Cashman Gives Yanks An Out

Monday's rainout allowed the Yankees to set their rotation for the week, and to the surprise of no one, they will skip Chien-Ming Wang on Friday in Boston.

Andy Pettitte will pitch Tuesday and CC Sabathia Wednesday against the A's. After an off day Thursday, Joba Chambelain will start the series opener against the Red Sox, followed by A.J. Burnett and Pettitte. Sabathia will get the series opener at Detroit next Monday, leaving Wang in line to start the next day.

However, GM Brian Cashman may have laid the groundwork to move Wang to the DL. Here's what Cashman said to reporters prior to Wang's bullpen session Monday and the Yankee's rotation announcement:

"As of right now, we have no reason to believe he's not healthy, but I've
been down that road too before. So, we're looking at everything else right now
but health. But at the same his velocity is down, and his command is off, and
those are two indicators also sometimes. So, we'll keep looking at it.

When somebody struggles to this degree, you always wonder about
health."

Wang's mechanics are all messed up and it would be a miracle if Joe Girardi, Dave Eiland and company can get that fixed in nine days. At least now they have an out ... and they should take it. At this point, we're not just talking about fixing Wang physically, we're also talking about rebuilding Wang's confidence. The Yankees can't afford to do all that at the major league level.

Get Wang on the DL so he can be sent down to Tampa and Nardi Contreras. Let Phil Hughes fill in for the time being. Wang still can be a very good pitcher, the Yankees just have to be smart in how they rebuild him.

Up Next
Today vs. A's, 7:05 p.m., Local TV (check your local listings)
Dana Eveland (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. Pettitte (1-0, 2.51)