BRAIN FREEZE

Somebody has to explain to me what the Yankees are doing.  Why is Chien Ming Wang being force fed into the starting rotation NOW???

By NOW, I mean during a stretch where we play the Rays, the Red Sox, and the Mets in consecutive series.  The Yanks were rolling along.  They had a great May. They were in first place.  But over a ten day period, they were scheduled to play their three biggest rivals – the two teams they have to beat in the American League East, and their cross town rivals from Queens.

So they pick this point in the season to experiment with Wang.  Wang is still not himself.  He has yet to regain his strength from last year’s foot injury.  Phil Hughes was giving them credible if not always spectacular starts.  So why pick this moment to put Wang back into the rotation?

Now I understand that ultimately the Yankees need Wang if they are going to seriously challenge for the pennant.  He was their most consistent pitcher over the last three years, and his return to form would give us arguably the best starting rotation in baseball.

But nothing in Wang’s brief bullpen performances since he returned from the minors gave any indication that he was ready to return to form.  So why pitch him NOW, and in Fenway Park?

Given my detestation of Joe Girardi, I would like to blame this decision on him.  So I will.  The entire Yankee braintrust deserves blame here, including the normally sagacious Brian Cashman.  But Girardi is the man in charge on the field.  At the end of the day, the decision to put Wang back in the rotation NOW was his call.  And once again, he blew it.

Then he made things worse.  When Wang got into trouble early, he had Robertson up.  But when Wang finally tanked, he ignored Robertson and rushed Hughes into the game before he was properly warmed up, and before he could hit a groove, Hughes gave up a two run homer to Youklis, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Girardi’s handling of Hughes tonite highlights a recurring problem  Time and again he has rushed his relievers in before they are ready.  Is it any wonder that Mariano cannot abide Girardi?

The Yankees have a contending team, but so long as Girardi is in charge, they will be working at a disadvantage.

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