Wang proves patience pays off

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Wang proves patience pays off
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080503/SPORTS/
805030345/-1/SPORTS06By Dave Buscema
Times Herald-RecordNew York — He offered that lullaby of a wind-up, each pitch rocking the
Yankees back to a sense of calm they've received nowhere else this year.Over and over, Chien-Ming Wang has provided shelter from the growing calamityof the Yankees' season, answering questions as to whether he could be an ace by
instead serving as a savior.But the most important thing Wang is saving has as much to do with the Yankees'
future as it does their present.He didn't just offer the Yankees a needed 3-1 win to improve his record to 6-0last night. He didn't just give them the rare confidence that inspired many ofthem to don Wang T-shirts under their jerseys and had Joba Chamberlainproclaiming "that's my man" after Wang again followed a Yankees' loss with a
win.No, Wang gave the Yankees a glimpse of how patience can pay off, inspirationthat can help pick up the heads of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, who might find
their chins somewhere near the ground these days.As for this year, Wang simply bandaged a wound that will keep hemorrhaging fora while because even Mr. Baseball, Hank Steinbrenner, recognized a simple
mathematic reality all the way down in Tampa."We just can't win one out of every five games every time Wang pitches," LittleStein told the Associated Press. "It's not going to work. It's not a good win
percentage."Putting Headache-inducing Hank's analysis of the obvious aside, Wang's value
has suddenly skyrocketed in a season that supposedly would offer questions.Which is why every Yankees fan around had to gasp when he beckoned catcher Jose
Molina due to a cramp in his hand.The good news is, Wang said he was fine later, though he left after that sixth
inning because he could still feel it while he pitched.They obviously cannot afford to lose Wang, who acknowledged he's pitching as
well as he ever has.
There's a reason for that.The fierce pride buried beneath his blank expression and limited Englishcompelled him to erase the indignity of his responsibility for last year's
playoff debacle.So he worked with pitching coach Dave Eiland on a changeup and slider,determined to add complements to a sinker that's more devastating with the
added balance.He did that the way he once adjusted to initially losing his slider due to anarm injury years ago, when the Yankees reportedly told him not to rely on it asheavily. That led to him becoming a prized pupil at mastering the sinker under
minor-league pitching coach Neil Allen's tutelage.So all of this success — the most wins in the big leagues the past couple ofseasons and a stopper quality this year that's been as needed as ever — comes
seven years after arm surgery wiped out Wang's season.Back at 21, Wang missed the entire season. At 22 and 23, he wasn't quite onanyone's radar. Which means Wang isn't just offering the calm that comes with
his placid demeanor on the mound and results off of it.He's giving a silent hope to Hughes and Kennedy after a month of a season that
has so many people cursing their future.There are no guarantees, of course, and you can still argue Johan Santana was
too much of a proven entity to pass on in the off-season.But as Wang's career shows, you cannot try to fully evaluate that trade this
year.The combination of Hughes' injury and the ineffectiveness of he and Kennedydoesn't provide good news for the present, of course. Even Little Stein
acknowledged "at this point, we'll see if we even make the postseason."But Wang gives the Yankees their best hope of patching things together long
enough to make another run.
He also gives them an example of how a pitcher can develop later in his career.
"I think you feel really good when he takes the mound," Girardi said.


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