High Praise for Wang and Cano

[Green Jets & Ham]

John Flaherty spent five years with Tampa Bay, catching for many young pitchers. If a rookie flies open with his front shoulder early in a game, he typically does not last long. Wang is different.

"With Chien, it doesn't seem like you have to really work too hard to get him back on track," Flaherty said. "You make a simple suggestion - keep the ball down, or whatever - and he seems to pick up on it right away.

You could make an argument that when he goes to the mound, we feel like we have our best chance to win," Flaherty said. "We've gotten a lot more out of that guy than anybody would have thought."

The Yankees had trouble with Detroit's starter, Nate Robertson, who pitched a complete game. But they scored in the fourth inning, when Robinson Cano led off with a double to left-center and scored on a single by Gary Sheffield

It was an impressive display by Cano - left-handers cannot be taught to hit high pitches so far to the opposite field, Manager Joe Torre said - and it somehow accentuated Wang's performance. The Yankees' unlikely youth movement scored a victory.

"The story of our year in a nutshell has been Wang and Cano," Alex Rodriguez said. "Boy, what a shot in the arm those guys have been. They've played like All-Stars. They've brought a fountain of youth to our ballclub that was very much needed."