[外電] A ‘strong’ start for Chien-Ming Wang provides more pro
few questions
A ‘strong’ start for Chien-Ming Wang provides more promise, leaves a
few questions
By Adam Kilgore
In the first inning Tuesday night, as he watched the Reds knock around
Chien-Ming Wang’s sinker, Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty
turned to Manager Davey Johnson and said something that would have
seemed unfathomable during the past two years.
“He’s too strong,” McCatty kept saying. “He’s too strong.”
Wang’s sinker, the pitch that allowed him to carry a no-hitter into the
sixth inning last week in Chicago, was staying up, consistently a few
inches higher than where Wilson Ramos stuck his mitt. Wang received six
days off because of an off day and a rainout. Now, to McCatty’s eyes,
Wang was too strong after spending the last two years recovering from a
torn shoulder capsule and surgery.
Wang settled down, earned the win and pitched 6 1/3 innings, his longest
start since June 10, 2008. To do it, though, he needed help and good
luck. The Reds smashed five line drives to the outfield from the second
inning through the fifth, and they all found the glove of an
outfielder.
Wang, for his part, said he felt “the same,” not too strong. But he
agreed that he did not have his typical sinker. Consistency, after more
than two years away from the majors, will not come back to Wang easily.
The most unnerving thing about Wang, perhaps, has been his dearth of
strikeouts. Wang, by inducing groundballs with his sinker, never needed
to strikeout many batters. From 2005 to 2008, he struck out four
batters per nine innings; this year, that would rank him ahead of two
out of 107 qualifying pitchers.
So Wang does not have to be a strikeout pitcher to succeed. But in his
first four starts, he has struck out almost literally nobody. In 21 1/3
innings, Wang has struck out three batters. He struck out no one last
night. Entering last night, batters had swung and missed at 8.6 percent
of his pitches, a little more than half his career average. Last night,
the Reds swung and missed only twice, both by Drew Stubbs, on
consecutive pitches.
Wang has countered his inability to strike out any hitters by not
walking them. He’s issued just five walks. The question of whether a
groundball pitcher can succeed with the ball constantly in play, so
long as he walks no one, is interesting both in practice and in theory.
Wang pitched decent last night, but he also needed a reasonable amount
of luck. What would his start have looked like if some of those line
drives had fallen in? Can his sinker produce weak groundballs
consistently enough for him to have sustained success?
The answers to those questions will start come over the next six weeks,
as the Nationals continue to evaluate whether or not they should keep
Wang in the fold for next season. The important thing, for now, is
simply that he’s healthy enough to provide an honest assessment. For
one night, he may have even been too strong.
One more thing from last night that warrants mentioning: The Nationals
received another overpowering performance from Tyler Clippard and Drew
Storen, who recorded all eight outs after Wang departed. Clippard
stranded a pair of runners by striking out Brandon Phillips in the
seventh, and Storen struck out two in the ninth, firing 97-mph sinkers
that dove from off the left side of the plate to just over the corner
to save his 32nd gave.
It would be easy those two for granted, and it would also be wrong.
FROM THE POST
The Nationals went all-in signing their draft picks Monday night, Boz
writes.
In a 6-4 Nationals victory over the Reds, Michael Morse showed why he’s
become an integral piece of the Nationals future – and why he’ll
probably be playing left field next year.
NATS MINOR LEAGUES
Syracuse 13, Gwinett 4: Stephen Lombardozzi went 3 for 5 with a double
and a walk. Roger Bernadina went 1 for 3 with a home run and a walk.
Chris Marrero went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk.
Akron 4, Harrisburg 3 (12 innings): Bryce Harper went 1 for 5 with a
strikeout. Derek Norris went 1 for 6 with a home run. Rafael Martin
blew a save.
Potomac 6, Kinston 3: Eury Perez went 2 for 5 with a triple. Josh Smoker
allowed no runs in two relief innings on one hit and one walk, striking
out four.
Hagerstown 10, Lexington 2: Robbie Ray allowed no runs in three innings
on one hit and one walk, striking out four. Kevin Keyes went 2 for 3
with a home run, a triple and a walk. David Freitas went 2 for 4 with a
double.
Auburn was off.
By Adam Kilgore | 06:00 AM ET, 08/17/2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/a-strong-start-for-chien-ming-wang-provides-more-promise-leaves-a-few-questions/2011/08/17/gIQA8GZcKJ_blog.html
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