts in ___ years. Some large number.
Hmmm, maybe Wang can take over that crucial 5th inning setup role. The Wang-Sabathia-Oswalt-Joba-Mo chain could be unbeatable.
Wang owes Joba, Bobby, and Johnny steak dinners for tonight =)
Same as Doc Gooden…that’s classic. Wish I could have been there to hear Joba crack up.
Pete your so lucky u get to be with the players in that low key candid environment.. the only exposure we have with them is when they know theyre on camera.. that must be awesome for you
LOL Nick, good one. Then all that’s left to do is bring up the K-man for scoreless 1-4 innings. Sounds like a formula to victory.
Wang’s so funny without even trying. I would’ve been even more impressed if he asked if it was Shef’s uncle.
Abraham the comedian
Sad thing is that I think Wang was right.
Was Dwight Gooden really the same person as “Doc”? Not sure.
What an amazing waste of talent.
That curve ball…
Good for the Wanger. Wasn’t his best outing, but definatly pitched well. Now, I dont want to jinx it, but hopefully Damon is coming around.
And just because Giambi hit a homerun doesnt change my mind on his slump. He is going to have a tough, tough season. BIG night for Bobby. All in all, a very nice win.
Bobby was clutch tonight
Bruney, Jetes …..
Temperature of the blood in Wang’s veins? 0 degrees celsius. I just wish he and Pettite’s demeanor on the mound would rub off on the youngsters- throw f’ing strikes, have confidence in your stuff, don’t give in, attack hitters.
Oh, and don’t talk about fight club.
All that cat does is win games.
Let Wang know Doc ptched for the Yankees too
Brandon:
Jeter has been on fire since he has returned from the injury. I think we can give him the benegit of the doubt tonight…haha.
*benefit.
And hey, he didn’t GIDP in the 7th and allowed Abreu to hit the grand slam. So… yay.
So if Wang wins his next start he is on pace to win, what? 30+ games this season? Unreal.
I just got done watching the Mariners game a little bit ago and was watching Felix Hernandez pitch- I feel bad for Felix because if he were pitching for a team with offense he’d have 5 wins- look at these lines-
April 1- 7 IP, 0 ER- No decision
April 6- 8 IP, 0 ER- No decision
April 11- 6 2/3 IP, 4 ER- Win
April 16- 9 IP, 0 ER- Win
Tonight- 7 IP, 2 ER- No decision
How the heck do you throw 22 innings (and strike out 16), have an ERA of like .8 and get 3 no decisions?
Rejoice in thy team Yankee fans.
Also, Im suprised no one has brought up the Black Cat that ran from the crowd infront of the Yankees dugout.
“Jeter has been on fire since he has returned from the injury. I think we can give him the benegit of the doubt tonight…haha.”
a flyball pitcher like Dotel, hell no, capt. needs to hit that ball after a day off too.
Agreed, Rusty. And to think that such a talent as Ichiro might eventually end his career without ever winning a world series ring because his team just isn’t that good, is kinda sad in its own way.
I was at the game tonight, and what a great game it was! There were lots of Yankee fans in attendance, especially in my section, which seemed to have a majority of either displaced New Yorkers living in Chicago or some fans who had traveled here for today’s Mets/Yanks baseball extravaganza.
It was great seeing Wang battle, even without his best stuff. And Joba’s entrance/performance was simply electric. In the bottom of the 7th, when the game was still very much in doubt, both Yanks and White Sox fans were on their feet.
And what a great night for baseball! I wore a t-shirt all night, didn’t even need a jacket. I go to school here, and I think this probably was the best day, weather-wise, of the year so far.
And could someone explain this whole black cat incident? My friend noticed it, but I unfortunately did not.
Praise the Lord
and thanks CM Wang and Yankee
You lighted up our day again in Taiwan!
Joba doesn’t know who Jimi Hendrix is so if I were him I would hold the laughter….
I was at the game last night, and it was a blast!!
I was sitting in a lower section, so I wasn’t heckled that much.
One observation: I never knew how many fans respect Joba. The boos he received coming in last night were louder than the boos for Jeter. And we all know that boos are a sign of respect.
Can’t wait to see him toe the rubber at the beginning of a game!!
The gospel according to Tyler:
When we spoke with Wang after the game, I asked if he had ever heard of Dwight Gooden. He shook his head and said no. Joba Chamberlain, leaning in from his locker, howled.
As the interview broke up, we mentioned Gooden again, and *someone* referred to him as “Doc.” Wang’s face lit up in recognition. Doc Gooden, now that’s name he knew.
“He does know!!” Chamberlain cried to the reporters who had left. “Edit! Edit! You need me to translate?”
———-
Mr. Hitchens notes that these discrepancies clearly establish the mythological origin of both accounts.
Here’s some more pitchers
Gullett 50 wins in 82 starts 1975
Santana 50 wins in 88 starts 2005
Clemens 50 wins in 86 starts 1988
Palmer 50 wins in 87 starts 1970
Mussina 50 wins in 90 starts 1994
…and the joker …
Pedro Borbon 50 wins by 1977 … only 4 starts!
Whitey Ford and Lefty Grove are candidates for this list but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what career start they were at when they got their fiftieth
“Gullett 50 wins in 82 starts 1975″
I remember when they signed Gullett, and what high hopes everyone had for him. He turned out to be the first of the disastrous Yankee high-end pitcher signings.
Pete….
what is Wang like in the club house? I played with him in Staten Island and he didnt speak any English really so noboby ever talked to him, he basically just kept to himself and on rare occasions he would spek to his translator…no more than 2 sentences at a clip and far between….is he still like that? Its not that he was cold, just really, really quiet.
Paul O’Neill is the best commentator ever.
Melky, Cano, and Abreu chatting and laughing on the bench after Abreu’s grand slam.
Paul O’Neill (to M. Kay) : “I think you’d need the SAP button for that conversation, Michael”
Kay doesn’t say anything.
Cut to Wang sitting alone on the bench
Paul O’Neill: “I don’t know what button you’d need for that.”
Hmmmmmm PA…..Tyler Kepner of “Bats” Blog from the ny times also said he spoke to Joba about the exact same thing. Of course it’s possible you both spoke to him about it, anywyas, just saying
Could Pete fawn over Wang any more? Why do I get the feeling that if Paul O’Neill had ever agreed to a book deal with Peter, that Pete would have a much different opinion on the merit of his number being retired some day.
I also feel Wang won this game without his best stuff.
But I still saw his progress in this game.
Many times Wang met the resistance, but he can take the pressure and get through it.
Oh, Abreu also did a good job!
Performances like that last night are very impressive. He got lit up like a pinball machine, but he still left a quality start and the chance to win (about time the hitting came through). Any doubts about Wang have to be erased by now. The dude deserves a contract, and the Yanks would be wise to sign him to one soon! He’s young enough to keep the rotation stable for years to come.