His namesake's similarity to the musical styling of Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" endears Wei-Chung Wang to the rest of the Brewers bullpen and their fans. However, those having the most fun when Wang goes out to pitch are opposing hitters, and it could be beginning to outweigh whatever comedic relief he brings to the Brewers.
Wang's futility on the mound continued Monday night against the Braves, when a narrow 4-3 deficit turned into a 9-3 rout by the end of his outing. Wang had to be relieved by position player Lyle Overbay for the final third of the eighth inning after surrendering five earned runs on four hits, including two home runs.
The home runs were the fourth and fifth given up by Wang in six appearances. His ERA is now sitting at 17.61 with 15 earned runs already this season.
Wang was added to the Brewers from the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in the Rule-5 Draft this offseason. Any player drafted in this draft must remain on the major-league club for the duration of the season, or be given back to the club they were taken from. At this point it is safe to say Wang is not pitching well enough to be on any major-league club, but the question is, how long can the Brewers continue to afford to hide him?
Manager Ron Roenicke has been only using Wang when he has to, which has been in games that are out of reach or when the rest of the bullpen needs rest. This is creating a cyclical problem for the young Taiwanese prospect, who needs more experience to improve.
The Brewers have jumped out to a surprising start, winning 27 of their first 45 games by slim margins. This has resulted in many of the Brewers best arms getting a lot of work, while Wang has spent his Wednesdays (and most other days of the week) riding the bench.
A rare opportunity to pitch in a close game came Monday night against the Braves, but it didn't stay close for long in Wang's first appearance since May 6th. With Tom Gorzelanny rehabbing from shoulder surgery in Single A Brevard County, the Brewers could be faced with a decision sooner rather than later in their pen. Milwaukee has a dwindling 3.5 game lead in the division, and they will need their best 25 players in the organization on their major-league club.
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