Phillies Crave Wang

From The Philadelphia Inquirer:

The Phils have even scouted Chien-Ming Wang, in case the Yankees make him available.


The Phillies need pitching. When it's all said and done, the Yanks could get similar production from Phil Hughes. So do you trade Chien-Ming Wang?

It's tough to give a definitive answer. Wang, for the most part, has been absolutely awful for New York. His pitches aren't too effective for long stretches and he's nowhere near the level of Wang circa 2006.

However, he has indeed pitched well, relative to his other starts, in his past 3 games. Two weeks ago, he threw 5 innings, giving up 3 runs to the Washington Nationals. He recorded 12 ground balls, his highest total of the year.

Last Tuesday, he gave up 3 runs in 5 innings to the Atlanta Braves. And last night against the Mets, he went 5.1 innings, giving up 2 runs in his 1st win of 2009.

He has gotten better. But he can't be fairly judged until he faces a strong lineup. The Nationals are putrid, the Braves have nice hitters in a huge ballpark, and the Mets have been weak offensively without most of their star players.

I'll wait until he goes up against a few AL lineups. He's scheduled to face the Blue Jays on Saturday which will be a nice test. Then his turn will come up again in LA for the Angels. Then the All-Star break comes up.

I'll officially say let's wait until the break for this one. Personally, I believe Wang would be a good reliever. His stuff is electric for short bursts. Plus, it's painful to see him trot out every 5 games and watch him try to work out his issues. It may never happen.

So if he can't challange the teams New York needs to beat in a Wild Card race (Come on. The Sox are tough again this year.) then Wang is fair game.

Of course, what could be brought back in return?


--Max Caster