New York Yankees: Chien-Ming Wang Cures Panic Attacks

We hold our breath with every pitch thrown hoping that the problematic fingernail does not flare up and impede on his march to October. Last night you could hear the gasps from the raucous crowd when in the fifth inning, Wang summoned Jose Molina to the mound after a pitch and was seen flicking his right thumb.

Manager Joe Girardi and Head Trainer Gene Monahan immediately jogged to the mound, hoping their worst fears were not realized. At that point you could immediately feel the sense of urgency in the organization. This was their gem, their only bridge between now and championship No. 27.

Wang is seen as somewhat of an enigma. He's a baseball oddity in that he doesn’t possess overpowering stuff, yet manages to win a high percentage of his games. In 2007, Wang only had 104 strikeouts ranking him towards the bottom 50 for fewest in a season.

Many have critiqued him, saying that he was “lucky” and that the team he played for supported him with firepower. Yet, 32 games into the season, Wang owns one-sixth of those victories and in only one of those Wang victories did the Yankees offense defeat their opponent by more than four runs.

In 1978, Guidry did not record his sixth victory until May 23, the Yankees' 38^th game of the season. Albert Chen wrote an article for Sports Illustrated in April stating how Wang has achieved a cult following in his native Taiwan and yet can walk the streets of New York practically unnoticed. His 38 wins over the last two year span are the most of any pitcher in the same time period.

Now that he has added a change-up and slider to his arsenal, last post-season’s debacle should become distant memory for most of you. If he continues to throw his biting sinker, behold folks, you just may be seeing Ron Guidry’s ’78 campaign replicated — 30 years later.

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