Hopefully we’ll have some baseball tonight against the A’s, but in the meantime, I do have some news.
Chien-Ming Wang’s shoulder has not improved, according to Bryan Hoch, and he continues to feel significant discomfort. Hoch also notes that Wang actually believes his 2009 season may be in jeopardy and that surgery could be required. Wang visited Dr. David Altcheck yesterday about the pain and was scheduled to throw again tomorrow after being shut down earlier in the week with bicep tenderness, but for now the Yanks will hold off on that until they examine Altcheck’s findings and confer with team physician, Dr. Chris Ahmad.
The news doesn’t sound very encouraging.
UPDATE Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane movies
– Hoch has updated his article and notes that the Yankees will also discuss a course of action with the infamous Dr. Andrews. Yikes.
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Actually, this gives us some clarity on how to proceed with the trade deadline. If you remove Wang from the equation, then we clearly will need a pitcher.
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OldRanger Reply:
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:53 pm
I knew that would be the first reaction.
Do you think we really need another pitcher now? Or, do you think we could use another pitcher? There is a big difference, as I am sure you well realize.
One puts us in the drivers seat, the other puts us at the mercy of other teams. If we NEED a pitcher we are going to give up a lot of good talent to get a better pitcher then those we have available to us from within.
Some of the names I have seen thrown out there are no better then what we have. Others are to damn expensive…in talent.
If one falls into our lap…go for it, otherwise stay with what brung us.
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The foot injury problem caused him to alter his mechanics and hurt his shoulder. This is really bad news. Shoulder surgeries are hard to recover from. And like Steve said, now we have to add a pitcher.
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Chris H. Reply:
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:24 pm
It’s amazing how last year’s injury has put this season in jeopardy for Wang. I think the Yankees will certainly look for another arm now.
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I hate to say it, but “good.”
I love Wang, and was rooting hard for him to have a good season. Unfortunately his rehab (both offseason and inseason)was handled badly, and I think it better we take our time with him rather than rush him back again.
Even if he came back this season, I doubt he’d be better than a 4-5 starter, and there are plenty of other places we can go for that. I’d rather he takes his time, build up his arm strength and return to us in classic Wang form in 2010.
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DaveinMD Reply:
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:49 pm
I doubt he pitches until after next year. He probably has rotator cuff surgery in his future.
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Didn’t Marte go see Dr Andrews as well? He didn’t need surgery did he? Let’s wait and see what happens first. Even if the worst happens for Wang the Yankees may not even need another pitcher. I think Girardi needs to work Melancon into the bullpen mix better. Bring him in with two out and no one on to get the third out. Build his confidence over the next few weeks. Melancon with confidence could allow Aceves to move into the rotation when Joba reaches his innings limit.
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