CLEVELAND – Insisting he learned from a hellish experience during his first trip through the big leagues, Alfonso Soriano predicted he will be more comfortable in second stint as a Yankee, which began last night when the Yanks placed Derek Jeter on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left abdominal muscle.
Summoned from Columbus (Triple-A), the 22-year-old shortstop flew from Rochester yesterday and was in Joe Torre’s lineup and batting ninth against Indians right-hander Dave Burba at Jacobs Field.
“It was a good experience, the first time here,” said Soriano, who may have been the only one to feel that way since he batted .154 and made four errors in 10 games filling in for Scott Brosius. “I learned that I had to work and learn on defense, but it was a positive experience and this time I will be better prepared.”
The Yankees are hoping that Soriano playing short, his natural position, will relax his hands in the field and his bat at the plate. Since the move with Jeter was back-dated to May 12, the Yankees’ best player is eligible to come off the shelf a week from today when they host the Red Sox in the second of a three-game AL East showdown at Yankee Stadium.
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Yankees are anxious to get a look at Chieh-Ming Wang, the 20-year-old right-hander from Taiwan they recently gave $1.9 million to. After settling a visa problem, Wang is slated to arrive in Tampa within 10 days and begin working out.
“We looked at him as a first-round college pitcher,” VP of baseball operations Mark Newman said of the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder. “He has a 94 mph fastball and good command.”
Wang is likely to pitch for Staten Island (Short-Season A) this summer.
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David Cone (1-3; 6.15 ERA) draws LHP Chuck Finley (3-3; 3.98) today. RHP Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez (4-2; 3.81) faces RHP Paul Rigdon (0-0; 0.00). Rigdon will be making his big league debut.
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