Costly 13-0 Win For Yanks, As Wang Is Injured

"Requiring the AL pitchers to be part of the lineup [and hit] is one of the many reasons that I do not like interleague games. The pitchers are being put in situations that they are not familiar with, which can cause injuries; and, presents a major disadvantage to the American League in these games played at the home field of the National League teams. I would much rather see the Yankees play more games against the teams in the AL East, or, at the very least, more games against the other teams in the American League".                                                              ... Jimmy Curran,  "Baseball, The Yankees, and Life"

The above quote is from my mlblog, on June 14, 2008, from the Post: "Joba and Jeter Lead Yankees In 2-1 Win" ...

My concerns about the pitchers hitting and running in these interleague games at the home field of the National League teams, started in the first game of the weekend series against the Houston Astros. Joba Chamberlain was the Yankees starting pitcher, and he did have two at bats in this game. His first time up he struck out. But, in his second at-bat, Joba failed in a sacrifice bunt attempt, which resuled in a force play at second, and Chamberlain standing on first base. Thoughts quickly filled my mind about Joba running the bases: What if he gets injured while on the base paths?

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to Chien-Ming Wang in Sunday's, 13-0, shutout win against the Houston Astros, which completed a three-game sweep of the Astros by the Yankees.

In the middle of the Yankees eight-run, sixth-inning rally, Wang reached first on a bunt that was turned into a fielders choice at second. Then, with Damon up, Wang was safe at second on a ball dropped by an Astros infieder on an attempted force play. "On this play" it looked like Wang injured himself, as he arrived at second base - standing up - and, he kind of stepped on the bag with a twisting motion. I think this play was more revealing regarding the lack of base running experience that Wang [and probably all American League pitchers] have. It was very clear, on a simple base running play from "first to second", an injury can happen in a variety of ways because the pitchers are [maybe] called upon to engage in these activities once or twice throughout the whole baseball season; and, maybe, even throughout the pitchers whole careers, they will only be on the base paths a handful of times.

Like Mike Mussina said after the game, "We [the pitchers] don't hit, or run the bases. We maybe get four or five at-bats at most, and if you happen to get on base once or twice you never know. We run in straight lines most of the time, but turning corners - we really don't do that".

And, to consider the danger of pitchers running around the bases, Joe Girardi summed it up best when he said, "It's a manager's worst nightmare when a pitcher is on the basepaths".

Well, Wang didn't injure himself on the play at second, but was injured as he rounded third base on a single by Derek Jeter. Somewhere between third and home Wang sprained his foot, and started to limp as he crossed the plate, scoring the run.

Chien-Ming Wang will be on crutches and wear a protective boot for at least 6-8 weeks, and is expected to be out of action until at least September. In my view, though, I would be very surprised if Wang pitches again this year. I hope for the best, and maybe he will be back to help the Yankees down the stretch, and in the playoffs.

Some changes need to take place regarding pitchers hitting in interleague games. One pitcher injured, is one pitcher too many.

This is the reason I totally agree with the statements made by Yankees owner, Hank Steinbrenner.

Mr. Steinbrenner expressed his concern when he said, "It is always a concern of American League teams when their pitchers have to run the bases, and they're not used to doing it. And, it's not just us, it's everybody. It should be a concern for all teams from both the American and National Leagues".

Hank Steinbrenner also said he will discuss the matter with Commissioner Bud Selig, and at least try to get the DH in all interleague games. Hopefully, this rule change takes place soon, before any more pitchers are injured.