Joe Girardi said on the Yankee post game that P Chien Ming Wang has a shoulder strain and bursitis, and that he’ll need some rest. Given how conservative the Yanks are with injuries, Wang’s past history with shoulder problems and the bumpy year he’s had already, figure he’s out a month, easy. Possibly more with rehab starts mixed in. What an awful, screwy year for Wang. The kind you just want to forget ever happened if you’re him.
So the next question becomes who gets the next start. I highly doubt Phil Hughes gets moved out of his current role. First, he would need to be stretched out in order to start, and when they tried doing that with Joba on the MLB level last year, he wound up with a sore shoulder by the end of the year. They’re not going to do that again. Plus, Phil’s been a Godsend out of the bullpen, and has even become Girardi’s most trusted setup man of late. The team needs him late in games, and there’s no real replacement for him with Bruney struggling.
Looking at the Scranton Wilkes Barres roster download Phantasm , the most likely candidate would be Sergio Mitre.
Cashman was actually on his way to watch him pitch when he took a detour and visited the team in Atlanta, so you know he’s on the organization’s radar. Ian Kennedy is still rehabbing his way back, Ivan Nova just showed up in AAA and has only one start under his belt at that level. Don’t even ask about Kei Igawa. Another possibility is Brett Tomko, although he would need to be stretched out as well.
Shallow Grave buy UPDATE: LoHud has some more details on Wang’s injury-
Chien-Ming Wang had an MRI at Columbia Presbyterian and was back at the park by the end of the game.
He is headed for the DL with what is being described as a strain with bursitis. But everybody seems to think that he will be back within a month.
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OK, now we know a bit more about the time frame were dealing with. 3-4 weeks means that by the time Hughes is stretched out, Wang will be ready to return. So the ‘Hughes back to the rotation’ debate is pointless. We have one start to fill before the AS Break, and 1-2 after that. It’s going to be Tomko, Mitre or Aceves as a longshot possibility.
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mitre isn’t a bad option, he’s got impressive stats in AAA.
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Plus, Phil’s been a Godsend out of the bullpen, and has even become Girardi’s most trusted setup man of late. The team needs him late in games, and there’s no real replacement for him with Bruney struggling.
Hey Steve, do these words remind you of something or someone? Can’t believe we’re going to broach this scenario once again… especially when we are in need of a starter. It just adds some credibility to the Joba situation because the point is so valid.
Kontos may have had his chance here, too bad he is hurt.
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Steve S. Reply:
July 4th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I think there are significant differences between this case and Joba. Joba’s a 4-pitch pitcher whereas Hughes has two. But I can see the similarities as well.
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DaveinMD Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 12:28 am
He also has a pretty good cutter. So its not really just two.
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