Pride of Taiwan Wang Chien-Ming and the New York Yankees travel to Cleveland Thursday for the AL Division Series opener against the Indians at 6:30 P.M. ET. Sabathia looks like the front runner for the AL Cy Young award, although Josh Beckett, fellow Indian Fausto Carmona, John Lackey, and Seattle closer J.J. Putz have all been mentioned as possible canidates.

Wang’s place in the pantheon of starting pitchers is an issue that generated a lot of controversy in an earlier post (Wang-o-Rama: All Hail the King?), easily the most widely read and argued post since the inception of this blog. After being declared a second-tier ace by EWC on September first, Wang responded by pitching himself into immediate contention for the AL Cy Young award with two brilliant starts against the Red Sox (Aug. 30th) and Seattle Mariners (Sep. 4th), both playoff contenders at the time.

However, Wang’s mediocre start against Kansas City on September 9th (3 runs in 5 innings pitched with 4 walks, but bailed out by his offense) and a dismal one against the Red Sox, where he was outdueled by Josh Beckett, eliminated him from Cy Young contention. Despite not winning the Cy Young, however, Wang still finished with an impressive 19 wins, becoming the first Yankees pitcher since 1979 with 19 or more victories in back-to-back seasons, when Tommy John won 21 in 1979 and 22 in 1980.

Wang’s start against the Red Sox was somewhat vindicating for one beleaguered EWC writer, who hitherto found himself ridiculed mercilessly by readers for his contention that Wang still has some work to do before he can be considered one of the top 5-10 starting pitchers in baseball. Wang’s two biggest issues-lapses in control, especially with his slider, and his struggles pitching to left-handed batters-revealed the (minor) flaws in an otherwise excellent season of pitching. Boston’s 10-1 drubbing also may have provided offenses with a formula for how to beat Wang: Stack your lineup with left handed hitters, lay off his sinker whenever possible, and make him beat you with his slider.   Of course, having David Ortiz in your lineup doesn’t hurt either.   Cleveland’s Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore are good low-ball hitters, and may give Wang some trouble.

Wang is primed for a Game 1 playoff matchup, and a win against Sabathia in the playoffs would be a rather formidable feather in the big right-handers cap and possibly the catalyst that propells him into consideration among the game’s elite starters. Wang will also pitch game 5 if necessary.