Projo Sox Blog

By Kat O'Brien
Newsday

NEW YORK - Chien-Ming Wang's horrendous start has the Yankees discussing every possibility.

The Yankees need to get Wang - who won 19 games in both 2006 and 2007 and was 8-2 when he suffered a season-ending foot injury last season - on track and ready to improve upon his 34.50 ERA. They could call up a pitcher such as Phil Hughes from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace him in the rotation. Or they could skip Wang this time through the rotation, thanks to a day off Thursday, avoid pitching him at Fenway Park and give him extra time to work on his mechanics.

"We have had a lot of healthy discussions this morning," manager Joe Girardi said. "We looked at a lot of video. We looked at where his hands were, the height of his leg kick, where his head is, if it's on line, the angle of his arm. We've looked at everything. We just haven't had a chance to discuss it with him yet."

Wang said he wants to remain in the rotation. "I can pitch in the game," he said. "I'll keep working."

Wang is 0-3 and has given up 23 runs, 23 hits and six walks in six innings, but Girardi is convinced he is healthy. He said he thinks the problems are both physical and mental.

"Even if you had won four Cy Youngs, you'd be pretty frustrated after three starts like that, no matter who you are," he said. "It's just difficult to go through. You've got to fight your way out of it. You've got to make adjustments, and we really believe that he's capable of doing that."

 Tags  Chien-Ming Wang New York Yankees

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