Nationals 3, Yankees 2: Don't blame CMW

by Ed Valentine on Jun 17, 2009 10:17 PM EDT in Game Recap Comment 22 comments

Chien-Ming Wang (0-5) took the loss Wednesday night in his make-or-break start as the Yanks fell to Washington, 3-2.

Don't pin the blame for this one on CMW, though. He pitched fine, and so did Phil Hughes and the rest of the Yankee bullpen.

Give Washington starter John Lannan, who pitched a brilliant, 8.1 innings, some credit. And give the Yankee defense, and an atrocious call by first-base umpire Larry Vanover, the blame.

Wang give up 6 hits, two walks and all three Washington runs in 5 innings. With a little help, though, the only run he should have surrendered was Adam Dunn's fourth-inning home run.

Ramiro Pena muffed a throw at second base that should have been a caught stealing, and Vanover clearly screwed up when he called Christian Guzman safe on a ground ball to A-Rod. If all had gone properly, that play would have been the final out of the inning and no runs would have scored.

Melky Cabrera compounded the issue by playing what should have been a single by Nick Johnson into a two-run triple.

Anyway, a frustrating night for the Yanks who nearly pulled off another walk off before Robinson Cano banged into a game-ending double play.

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I'd agree with that

Can’t really blame Wang tonight, although I’d like to see him be able to wiggle out of trouble when defense/umpires let him down. That’s going to happen.

But in reality he made few mistakes, the Dunn HR, Johnson’s hit that Melky turned into a calamity, and a belt high sinker that Zimmerman fouled back.

Step forward for Wang, though 91 pitches through 5 is Joba-esque.

by New York Sports Jerk on Jun 17, 2009 10:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

wow...

I guess that means Wang’s on his way, especially since you didn’t buy him his plane ticket overseas.

by FreeBradshaw on Jun 17, 2009 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't put words in my mouth

I didn’t say he was on his way, but this is a step in the right direction. I’ll reserve judgment until he faces a major league team.

But let the record show that I’m not incapable of being objective about Mr. Wang.

by New York Sports Jerk on Jun 17, 2009 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's a fairly uneducated statement...

When it comes to hitting the ball, Washington is definitely a major league team.

You can’t really compare across the league because of the DH, but they’re 8th in runs scored, tied for 5th in home runs and tied for fourth in OPS+ in the National League.

I don’t know if there are team stats that adjust for the DH position, but I do know that it’s not Washington’s offense that’s dragging them down this year. CMW did actually face a decent opponent.

by Theodles on Jun 18, 2009 1:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the lesson...

…point is, they’re 30 games under .500. I’ll wait for him to pitch well against a contender.

God, stop taking every word so damn literally. I’m aware the Nationals can hit a little, that doesn’t make them a major league team.

by New York Sports Jerk on Jun 18, 2009 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I just got back from the game and...

you definitely can’t blame CMW for what happened tonight. The offense disappeared tonight. Two hits, through 8-innings is unacceptable especially when the Yankees know CMW needs the support.

We should’ve taken all three from the Nats. I am still somewhat shocked. Oh well… tomorrow is another day and i’ll be at the stadium (hoping and praying they can get the game in). Supposed to rain all day.

Brian C.
Writer @ http://www.cnbsports.com

by Pooser7 on Jun 17, 2009 11:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

CMW is returning to form

He’s back to inducing groundouts. Now he only needs to get back to his “economical” pitching style to keep his pitch count low. And the Yankees defense should step up. With the sinker returning, they have a lot work to do.

by paeng on Jun 17, 2009 11:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

9th inning frustration

I just came from the game and have one question:

Why did Girardi not send Arod when he was on first in the ninth and Gardner was on third?? You would force a bad team to make a decision whether to throw through, possibly have a double steal to tie the game and if not, you would at least remove the possibility of a double play!
Its a no brainer as far as I’m concerned.
What was Girardi thinking???

by yankeys92 on Jun 17, 2009 11:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not to mention

I think we should have started Jeter or brought him in for Pena in the 8th. Sort of risky but if Jeter said he felt good, I believe he could of got a few hits today.

by justinxyankeesfan on Jun 18, 2009 12:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

why risk Jeter?

It would have been a good day anyway to sit him. No you can’t risk him getting any worse.

I think Pena plays today cuz A-Rod is in need of a day off or 2.

by FreeBradshaw on Jun 18, 2009 7:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If you tried for a steal in that situations….

And it succeeds….great.

If it fails…

1) The Nationals wouldn’t need a double play to end the inning, just one more out.

2) With only one out to play with, a sacrifice fly cannot score the runner and tie the game.

So while there are merits to trying to steal…I’m with Girardi on this one. Cano can hit and even if he doesn’t get a hit, there’s a decent chance of a sac fly. The probabiliy of him hitting into a double play weren’t that high.

I’m guessing Cano’s not much of a bunter. Would have been fun to see a bunt =D Not necessarily optimal…but fun.

by Theodles on Jun 18, 2009 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

theres no way they try to throw through if arod goes...

and bunting here is a real bad call. With the first baseman holding on arod, cano also had a bigger hole to hit through on the right side. the problem was cano was quickly in an 0-2 hole. I have no problems with the way the yanks approached the situation, the result was just bad. A good reason not to wait until late in games to start hitting.

by Ozone on Jun 18, 2009 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We have one of the fastest guys in the league on 3rd base

Gardner is faster than Jayson Werth & is about the same speed as Ellsbury (both of which stole home), so why not attempt the double-steal? Being that the Nationals have 66 errors on the season (not to mention they’re using their backup catcher!), why not send Arod. He normally has 20+ SBs on the year, so he can actually run. Force this bad team to make a decision. This way you destroy any double-play chances & that’s how the game was lost last night. To me, that’s why the Yankees lost the game last night more than anything else.

by BriGuy27 on Jun 18, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Check it out- some opinion pieces

http://yankeecontrarian.wordpress.com/

by sean8686 on Jun 18, 2009 1:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Cano chasing A-Rod...

for Mr. “Oh no, not him in the clutch” situations. I hear Pap now sends a limo to deliver him to Yankees-Red Sox games.

by rosebud on Jun 18, 2009 1:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Just throwing out some thoughts

Our offense was junk tonight. 2 hits and only one walk is unacceptable through 8. There is no way we should have been shut out like this. The 9th inning was a nice rally until cano grounded into the dp. I cant blame joe for not sending A-rod in that situation, even though Robbie has bounced into the most double plays and we all would have liked to see A-rod run. I think CMW pitched great. besides the homerun i didnt see many hard hit balls. Even on the homerun CMW hit the spot jorge put out. Wang had full control of his pithches and hit the corners nicely. I dont think we could have asked any more from our pitchers. I think instead of talking about CMW’s spot in the rotation we need to talk about A-rod. He only has two multi hit games this season. Thats pathetic, and thats not even talking about his awful .219 batting average. If we want to win this year A-rod better start hitting.

by dan.altman89 on Jun 18, 2009 2:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Is it possible that

A-Rod’s injured hip is still bothering him?

by Raven King on Jun 18, 2009 5:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i think so

i also think he stole a base a few games ago but i could be wrong. It might’ve been someone else. I think they’re just being careful with it. you can still tell it’s affecting him since he’s not hitting well

by theintz on Jun 18, 2009 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, I'll blame Girardi!!!!!!!

Why the heck did Arod not steal second in the 9th to prevent the DP? There was no way they would try to catch him stealing and open up home for Gardner to swipe. If Arod’s hip is bothering him, put someone else in who can run decently. This was just flat out POOR managing tonight.

Also, with Gardner’s blazing speed why not try a squeeze play? But that’s just me, I like aggressive small ball.

by GullySully77 on Jun 18, 2009 9:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yes, Yes, Yes

I totally agree. Keeping up with the game on the computer I have no way to see how the infield is playing, but I would have been aggressive and pushed the Nats into making a play…..

Rick
Goooooooooooo MSU BOBCATs
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY

by ramyankee on Jun 18, 2009 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was out and about

So I didn’t catch the game. But from the situation you describe, this seems like Girardi’s achilles heel. He has stopped playing small ball like he promised. This is now the 2nd or 3rd time we ran into this situation and he didn’t send the runner on first. You have Gardner take a nice fake jump while sending A-Rod, if he throws to second Gardner has a shot at the plate or at the very least force the catcher to concede second.

by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on Jun 18, 2009 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

cano has been a hot hitter and with arod being held on there’s a bigger hole to hit through. He got in an 0-2 count quick so you cant send him at that point. I could only see an argument for sending him at 0-1. Cano isnt much of a bunter (but he should be, like every major leaguer should be) so that may have been a bit of a stretch to try, again especially with how hot he’s been with the bat. This is a hard situation to second guess.

by Ozone on Jun 18, 2009 9:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs