MLB: Yankees Dealt a Bad Blow

Posted on | June 16, 2008 | No Comments

Just as things were really starting to look up for the New York Yankees, suddenly there is another huge problem. This time it’s their number one pitcher, Chien Ming Wang. On Sunday the Yankees swept the Texas Houston Astros in Houston.

Wang sprained his foot while running the bases on Sunday and had to be helped off the field. He was examined in New York today and the diagnosis is that he’ll be in a protective boot for at least 6 weeks. With that timetable he’ll be able to walk on his own by around the end of August. Then he’ll have to work himself back into shape so that he can once again be a starting pitcher. By the time all of that happened, if he’s able to keep in some type of shape with the boot, it’ll probably be about mid-September. But that’s if everything goes well from this point on. If not, then it’s more than likely that Wang will be lost for the season.

And what a blow that is since Wang has been one of the best pitchers in the Majors for the last couple of years. And this all happened just as the Yankees are finally playing the type of ball they hoped to play all season. With the sweep of the Astros the Yankees are now 4 games over .500 and just 6.5 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East.

Excuse the Yankees if they are down on interleague play from here on out. After all it’s not as if Wang injured himself on the mound or running to cover first. He hurt himself running the bases, an act that never would’ve happened for him during the regular season if not for interleague play.

But the Yankees have to use this like the Detroit Tigers used the injury to their pitcher Jeremy Bonderman. Before Bonderman went down the Tigers were 11 games under .500. Since his injury the Tigers have won 8 of 9 and 6 straight.

The good thing for the Yankees is that Joba Chamberlain is in the starting rotation and he’s looking better and better. Yet the Yanks can’t seem to find that collection of great starting pitching. Perhaps someone will step-up, or maybe the offense will pick-up the slack. It’s certainly capable of such things.

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3. MLB: Let’s Talk about the Yankees
4. MLB: Are the Yankees in Trouble?
5. MLB: Yankees Best Team in Baseball.. For Now

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