Wang Completes Me

Friday, July 28, 2006
Home Game 50
Yankees 6 Devil Rays 0
Subway Race Winner: B train
Cap Game: 3



Worm Killer Wang™ was in full effect tonight, recording his first career shutout. Just a beautifully pitched game. Only 2 hits and 2 walks the entire night. Wang has been flying under the radar all season, what with the rookie sensations like Liriano and Papelbon getting the headlines this year. He doesn't have very sexy strikeout numbers, and some insist that he won't be successful in the long run because of this. I'm not a stat head so I can't argue one way or the other, but I'll certainly take what he is giving this team. In this mlb.com fluff piece on Wang, Guidry mentions that he has the stuff to blow guys away, but he prefers to throw the sinker. It's working well so far, so I'd say to stick with it. At the end of that article, Mariners batting coach Jeff Pentland compares Wang to Roy Halladay. After tonight's game Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon made the same comparison.

One of the more anticipated moments of the evening was how the Stadium would react to A-Rod. Well, I'm quite impressed with my fellow fans tonight. He received a nice ovation when he was announced his first time up. And that continued through the evening. Yeah, there were a couple of smart asses who still booed. But I saw people who I know dislike the man clap and cheer him on. They know that the Yankees need him to do well. I can't say for sure what brought the change of heart on. Maybe they were sick of the media attention. Maybe it was because he ended the road trip on a good note. Maybe the fans who weren't booing finally got tired enough of the other mooks and decided to do something about it. Who knows. But, I think the shift is happening.

Random Notes:
– I was totally expecting rain tonight, but the weather held up. We were treated to some rather ominous clouds though. At one point it looked like the Bronx was burning.

– Dave, who sat behind me last year, met me at the game along with a couple of his friends. His friend Adam happens to work at the building where Jeter and Matsui live. I was told that Matsu's rehab is going well and he's anxious to get back. Hideki sounds like the real deal as far as being a nice guy goes. Adam saw him in a Duane Reade once and Matsui went out of his way to say hi to the guy.

I miss Matsui.


In attendance record: 20-13