WANG, WE HARDLY KNEW YA

One of the more unfortunate parts of the business of baseball is having to non-tender players, meaning these particular guys don't get new contracts and are made free agents. This happens when players who are arbitration eligible (less than six years of service time) have either A. become too expensive for their current team, B. worn out their welcome, or C. have become too much of an injury risk and their future prognosis is rather murky. On this day calls have to be made whether a contract will or won't be tendered, and as the title suggests, the Yankees have non-tendered their former "ace" Chien-Ming Wang.

While I understand the logistics of this maneuver, it saddens me that he may go this way. Wang was one of the few pitching bright spots in the in-between era of the Dynasty years and this new one. An international amateur signing that came through our system, and did well on the major league level right away. Sure, he had a few injury issues out of the gate in '05, but for the two years after that he was considered the undisputed Yankee Ace, winning 19 games in each of those two years. In '08, though, it all unraveled for Wang who, for his part, had started the year very well. In June, he injured his foot in a freak base-running accident and missed the rest of the year. He came back this past season to disastrous results. He was then sent to Tampa, where it was revealed that his injury had weakened other parts of his legs, and as a result his pitching motion had been altered. He wasn't that much better when he returned, and, ultimately, all the tinkering led to season-ending shoulder surgery.

Now, Wang was set to make around 5 million in arbitration, but Brian Cashman wasn't set to pay him that or possibly anything at all. In interviews, the Yankees' GM has failed to mention Wang as a candidate for the rotation at all, tipping his hand to his plans to non-tender the Taiwanese pitcher. If there's one thing that can be said about Cashman it's that he's all business. While that's great for the team, as a fan it sometimes disheartens me.

When Cashman felt it was time for Bernie Williams to go, he went, and denied his fans to give him a proper farewell tour. Now, too, a beloved Yankee in Hideki Matsui may be leaving, although winning a World Series and MVP in his final season isn't the worst way to leave. I'm not saying that Wang is either of those well-respected men, and unfortunately for Wang, and while he was doing well in '08, the last two burning memories of him are his '09 struggles and his '07 post-season meltdown. That said, though, the guy is one of ours, and I'd like for him to have a chance to turn it around with us.

Don't get me wrong, there's a chance Cashman signs him to a lesser, incentive-laden deal to prove his way back into the rotation, but something tells me this isn't happening. Again, I'll site Cashman's interviews, and also Wang's agent recently said he doesn't see how this can build any bridges. I kind of agree with that, but at the same time Cashman has been all about doing things on his terms.

So we'll see, but to me it isn't happening, and as Chien-Ming Wang turns to free agency, I want to wish him luck, and tell him thank you for rescuing the rotation when we severely needed it. To me, no matter where he lands, he'll always be a Yankee.

Somewhere, I know Joe Torre is smiling and making a phone call...