Aside from other issues in Wang's forgettable arbitration, his agent doesn't look so hot

Aside from Randy Levine's unseemly celebrating like he'd just won the World Series, Wang's agents don't sound like they had their sales pitch together for the occasion.

• From Jon Heyman in SI.com,

"...his (Wang's) representatives also badly overshot when they tried to compare Wang to Michael Jordan -- yes, that M.J.! -- in his hearing. That's why it's no surprise he lost at $4 million....

• The Yankees argued Wang was a lot closer and really no better than Scott Kazmir, and that Kazmir, along with pitching notables Joe Blanton, Freddy Garcia. Roy Oswalt and John Lackey all got $3.8 million or less....

...Wang's reps emphasized his 19-win total two straight seasons. They also went a little nuts in the hearing room when they described him as "the Michael Jordan of Taiwan,'' and actually produced a graphic depicting how the Taiwanese stock market fluctuated on days he pitched.

• As the arbitrators ruled: Who cares about that?

MLB is a $6-billion business, with only about $3 million of that coming from Taiwan. Besides, Wang makes millions in endorsements in Taiwan, separate and apart from his Yankees salary. The Yankees pointed that out, and predictably, Wang suffered a tough loss, a rarity for pitcher who normally enjoys incredible support from his team."

• Reference SI.com article by Jon Heyman, "Howard v Phillies," 2/20/08 (Wang story on p.2)

CHIEN-MING WANG (Times-Tribune (Scranton) article by D. Collins, "Yanks Win Arbitration Case But...") OVERALL IS STILL UNDERVALUED AND UNDER APPRECIATED. THE YANKEES ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE HIM. MYSELF, I'LL ALWAYS TAKE THE GROUND BALL PITCHER. WANG'S GB DOUBLE PLAYS TAKE ALL THE STEAM OUT OF THE OTHER TEAM. (Derek Jeter grounded into a few double plays in the 2007 post season, so I know how it works).

• (P.S. If "Wins" are so relative--and they obviously are--why hasn't the Congress or Justice Dept. called for hearings on the Cy Young Award? It's worth millions and America's youth are being mislead). sm

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