That may be the greatest understatement of the year.

I read in the paper that he heard a "pop" when it happened, which is not a good sign.

Wang will miss at least 6 weeks with a partially torn tendon and sprained foot. So much for my amateur diagnosis that it didn't appear serious.

It's a tough break and I imagine the Yankees will try to secure a veteran starter soon.

I'm hearing they made trade for C.C. Sabathia since he'll be a free agent at the end of the year and all predictions are that he's not going to resign with Cleveland.

6 weeks, 42 days, divided by 5 days between starts....maybe 8 starts....maybe 6 wins. With Boston cruisin' and the Baltimore Urinals and Toronto Blue Balls playing tough.....the bats will have to carry them.

This is saying Wang will be out until September:

Yanks ace shelved until September

NEW YORK (AP) -- Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang is expected to be sidelined until at least September after injuring his foot running the bases, prompting club co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner to chastise the National League for playing without a designated hitter.

An examination in New York on Monday showed Wang partially tore a tendon and sprained his right foot Sunday during the Yankees' 13-0 interleague win at Houston. He will be on crutches and wear a protective boot for a minimum of six weeks, the latest blow to the team's banged-up pitching staff.

"My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century," Steinbrenner said in Tampa, Fla. "They need to grow up and join the 21st century.

"Am I mad about it? Yes," Steinbrenner added. "I've got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He's going to be out. I don't like that, and it's about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s."

Making a rare appearance on the bases at an NL park, Wang pulled up rounding third and hobbled home on Derek Jeter's single. Wang doubled over after scoring, pointed toward his right foot and was helped off the field.

"This is always a concern of American League teams when their pitchers have to run the bases and they're not used to doing it," Steinbrenner said. "It's not just us. It's everybody. It probably should be a concern for National League owners, general managers and managers when their pitchers run the bases. Pitchers have enough to do without having to do that."

Wang is 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA in 15 starts after winning 19 games each of the last two seasons. The right-hander will join injured Yankees starters Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy on the disabled list.

New York reliever Brian Bruney has a similar injury to Wang's and it is uncertain when he will return.

Steinbrenner said for now, the Yankees probably will have to look within the organization to find a replacement in the rotation for Wang. Right-hander Dan Giese is one possibility.

Several attractive pitchers, including Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia, could become available as the July 31 trade deadlines approaches.

The Yankees were off Monday and start a series Tuesday night at home against San Diego. Their win in Houston kept them six games behind first-place Boston in the AL East.

The sinkerballing Wang has been the most consistent Yankees starter over the last couple of years.

Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte remain in the rotation, and Joba Chamberlain recently was converted from relieving to starting. Right-hander Darrell Rasner has been in a slump lately.

Wang was well on his way to helping the Yankees finish a three-game sweep in Houston when he was hurt. He'd pitched five strong innings, and scored during an eight-run burst in the sixth that put New York ahead 11-0.

Wang is 5-0 in seven road starts this season.

"It's a manager's worst nightmare when a pitcher's on a basepath," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after Sunday's victory. "It's unfortunate."

After the game, Mussina summed up the problem that AL pitchers sometimes face at NL parks.

"We don't hit, we don't run the bases," Mussina said. "You get four or five at-bats a year at most, and if you happen to get on base once or twice, you never know. We run in straight lines most of the time. Turning corners, you just don't do that."

Source: Yankees

These quotes are hilarious. A manager's worst nightmare? I could think of scarier things than getting on base. How about not getting on base. I'm actually hard pressed to remember the last time a pitcher became disabled fron running the base path.

And Mussina's comments are ridiculous. Many of these pitchers earn millions of dollars, and are professional athletes. Yet they are only able to run in straight lines? They can't turn corners.

Wang's injury was a freak occurrence. He was jogging home. I think the comments, especially those of Hank, who chastised the entire National League for the injury, are misplaced.

Gee, a Steinbrenner making misplaced comments??? SHOCKING!!!

Since MLB might be going to the replay, maybe they should consider some rule changes for pitchers, like....when pitchers have to run to a base, or bases, they are not required to actually touch the base. Their foot must touch within 8" of the base on the inside. This will be similar to the "phantom tag" that umps award infielder.

They must not have asked SB...

PLAYER POLL: JETER OVERRATED

By BRIAN LEWIS
New York YankeesNew York Yankees player Derek Jeter

June 20, 2008 --

Derek Jeter was voted the most overrated player in baseball in a Sports Illustrated poll of over 495 major leaguers. Not surprisingly, both the Yankees captain and his manager could not care less.

"I ain't talking about that," Jeter said after helping lead his Bombers to a 2-1 victory over the Padres, the seventh straight for the Yankees. "I ain't talking about it. You guys can have fun with it."

In the survey to be released in the June 23 issue, the Yankee shortstop got 10 percent of the vote. Teammate Alex Rodriguez was tied with Boston outfielder J.D. Drew for third with 7 percent.

But in a clear case of opinions-are-like-you-know-what, when Sports Illustrated did a survey of "Whom would you pick to build your team around" just a week earlier, Rodriguez finished first and Jeter second. Make up your minds, fellas.

"I don't really have a comment about it. I love our guys, and I'll keep them," Joe Girardi said, with a smirk that barely hid his contempt for the topic. "I'm not going to comment on it. I worry about beating the Cincinnati Reds (tonight), not what's in the papers."

The players can't claim Jeter isn't a winner, with the highest winning percentage of any active player. And yesterday the Bombers captain helped keep his team on a roll, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored.

With the game tied 1-1 in the sixth inning, Jeter worked a full-count against starter Josh Banks and eventually singled to left-center. Then he swiped second, his fifth steal of the year, and took third on Bobby Abreu's groundout. He scored on Rodriguez' clean single to left, and it turned out to be the game-winner.

Jeter has hit safely in 16 of 18 games this month and is batting .276 with 38 runs scored. His .600 winning percentage (1,140-759-2) is the best among all players (min. 1,000 games) according to Elias Sports Bureau.

I heard this story too and immediately thought of SB. I didn't have the heart to post it.

I'm not surprised that Jeter and ARod made both lists. It was just a different 10% that voted. They are two players, for whom there is no middle ground of opinion. Kind of like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dallas Cowboys and Notre Dame. They evoke the most passionate responses whether you're for them or against them.

Most ridiculous poll ever. Derek Jeter gives 200% in every, single game he plays. The nicknames Captain Clutch and Mr. November weren't plucked from thin air. He will go down in history as one of the greatest players ever, so if that's overrated, then I must not understand the meaning of the word. Besides, they're all just jealous.

(cough) BULLSHIT (cough)

OK, STOP THAT!! This is my Jeter you're talking about!! Did you see me making fun of a certain pitcher from Boston who may or may not have squirted ketchup on his sock in order to relive the ending of The Natural?? Puh-leeze.

All just jealous....

C'mon, SB... get serious. One of the greatest ever???

Put your hormones in check and get real!!

I'd put him on MY team - who else at shortstop? No one.

Sorry, but I do believe that, and hormone's have nothing to do with it. Whenever I've seen a show about the greatest plays in the history of baseball, at least two of Jeter's are always shown. He plays with his heart, and he plays consistently. He comes through when his team needs him most, and he gives it his all every single day.

That doesn't do it for you??

Umm.... Hanley Ramirez. Jimmy Rollins. Jose Reyes. All better hitters and better fielders.

I'm going to have to disagree with some of your statement. I agree that certain players like certain teams "evoke the most passionate responses" but why lump Jeter into that category? A-Rod, Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens (now), even Pete Rose I can understand. But what has Derek Jeter even done? Why does he deserve the same treatment as these others?

You really have to stop watching those shows produced by the Yankees. He's a mediocre fielder, at best, and only a fair hitter.

Jeter as among the best ever?? Hell, he doesn't even make the ten best Yankees' list!

There's a difference between day-in-and-day-out production for the benefit of the team as opposed to fastasy sports points.

You really gotta get out of your fantasy world.

Jeter is FAR from being considered among the best ever.

I wouldn't say among the "best ever", and never said he was, but "mediocre" fielder with a career .975 fielding percentage??????? "Fair" hitter with a career .316 batting average?? What are you talking about?

He had three or four big (batting) seasons, otherwise he's mediocre. To me, that totals "fair" (and he's lousy in the clutch).

His fielding is no better than the others I mentioned. He has limited range in the field and he's not a particularly fast runner.

You're right. Julio Lugo and Nomar are superior to Jeter in every way

Oy... look who crawled out of the woodwork.

Did I even mention the Red Sox here?? Did I "diss" your Yankees? Take your Boston-hating crap and shove it where the sun don't shine.

No, you didn't diss the Yankees but you did diss our Captain. I cannot allow that without a rebuttal

Lousy in the clutch? Is that why they call him Captain Clutch? C'mon, SC, even YOU can't completely believe what you're shoveling.

Why do I even bother arguing against Jeter with you?

(He really ISN'T a good clutch hitter).

As of 2006, Jeter has a career .314 postseason batting average with 17 home runs and 48 RBIs as well as reaching base in 105 of 119 postseason games. The Yankees have been to the playoffs every year since Jeter joined the team. He has a Major League Baseball record 150 career postseason hits, and also holds records for most postseason singles (108), at-bats (478), runs scored (85) and strikeouts (92).

Not a clutch hitter?? I'd hate to see what kind of records he would hold if he was.

You may be misunderstanding what a clutch hitter is, but since you want to bring numbers into this disagreement, consider this:

In the more important post season games (the League Championships and the World Series) he's batting way below his usual average (.262 in the League Championships and .302 in the World Series).

The "total" numbers you provide are in large part due to the Yankees making so many appearances in the post season (although why you'd point out all his strikeouts is unclear to me).

He doesn't produce when it's needed. A good clutch hitter does.