11/15/2007 6:30 PM ET Karstens rediscovers game overseas Team USA right-hander reunites with teammate Wang in Taiwan By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com NEW YORK -- It would be easy to overlook Chien-Ming Wang during the summer, the right-hander keeping a low profile between opportunities to throw his trademark heavy sinker to big league lineups. Home for the offseason in his native Taiwan, it's a different story. The Yankees' ace is among the most revered figures in his homeland, a phenomenon that teammate Jeff Karstens experienced firsthand this week. Karstens, who draws a start for Team USA in the IBAF World Cup quarterfinals matchup on Friday in Taipei City, was given a personal tour by Wang on a recent off-day and treated to a Beyonce Knowles concert. "We had a seat wherever we went," Karstens said in a telephone interview. "I've never seen anything like it. You see things like that in Hollywood, or maybe in New York with [Derek] Jeter, but what he is over here is almost like a god. "There were people chasing him. We had people following him from our team hotel all the way to Taipei. He laughs about it, too, so I think that's the best part. Everyone just looks at me as Chien-Ming's friend." Karstens, 25, was selected for Team USA after playing an aborted 2007 campaign with the Yankees. One of several rookies to start for New York this past season, Karstens saw his season interrupted when he was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis in Spring Training, then he suffered a broken right leg on April 28 against the Red Sox. Hoping to log more innings after posting an 11.05 ERA in just seven games for New York and missing the postseason roster, Karstens pitched six shutout innings of five-hit ball to lead Team USA past Mexico on Wednesday, striking out two and walking one. Karstens, who is half-Mexican, said that the event had special meaning for him. "Getting the opportunity to play with this team is just an honor," Karstens said. "I never thought I'd be playing for Team USA or have a shot to play in the Olympics next year in 2008. "I was talking with people on the flight here, and it's not like we're looking at it in a different way. Everyone just wants to win that gold. I'm really excited, because this team we have is great offensively and I don't think we've played up to our ability yet." Team USA (6-1) finished pool play at the World Cup by beating Chinese Taipei and finishing first overall in its bracket. Karstens will face Korea as the team, led by manager Davey Johnson, opens the quarterfinals in its last tuneup before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. "I've just been trying to think about it one out at a time, even though that didn't happen too much in New York," Karstens said. "Everything comes with ups and downs, and I've just been trying to stay relaxed." Karstens said that he and Wang discussed some topics relating to the Yankees' 2007 season, including rumors that had made their way to Taiwan -- Wang mentioned a possible deal that would have sent him to the Minnesota Twins for left-hander Johan Santana, a possibility that Karstens said Wang was not distressed about. "Chien-Ming, he doesn't worry," Karstens said. The Yankees -- who hired Joe Girardi to replace Joe Torre as manager, tendered offers to catcher Jorge Posada and closer Mariano Rivera and re-entered negotiations with All-Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez after a brief standoff -- have had an unusually busy early offseason period. "They're going to do whatever they have to do and what's best for them to win a World Series," Karstens said. "That's the goal year in and year out there. I heard it from the first day of my first big league camp -- we have one goal, and it's not to win the American League East; it's to win the World Series. They're going to do what they have to do." Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. http://tinyurl.com/2hmj3q --

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