Depending on the severity of his foot injury, it appears that Chien-Ming Wang will be out for an indefinite period. If the foot is merely sprained, Wang could miss up to three weeks, but if Wang suffered a Lisfranc fracture, then the Yankees ace could be out for the season. Lisfranc fractures are basically dislocation of the small bones at the top of the foot located between the ankle and toes. Yankee relief pitcher Brian Bruney suffered a Lisfranc fracture 7 weeks ago on April 22 and has no definite return date.

Either way, Wang is going to at least miss his next couple of starts. This is a huge blow for the Yankees, who for the first time all year have reached four games over .500 with a 37-33 record. Wang is 54-20 over his brief 4 year career and his .730 winning percentage is BEST ALL TIME for pitchers with at least 50 career wins.

Those are tough numbers to duplicate.

So where do the Yankees turn to replace Wang if he is out for an extended period?

Typical, short sighted Yankee fans will want GM Brian Cashman to go out and trade for Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia, he of the big arm and big body. Despite his current 5-8 record, Sabathia is 4-3 with a 2.21 ERA over his last 11 starts with two complete game shutouts. But, Sabathia is a free agent after this season and trading for Sabathia will cost AT LEAST two top minor league pitchers (AAA pitchers Alan Horne, Daniel McCutchen or AA stud reliever Mark Melancon) and a top position player or two (Austin Jackson or Brett Gardner). Other marginal pitchers such as Bronson Arroyo, Shawn Chacon and Randy Wolf, who the Yanks face tomorrow night, will also cost several prospects.

Too rich for my blood. Better to keep the players, and if the organization really wants Sabathia, just spend the $100 million or so this off season.
 
Although the pressure to get a front line starter to replace Wang will be tremendous, the Yankees need to take a page out of the playbook of fellow Eastern Division foes Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox and look internally.

In 2007 the Blue Jays suffered early season injuries to starters AJ Burnett (what else is new?), Gustavo Chacin (#3 starter) and even ace Roy Halladay, who missed three weeks with an emergency appendectomy. The Blue Jays promoted Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum and Jesse Litsch last year and now those three pitchers comprise 60% of the 2008 rotation and are 17-10 this year. When the Red Sox lost Curt Schilling this season, suffered injuries to Clay Bucholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka and missed starts from Josh Beckett, the Red Sox brought up Justin Masterson from AA Portland.

There is no reason to trade a boatload of talent for C. C. Sabathia. The Yankees have talent in the minors.
While youngsters Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes did not perform early in the season, the Yankees still need to go with internal talent. Dan Giese, Daniel McCutchen or Alan Horne should get the opportunity to start. Under no circumstance should Kei Igawa ever get the nod. Giese, who finished yesterdays game, is the likely candidate, having piggybacked Joba Chamberlain in his first two starts and has both started (for AAA Scranton) and long relieved (for the parent club) this season. He is also already on the 25 and 40 man rosters.
 
But, the Yankees might elect to keep Giese in that long reliever lot while bringing up McCutchen or Horne. After a few shaky outings after being called up to AAA, McCutchen threw a CG shutout Saturday. Meanwhile, Horne has pitched effectively in his two starts since returning from a biceps injury, but has only made four AAA starts in his career. Both McCutchen and Horne would need to be added to the 25 and 40 man rosters, obviously replacing Wang on the 25, but unless Wang is placed on the 60 day DL, another move would need to be made on the 40. Jonathan Albaladejo could be transferred to the 60 day DL or the Yankees could drop AAA catcher Chris Stewart or release or trade the suddenly persona non grata Shelley Duncan.

Bottom line is that the Yankees do not need to go outside the organization to find a starting pitcher. They have enough talent to promote a youngster to the rotation, but they need enough guts and patience to make the correct move. Current veteran starters Pettitte and Mussina have pitched well recently, while Joba has improved every start in his transition to the rotation. Darrell Rasner, despite a bad start in Oakland is serviceable as the fourth starter.

Keep the talent in the organization, let the kids pitch and leave Sabathia alone.