The Outfield Assist

Blast from the Past

What a return to Progressive Field (The Jake, in my mind) for Chien Ming Wang. A true baseball fan couldn't have asked for a better dueling of the aces. Chien Ming Wang (4-0) came into face off with CC Sabathia (1-3). Wang left as one of two ML pitchers with a 5-0 start in April and Sabathia hit the showers with an abysmal 1-4 crawl through the first month of play. However, all is not lost for Cleveland fans. Anyone watching the game Sunday knows that CC's "loss" is only deemed so for record keeping purposes. CC hurled 8 innings, scattering 4 hits, striking out 8, and walking 1. The only error he made was allowing a 5th inning Melky Cabrera solo HR (5), which turned out to be the difference. The true spectacle, however, was Wang's game breaking performance. Despite CC's brilliance, Wang stole the show throwing for 7 innings, allowing 4 hits, walking 2, and striking out 9, surrendering nary a run. Then, watching Joba and Mo work through the last 2 innings as if it were a stroll through a park on temperate summer day. However, what really excited me as a Yankees fan was noticing the unmistakable likeness this year's team bears to the 1996 Yankees team...

Homegrown Talent:

'96 - Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettite, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams

'08 - Robinson Cano, Joba Chamberlain, Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy

Trusty Vets:

'96 - Wade Boggs, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez

'08 - Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettite, Jorge Posada (note the similarity to Homegrown Talent '96)

Aged Superstarts:

'96 - Tim Raines, Daryl Strawberry, Ruben Sierra, Cecil Fielder, Dwight Gooden, Jimmy Key

'08 - Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina

Enter Sandman:

'96 - Set up: Mariano Rivera Closer: John Wetteland

'08 - Set up: Joba Chamberlain Closer: Mariano Rivera

New Sheriff in Town:

'96 - A Catcher named Joe

'08 - A Catcher named Joe

The comparison is uncanny, but what is mostly exciting is seeing Brian Cashman really enforce the ways of old. Mimicking the most recent of the Yankees' Golden Ages. The foundation is there, the leadership is there, the ownership's insistence on winning is there. Let's just hope the WS rings are there come October.