[外電] Yankees believe in Wang
Yankees confident with Wang going in playoff opener
BY MARK FEINSAND
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Thursday, October 4th 2007, 4:00 AM
YANKEES VS. INDIANS
Best of Five
GAME 1: YANKEES (Wang 19-7) at Indians (Sabathia 19-7), 6:30 p.m.
Thursday
GAME 2: YANKEES (Pettitte 15-9) at Indians (Carmona 19-8), 5 p.m. Friday
GAME 3: Indians (Westbrook 6-9) at YANKEES (Clemens 6-6) 6:30 p.m.
Sunday
GAME 4: Indians at YANKEES 6 p.m. Monday*
GAME 5: YANKEES at Indians, 5 p.m.** Wednesday*
*-if necessary
**-moves to 8:30 p.m. if it's the only game
Television: All games on TBS
Radio: All games on WCBS 880-AM.
Game 1 also on WQEW 1560-AM
Games 2-5 on ESPN 1050-AM
GAME 1 STARTERS
Chien-Ming Wang, Yankees
(19-7, 3.70 ERA)
The 27-year-old righthander will be on seven days rest, which
conventional wisdom says is bad for a sinkerballer. But Wang is not a
conventional sinkerballer, throwing harder than most. On six or more
days rest in his career, he is 5-3 with a 2.66 ERA in 10 starts. Wang
has pitched in Cleveland only once, giving up five runs on 11 hits over
5.1 innings in a loss last season. After two bad starts at the beginning
of August, Wang went 6-1 with a 2.67 ERA over his final eight
appearances, holding batters to a .237 average with only two home runs.
Travis Hafner is 1-for-6 against him, but Wang has dealt with the
slugger carefully, issuing him three walks.
C.C. Sabathia
(19-7, 3.21 ERA)
Quite possibly the American League's Cy Young winner, the 27-year-old
lefthander pitched 241 innings this season, 31 more than his previous
career high in 2002. The heavy workload wasn't a problem down the
stretch, however, as Sabathia averaged more than seven innings per game
over his final six starts, going 5-0 with a 2.45 ERA to help the Indians
pull away for the AL Central title. Sabathia is 1-7 with a 7.13 ERA in
his career against the Yankees, but hasn't faced them since 2004. Still,
Derek Jeter is 12-for-22 (.545) against the southpaw and Alex Rodriguez
is 7-for-17 (.412). Sabathia allowed righthanders to hit .275 this year,
holding lefties to a .203 clip.
CLEVELAND - There were no strong words or brash predictions, no material
for the upstart Indians to post on their bulletin board. The Yankees did
their best during yesterday's workout to stay quiet and let their
performance do their talking in this division series.
And who better to lead them in that mission than Chien-Ming Wang?
Wang isn't going to be mistaken for David Wells in an interview room
anytime soon, but the righthander is carving out a niche for himself as
the postseason go-to-guy.
After his second consecutive 19-win season for the Bombers, Wang has
established himself as the undisputed ace of this team, a role
previously reserved for guys named Cone and Clemens during the Joe Torre
era.
When Wang takes the mound tonight for Game1 against the Indians at
Jacobs Field, he will have another opportunity to add something else to
his reputation: big-game pitcher.
Two years ago, Wang allowed one run over 6-2/3 innings against the
Angels in a Game 2 loss. Last year, Wang picked up the Yankees' lone
October victory, beating the Tigers in Game 1 with 6-2/3 innings of
three-run ball.
A big performance by Wang tonight - and more over the next few weeks -
could vault him into the class of Wells and Orlando Hernandez when it
comes to clutch October performers. While he might never have the
animated traits of those two, his personality makes him an ideal
candidate to lead the Yankees' staff in this pressure-packed month.
"He just goes out and does his job. He's as professional as they come,"
Brian Cashman said. "He's not excitable, and in our market, that's
usually very helpful. We've grown to have a great deal of confidence
every time he takes the mound - for good reason."
Wang speaks some English, but he doesn't get caught up in the hype that
comes with playing for the Yankees in October. For some players, that
buildup can lead to extra pressure, but Wang seems to be a man without a
care in the world.
"It feels like the same game," Wang said. "I just have to go out there
and try not to do too much."
While that outlook has come naturally for the 27-year-old, his pitching
coach has reminded him over the past couple of seasons what time of year
it is.
"When you get to this, you know what it is, but you can't look at it any
differently, because when you get right down to it, it's still the same
game you've been playing all year," pitching coach and 1970s ace Ron
Guidry said. "You still have the same mound, the same pitches, so just
do the same things you've done in the past to be successful."
For Wang, that means pounding the strike zone with his power sinker,
getting grounders and bringing his hitters back into the dugout.
"He's been that good for us," Jorge Posada said. "He's been able to put
everything aside and focus on what his job is."
That Wang will be making his second consecutive Game 1 start for the
Yankees is remarkable, especially considering the fact that the pitcher
from Taiwan was never thought to be a potential star.
"We were high on him, but I don't think there are many guys we project
to be No.1 starters," Cashman said. "We thought he had a great deal of
ability, but there are very few times you daydream and say this is
someone who is going to pitch at the front of your rotation."
Wang was called up from Triple-A in April 2005, but expectations for him
were modest. His solid rookie season gave the Yankees the confidence to
start him in October, but it was his breakout year in 2006 that
solidified his status as a pitcher to count on.
"He's never been one to get caught up in things like this," Guidry said.
"I don't know if he really understands it, but if he doesn't, that's got
to be a plus."
Tonight, Wang and the Bombers try to take the first step toward erasing
their past two first-round postseason failures.
"Our dream is alive; like every year, we're going to do the best we
possibly can with it and we'll see where we're standing when the dust
settles," Cashman said. "This might be the toughest October, because all
four (AL) teams legitimately have a chance to run the table."
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10/04 17:01, , 1F
10/04 17:01, 1F