Roughly two months ago, the Yankees came to the conclusion that starter Chien-Ming Wang wasn’t worth the roster space anymore, even though they controlled his rights for the next two seasons. That’s why they non-tendered him on December 12 and made him a free agent this offseason.

It’s hard to blame the Bombers to coming to the decision not to tender Wang after he battled through ineffectiveness and injury in 2009. He was a disaster last season, finishing with a 1-6 record and a 9.64 ERA.

But in wake of the Nationals signing the right-hander to a contract on Tuesday, I wonder whether or not the Yankees will regret the decision to let Wang go after the ’09 season. After all, he’s only 29 and just a few years removed from posting back-to-back 19-win seasons.

Before signing CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett last offseson, the Yankees’ crutch was their pitching. Wang was outstanding for them in 2006 and 2007 and given how bad he was last year, he would have come cheap this season. Wouldn’t it have been worth it for the Yankees to see his rehab all the way through (he’s not scheduled to start until May at the earliest) and stick him at the end of the rotation or in the bullpen? I realize the Yankees have younger, healthy options for their fifth starter, but if Wang does rebound then he could have been useful to them at the end of the rotation.

Of course, we don’t know the full story. There’s a possibility that the Yankees are fully aware that Wang will never rebound and thus, it was an easy decision to cut him loose. Plus, they can buy whomever they want so at the end of the day, even if Wang does pitch well next year the Yankees won’t feel the affects of making a bad decision like most teams do.

Only time will tell if the decision to let Wang walk was a good idea when he still had two more years left of arbitration. But if the back end of the Yankees’ rotation struggles next year and Wang is performing well in Washington, it’ll be interesting to see if someone doesn’t point out that the Bombers had a solution on their roster and they let him go.

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After the Yankees opted not to enter arbitration with Chien-Ming Wang, the team offered the 29-year-old a contract to pitch in the minors. The skimpy deal included a promise to recall Wang to the majors once his shoulder had fully healed. Of course, Wang wouldn’t have have any of that. He says he’ll be ready by May 1.

The pitcher’s agent, Alan Nero, told the organization that they wanted guaranteed money. The Yankees will be title defenders in 2010 and are reportedly interested in Roy Halladay. They can’t take their chances on a pitcher coming off reconstructive surgery. Thus, both parties decided to move on.

They’re also showing confidence in Chad Gaudin, the young pitcher they acquired from the Padres last season. He’ll receive a decent contract soon enough and might even start in 2010 if the team can’t acquire a pitcher like Halladay.

Once upon time, Chien-Ming Wang pitched consecutive 19-win seasons for the Bronx Bombers. He got off to another terrific start in 2008, but a foot injury kept him out of the rest of the season. Still, the Yankees were not going to give up on their former ace, deciding to avoid arbitration and simply sign him to a one-year, $5 million contract. Unfortunately, Wang had a horrendous season in 2009. Like Fausto Carmona, his fall from grace was shocking considering his past dominance. Anyone remember the game where the Indians beat the Yankees 22-4? Yeah, Wang was the Yankees’ starter that day. Wang finished his April with an 0-3 record and a 34.50 ERA. That obviously wasn’t going to cut it. On July 30, Wang had season ending shoulder surgery.

Now it’s being reported that the Yankees won’t tender Wang a contract. The Yankees are in the hunt for a more reliable (and expensive) starter like Roy Halladay, so this move isn’t surprising. Wang’s agent claims his client will be ready to return by May 1, only a month into the season. The Dodgers, Marlins, and Rockies are all possibilities.

The Dodgers seem like a good fit for two reasons. 1) Wang pitched for Joe Torre on the Yankees from 2005-2007 and 2) The Dodgers are running low on starters. After letting Randy Wolf go, the Dodgers are looking to solidify their rotation this offseason. If they can’t afford John Lackey, a guy like Wang wouldn’t be a bad get.

We’re approaching Memorial Day and are already about a quarter of the way through the baseball regular season. Some players historically take a while to get going, and some start off blazing hot and then cool off. Here we take a look at five pleasant surprises, and five busts through the first 40 or so games of the 2009 season.

Top 5 Suprises

1. Zack Greinke, SP, Kansas City Royals—One of the reasons the Royals are off to a great start is that Greinke has found his rhythm, to the tune of 7-1 with a 0.82 ERA, as well as 73 strikeouts and 12 walks in just 66 innings. Greinke has given up a microscopic six earned runs so far. Six! It’s not like the kid wasn’t talented, but his career record before 2009 was 34-45 and his ERA 3.96.

2. Jason Bartlett, SS, Tampa Bay Rays—Before this season, Bartlett was a career .285 hitter with 16 career home runs. So far this season, he’s off to a wicked start–.376 batting average, 6 homers, 23 RBI, 9 doubles, 12 stolen bases and an OPS of 1.004.

3. Raul Ibanez, OF, Philadelphia Phillies—This is looking like the free agent signing of the off-season. Or maybe coming over to the world champs from soggy Seattle was a good move. Ibanez was a respectable .288 hitter and was averaging 22 homers and 95 RBI, but so far in 2009 he’s hit 15 home runs and driven in 40 runs, while hitting .349 with 10 doubles, 4 stolen bases and a .724 slugging percentage. You think the Mets should have made a run at the guy instead of wasting all that money on P Ollie Perez?

4. Aaron Hill, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays—It’s not like Hill didn’t have potential, but an injury de-railed him in 2008. Maybe he’s come back with a bionic bat, because he’s hitting .352 with 11 homers and 35 RBI. Before this season, Hill’s career high in home runs was 17, so at his current pace he will shatter that mark..

5. Shairon Martis, SP, Washington Nationals—Who? I mean, who? But here is this Nats’ pitcher with a blistering 5-0 record on a team that’s 12-28, worst record in the majors. If you’re keeping score at home, that means Martis has 42% of his team’s wins.

Honorable mention: Trevor Hoffman, RP, Milwaukee Brewers—Since coming off the DL to start the season, Hoffman is 11 for 11 in save opportunities in 12 innings pitched with 10 strikeouts for his new team.

Top 5 Busts

1. David Ortiz, DH, Boston Red Sox—Okay, so maybe he’s injured and all, but did anyone expect this? Ortiz is batting .211 with one home run and 18 batted in with a .324 slugging percentage. To put that in perspective, his career averages are 35 homers, 120 RBI, .285 average and .547 slugging percentage. Something is afoot at Fenway, dude.

2. Chien-Ming Wang, SP, New York Yankees—This is almost unfair because Wang is currently rehabbing an injury, but still. Wang had 38 wins in 2006 and 2007 combined, and this season got off to a rocky 0-3 start with an astronomical 34.50 ERA—giving up 23 hits and 23 earned runs in just six innings of work. Yikes.

3. Jimmy Rollins, SS, Philadelphia Phillies—It’s a good thing the Phils picked up Ibanez, because their perennial MVP candidate is batting just .234 with 2 homers and 15 batted in with only 5 stolen bases and 1 triple. Rollins has never been a huge power guy, but he’s averaged .276 with 38 steals per season over the course of his career.

4. Cliff Lee, SP, Cleveland Indians—The reigning AL Cy Young was 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 2008. This year he’s off to a 2-5 start but his ERA is still a very respectable 2.90. You can blame this one on the Tribe’s inability to score runs like they normally do.

5. Brian Giles, OF, San Diego Padres—Sure, he’s getting long in the tooth, but Brian Giles is a lifetime .291 hitter who averages 25 homers and 95 batted in. In 2009, he’s off to a .161 start, with 2 homers and 15 RBI, and a paltry .235 slugging percentage.

Honorable mention: Jason Giambi, DH, Oakland Athletics—You’d think the change of scenery would energize Giambi, but he’s hitting just .208 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI so far.

Source: Baseball Reference

According to a report by the New York Post, it appears that Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi’s job is safe for now.

At 13-14 after last night’s 4-3 loss to the Rays, voices in and out of baseball are wondering if Girardi, who is in the second season of a three-year contract, is safe.

According to several organizational sources Girardi’s job security isn’t an issue. Too many injuries too early in the season and slow starts by CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. And he hasn’t had cleanup hitter Alex Rodriguez play a game, lost Chien-Ming Wang early and Jorge Posada recently.

Though Girardi said he understands the attention that comes with managing the Yankees, he said he isn’t fixated on those who blame him for the pedestrian start and being dominated by the Red Sox.

“That’s not something I really focus on. I focus on the task at hand. Every day we do the best we can to prepare our club and every move we make is to win the game and that’s what I focus on,” said Girardi, who has been hamstrung by an awful bullpen.

As the article notes, Girardi can’t do anything about veterans like Sabathia and Teixeira getting off to slow starts, A-Fraud not being in the lineup and Wang forgetting that he’s not pitching in a home run derby contest every fifth day. Girardi will continue to catch heat because he replaced a manager in Joe Torre who should have never been fired in the first place, and the pressure to succeed will always be bestowed on Yankee managers because of how much the club spends to win. It just comes with the territory.

The manager is always on the front lines when a team is losing, but at some point the players are going to have to just step up and freaking produce. Girardi can’t manage situations that are unmanageable (i.e. the pitching staff turning the new Yankee Stadium into Coors Field).

Thanks to a record breaking 14-run second inning, the Indians absolutely smoked the Yankees 22-4 in New York on Saturday.

The Indians merely tied their franchise record for runs in an inning; they also scored 14 in the first inning against the Philadelphia A’s on June 18, 1950. It’s also the most runs in an inning by any team since Boston lit up Florida for 14 runs in the first on June 28, 2003. (A certain right-hander named Carl Pavano gave up six of those runs.)

Now, an inning like the Indians’ second does not happen without some horrific pitching, and you have to figure now that something is wrong with Chien-Ming Wang. His earned run average actually rose, from 28.93 to 34.50. He has allowed 23 earned runs in six innings over three starts. That is staggering.

One other point: it is an absolute jet stream to right center field at the new Yankee Stadium. The dimensions are the same as the old place, and the weather is unseasonably warm (75 degrees at game time). But in the last 11 innings, there have been nine homers to right. Wow.

‘You have to figure now that something is wrong with Chien-Ming Wang.’ You think? In just three starts, the guy has been hit more times than a freaking piñata and it would take a football team scoring five touchdowns to match his ERA. He’s throwing gopher balls and batters are knocking them out of the park – it’s as simple as that.

And if there is a jet stream in right center field, then Mark Teixeira should lead the majors in home runs by the end of the year. There’s no excuse to give up 14 runs in one inning – jet stream or not.

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Offseason Movement: To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Bronx Bombers went out and threw gobs of money at top free agents after missing the postseason last year. They signed the biggest bat on the market in 1B Mark Teixeira, then added the two best arms in CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. The Yanks also added 1B/OF Nick Swisher via a trade with the White Sox, but they might ship him elsewhere since he’s drawing attention from clubs like the Pirates, Nationals and Braves. With Xavier Nady being penciled in at right fielder, Swisher might become expendable.

Top Prospect: Jesus Montero, C/1B
The 19-year old Montero is being groomed as a catcher but could make the move to one of the corner infield spots if he doesn’t clean up his footwork behind the dish. Said to have excellent strength and raw power, Montero could emerge as a future All-Star. He has a great arm and that’s why the Bombers envision him as a future catcher but regardless of his eventual position, Montero will be given the opportunity to play in the big leagues as long as he continues to work on his plate discipline and patience at the plate.

The Big Question: How will A-Rod’s absence affect the offense?
After publicly admitting in late February that he used performance-enhancing drugs as a member of the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003, a report surfaced in early March that Alex Rodriguez would have to undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum. A-Rod had the surgery a couple weeks ago and the latest reports state he could return to the lineup before his original target date of May 15. If Rodriguez can return in mid-May at almost full health and bounce back quickly, there’s little doubt that the Yankees’ offense will once again be powerful. But if he struggles, believe it or not the Bombers could have trouble scoring runs as the lineup is set to battle age, inexperience and injury concerns.

Outlook: Boo! Hiss! The Yankees aren’t even close to being the top team in baseball! You’re an idiot! Look, there’s a lot to dislike about this club and it has nothing to do with how much money they spent in the offseason in effort to rebuild their roster. Cody Ransom is one hell of a drop off from Alex Rodriguez in the lineup, while Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui are all battling age, injuries or both. And who’s to say that CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett won’t turn out to be huge free agent busts? But the bottom line is that the additions of Sabathia, Burnett and Mark Teixeira have put the Bombers back in the driver’s seat in a highly competitive AL East. And if A-Rod returns to full strength and finds his stroke in late May or early June, the lineup will once again score plenty of runs. Assuming everyone stays healthy (and that might be assuming too much), the Yankees still have the best collection of talent in the American League from top to bottom. Yes, there are concerns about A-Rod, Posada, Chien-Ming Wang and Hideki Matsui staying healthy. And yes, there are even bigger concerns about Ransom, Brett Gardner, Robinson Cano and Joba Chamberlain stepping up. But given their starting four of Sabathia, Wang, Burnett and Andy Pettitte, there’s no doubt that if things come together for the Yankees and they make the postseason, then they could also wind up playing in October.

Projection: 1st AL East