Re-examining Wang

April 28, 2008 by Jason@IIATMS

After Chien-Ming Wang’s last start, I noted a few of the different trends that were starting to appear that I hadn’t seen before, namely a boost in his K rates at the expense of his GB:FB ratios. Then he had his outing today (which, I didn’t get to see live, sorry).

His line: 113 PC, 7 INN, 4 HA, 2 BBI, 9 K, W, HB

Nine K’s in 7 IP. Who does he think he is, Jake Peavy?

His K-rate jumped from 5.06 to 6.23, well over 1 K/9 IP over his career high of 4.70 he achieved last year. His GB:FB ratio remains at 2.00:1, his most “even” since the 2.68 he posted last year (note: these stats might change as I am not sure if the GB:FB ratio has been updated in ESPN, source for the stats shown in my graph to the right). Still no reason to worry.

Or is there?

Note, too, that he needed 113 pitches to get thru 7 IP. I’m not so concerned with the number of pitches but rather that he needed that many to get thru 7 IP. He’s usually more economical, however, with this newer approach, we’re seeing a shift. The 14.56 avg pitches per inning is also a career high.

Fewer grounders and double plays but more K’s and pitches. And his ERA stands at 3.23, also a career low (after 6 starts). And he’s won 5 games this April and holds a career 51-18 record. Pretty darn impressive, any way you slice it.

Can Wang continue to evolve before our eyes? Not sure but I am watching (well, except for the game yesterday, naturally).

Did you see anything different today? Tell me if I missed something since I didn’t get to see it live.