NYY: Injury rattles Chien Ming Wang

I hate reading pre-season Major League Baseball predictions. They are rarely accurate because over the course of a 162 games there is always something that will change things. Or in the case of the New York Yankees and their number one starter, Chien Ming Wang, there is something that changes things BEFORE the season starts.

Wang, who won nineteen games last year and finished with a 3.63 ERA, will miss most of April due to a hamstring injury.

During Spring Training, it would be ludicrous to assert that this somehow threatens the Yanks season, yet it will have an impact in the pennant race if Boston or Toronto show considerable improvement and the pennant race is close.

Consider this. The Yankees and Red Sox play two three-game series in April and one three-game series in May. That means half of their head-to-head match ups will occur potentially with their number one starter either injured, or in the beginning of his season. Wang struggled in his first several starts last year.

To me, that means a lot, and not just because I might have to wear a kimono.

The Yankees will have to replace their number one, most reliable starter with either minor leaguers Jeff Karstens or Darell Rasner, two guys that would be five-starters in the majors . For those that don't know, the fifth slot of a five-man rotation is usually filled by a team's worst starting pitcher.That means the Yankees will have three guys that scouts project as "number five" guys with either Karstens/Rasner, injury plagued Carl "Heart of Glass" Pavano, and unknown Japanese import Kei Igawa beginning the season.

Last year, the Yankees battled through injuries when star outfielders Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield missed most of the year. In fact, for a stretch in early June, when leaders like Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada got injured, centerfielder Johnny Damon reported bone chips in his foot, and young phenom Robinson Cano went down with a hammy injury--there was a joke among Yankees fans that 2006 might be the "Year of the Injury."

Yet, the Yankees defied the expectations of fans and pundits to win the AL East. So although there is no question that they are at a disadvantage as of now, I wouldn't rule anything out. Predictions can be dirty things.

UPDATE: The Heart of Glass looks to start Opening Day against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Discount what I just said and shoot me.