Today's Target: Chien-Ming Wang
Vitals: 27 yo RHP. Born in Tainan, Taiwan. 6-3, 225. 27-13, 3.84 career. 0-2, 5.84 in 2007. $489,500 salary.
Arsenal: A hard-sinking mid-90s fastball that's so effective, he throws it 75% of the time (most pitchers throw about 65% fastballs). Wang's almost a two-pitch pitcher, because he throws his slider almost exclusively to righties, and his change (a forkball) almost exclusively to lefties. Wang's hard-sinking fastball gave him the highest groundball/flyball ratio in the American League last year.
Recent Battles: Wang has four career starts against the Mariners, and four wins. He hasn't dominated the M's, he's just kept them in the yard and on the ground.
Our Best Weapon: Broussard and Bloomquist, who get spot starts today at 1B and 3B, respectively, seem to see the ball well against Wang. Broussard's 4-12 against him, and Bloomquist's worked him for two walks in seven plate appearances.
The Internet Says: When he ordered his birth certificate, which he needed for a baseball competition, Wang learned that his biological father was a man he knew as his uncle, and that the man he knew as his father was actually his uncle. And then Jack Nicholson slapped him.
Jeff Weaver (0-4, 18.26) goes for the M's. Gametime is 12:55. It's on FOX.
Chien-Ming Wang [ESPN]
Yankee Chien-Ming Wang [YouTube] (check the :50 mark, where Ichiro slaps a ball that stops literally a foot in front of home plate)
Wang vs. Mariner hitters [ESPN]
A Filial Yankee [The Useless Tree]
