Zell's Pinstripe Blog

As it stands now, Chien-Ming Wang is pretty far from most Yankees fan’s minds at this point in time and with good reason. Originally, the Yankees did not expect him to be on the mound until July 2010. After a recent trip to James Andrew, it is possible that CMW could be on a major league mound by May.

The Yankees are likely to non-tender Wang this offseason so they can offer him a less lucrative deal. Earlier this postseason Wang stated he was hopeful that he would be back in pinstripes in 2010. Outside of the Red Sox or Mets, there probably won’t be many teams willing to give him a lucrative deal following shoulder surgery considering the possible length of his rehabilitation.

If Andy Pettitte re-signs, which most Yankees fans expect, a return of an effective CMW in 2010 would be a great shot in the arm for the Yankees rotation considering how many issues they had with the back end of the rotation in 2009 (See: Sergio Mitre, Brett Tomko, Chad Gaudin).

For me, if he returned as soon as the Yankees expect and give 3-4 months of solid work (let’s say a 4.25 ERA or below) from the back end of the rotation, that would be fine by me. A resurgent CMW going into 2010 postseason — prior Postseason issues aside — would certainly help in not having Burnett or a Pettitte pitch on 3 days rest.

Looking at CMW’s track record since he has been called up in 2005, there should be no doubt that he should be able to deliver quality starts when he returns from rehab in 2010. I know there are some of you that are skeptical of that fact and rightly so, shoulder surgery is serious business. Though, if a doctor can remove a ligament from your leg and put it in your throwing arm and the success of that surgery is pretty good, I think that CMW will be just fine, don’t you?