Is it just me, or have Washington Nationals fans been a little too excited about the prospects of signing former Yankee pitcher Chien-Ming Wang? I know he’s a former Cy Young Award runner-up and has a career record of 55-26 in five seasons, but it seems the news coming out of Nationals camp is all Wang all the time. Seriously, it’s all the chatter on Twitter in Nats circles. (Note, be careful searching ‘Wang’ on Twitter at work).↵↵Now that he’s signed with the Nationals, D.C. is going Wang crazy.↵
Are the Nationals Putting Their Rotation Hopes on an Injured Wang?
↵↵The fact of the matter is, Wang was a non-factor for the World Series champs in 2009, going 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA in 12 games (nine starts) before hanging it up for the season with a shoulder injury in early July. In 2008, he pitched just 15 games, logging just 95 innings, despite going 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA. Wang had been in ‘wait and see’ mode for the last week, clearly waiting to see if another team not named the Nationals would make him an offer. Nobody did, which obviously led to him signing with the NL East also-rans. ↵
↵↵The news was imminent after the Nationals official website was offering Wang jerseys before the deal was consummated. Yes, there are a thousand jokes with the words Wang and premature running through our collective blog brains. ↵
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Jokes aside, we're left to wonder if Wang can be a viable member of any staff. ↵
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↵When the Dodgers worked him out and left without offering him a deal, Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider said on Twitter, "Was just told by a source close to #Dodgers that after watching Wang throw this morning, they're not ready to sign him. Good sign for #Nats."↵
↵↵I don’t know how good the sign is for a franchise that they need everyone else to pass on a pitcher that’s coming off two seasons of injuries to shore up their rotation. In his great breakdown of the need for three top-quality starters in MLB, Zuckerman threw in this graph on Wang:↵
↵↵⇥This is why the Nats have been so aggressive in pursuing free agent right-hander Chien-Ming Wang, who baseball sources say is deciding between either Washington or one other yet-to-be-revealed finalist. Wang may be an injury risk, having made only 24 combined starts the last two seasons for the Yankees and having gone an abysmal 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA in 2009 before undergoing shoulder surgery. But if he’s healthy -- and all signs point to him being close to 100 percent and shooting for a May return to the majors -- Wang is an established, big-league pitcher who should be able give the Nats exactly what they need.↵↵↵Nats fans do seem excited about the signing. Maybe they expect a healthy Wang – someone who can contribute to a staff that needs production. Or they’re just excited for the jokes.↵
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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