Notes: Wang earning his keep

Notes: Wang earning his keep

06/05/2005 2:30 PM ET

By Tom Singer / MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- A couple of weeks ago, panic gripped Taiwan over the reports that Chien-Ming Wang may not have seen the last of Columbus.

When the Yankees promoted the right-handed pitcher to step into Jaret Wright's spot in the rotation, it was with the explicit plan of returning him to the Minors when Wright recovered from his shoulder injury.

But apparently word was slow to reach Taiwan. Or the country's fans felt their native son's sharp pitching had surely altered the club's thinking. Either way, goaded by some politicians, Taiwanese fans recently inundated the Yankees with an e-mail campaign for Wang's tenure.

Wang's pitching, however, has built the strongest platform. So strong that the next time the Yankees maneuver their rotation around an off day, Taiwanese fans may not have to wonder where he is -- he could be on the mound, taking his regular turn.

"We'll look and see, but he'll figure into it," said Joe Torre, who skipped Wang the last time there was a hole in the schedule. "He certainly has gotten our attention, to where it's not a slam dunk any more."

Wang's latest attention-grabber came at the Metrodome on Saturday night, when he held the Twins to three runs through seven innings of a game New York won, 4-3, in the 10th. It was his fourth consecutive "quality" start of at least six innings and fewer than four runs allowed.

"This kid ... we have enough info to know he is a legitimate big leaguer, not an overnight wonder," Torre said. "He seems to know what he's doing."

Wang's most impressive deed in his latest start was easily shaking off his one bad moment: Jacque Jones' three-run homer, following an infield single and a hit batter.

"That gave us a real good key: the fact he settled in and didn't let it spin out of control," Torre said. "That's impressive, especially for a young pitcher."

International alliance: Wang headlined a noteworthy global occasion for the Yankees -- even for this era of the baseball melting pot. Each of the six principals in Saturday night's victory hailed from a different country.

• Dominican Republic -- Robinson Cano; his fifth-inning double drove in the first two runs.

• Japan -- Hideki Matsui; his mad first-to-third dash in the extra inning set up the winning run.

• Puerto Rico -- Ruben Sierra; his sacrifice fly delivered the winning run.

• Panama -- Mariano Rivera; worked a perfect 10th for the save.

• United States -- Tom Gordon; two shutout relief innings for the victory by the only "Yankee" among the key Yankees.

Rundown drill: Gordon was still being reminded of his two-inning effort by his elbow Sunday morning; Torre ruled him unavailable against the Twins and hoped it was merely a case of fatigue. ... Also remaining out was shortstop Derek Jeter (chest cold). He is likely to return to the lineup Monday night in Milwaukee. ... Cano, who has primarily batted ninth since taking over as the regular second baseman, was in the two-hole for the fourth time.

Nostalgic trip: The visit to Milwaukee for an Interleague series will escort Torre down memory lane. The Yankees manager broke into the Majors with the 1960 Milwaukee Braves, with whom he spent the first six seasons of his 18-year playing career.

"Got my first hit there ... against Harvey Haddix (Pirates left-hander) ... fastball, single up the middle," Torre said of the first of 2,342. "I was batting 1.000 for a week or so."

But Torre's memories of Milwaukee, and particularly of old County Stadium, go back farther than 1960.

"In 1956, I went there to watch my brother [Frank] play for the first time. Then I found myself playing in the same ballpark a few years later," said Torre, whose other Milwaukee highlights include "playing in the 1957 and '58 World Series, against the Yankees."

Coming up: Launching the second phase of their Interleague schedule, the Yankees open a three-game series against the Brewers and send Randy Johnson to the mound against Doug Davis. It will be a battle of left-handers in which Davis has the bigger unit of measure -- wins. Davis has won seven games to Johnson's five.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.