Yardbarker: Kei Igawa

TOP 10 GREATEST YANKEES FOR YANKEE HATERS

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:29:47 -0500

by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool

Note... this isn't a list of the worst Yankee players ever. Rather, this is the list of Yankees that me and my brethren enjoyed watching in pinstripes, because we knew they disappointed you so, Yankee Fan. (Inspired by the increasingly obvious rotting smell in the Bronx, as well as return to the public eye of Carl Pavano and Hideki Irabu. Welcome back, gentlemen!)

10. Irabu. The Fat Pussy Toad didn't actually keep the Yankees from winning, received two World Series rings for relatively little work, and his 29-20 won-loss record hardly seems worth the hate. But in terms of pure ire, it's hard to top the man that cost the then-exorbitant $12.8 million. New York was so disgusted with the guy, they sent him to Montreal with Jake Westbrook, getting back future whipping boy Ted Lilly. Now causing drunken scenes in Osaka bars.

9. Ed Whitson. This one might be before the time of most readers, but Whitson's epic flameout as a member of the 1986 Yankees was punctuated by death threats and people visiting his home. Ah, for the simpler time when millionaire ballplayers didn't live in gated communities with security personnel...

8. Dale Berra. Maybe he wasn't much in the way of real disappointment, in that it was pretty well established that he wasn't much of a player in the 8 years he spent mucking around Pittsburgh. But his 90 games of .230 hitting was punctuated by one spectacular play in Chicago in a nationally televised game, where he was one of several Yankees tagged out by Carlton Fisk in a baserunning blunder for the ages. When you think of the mid-'80s teams that were such delightful failures, you think of the Berra Play.

7. Kyle Farnsworth. Perhaps the greatest symbol of late era Yankee failure, this eternal whipping child threw hard, threw straight, threw often and generally made Yankee fan throw up. As the final piece de resistance, he brought them Ivan Rodriguez in trade, who hasn't hit worth a damn, seeing that he's cursed with Farnsy's essence. (On the bright side, Yankee Fan, Farnsy's got a 7+ ERA with the Kittens.)

6. Jason Giambi. From hell's heart the Oakland A's stab at thee! The one-time AL MVP and OPS machine has delivered far less than the $90 million of salary he's sucked up from the Evil Empire, and while his 201 homers in 7 years in pinstripes seems OK, much more was expected from a hitter who seemed tailor-made for The Stadium. Plus, there's the whole Steroid Embarrassment thing going on.

5. Kei Igawa. This contract flameout may have crippled a lesser team with just the posting bonus paid to his old team, but Yankee Fan has been more or less spared his tender touch. How evil has the Keimaster been for the Pinstripes? His career ERA: 6.66. He's the lefthander of the Beast!

4. Ken Phelps. An '80s era DH who statheads liked because he combined patience with power, the Yankees acquired him from Seattle only to watch his doubles-gap power become long fly ball outs in the Stadium. After 130 games of .230 hitting with 17 homers and 51 RBIs, they gave up and sent him to Oakland. Too bad that the short-term rental cost them a mildly notable player named Jay Buhner. (Good grief, how good would the late '90s Yankees been with Buhner?)

3. Kevin Brown. What a spectacular contract flameout this was. For the $31 million and rights to Jeff Weaver (well, OK, that was a good thing to avoid) that the Yankees paid him, Brown gave them a 14-11 record, a 5+ ERA, and an utterly brutal start in the 2004 ALCS choke job to the Red Sox. Let's just say that if he gets to Cooperstown (and he's got a case), he won't be wearing pinstripes.

2. Randy Johnson. From the word go, the Unit was a bad fit in the Bronx, with snarls for from the start. The Unit went 34-19 in two regular seasons, but when it mattered -- i.e., the post-season, he was terrible, giving them two of the worst efforts of his career and a 7-run ERA. He's one more Hall of Famer (and an absolute lock of one) that won't be wearing pinstripes when he takes the call, and given that he destroyed them as a Diamondback, it's even more bitter.

1. Don Mattingly. The fact that Yankee Fan's greatest man crush was also the poster child for one of the longest championship-free eras of the team's existence is tragic to Yankee Fan, and proof of a God with some tender mercies for the rest of us. Isn't it nice, Yankee Fan, that we can agree on something?

(Oh, and if you really want Pavano on this list, I won't argue with you. Just give him a few more weeks to add to the legacy...)

One More Kick To The Head For Yankee Fan

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:25:53 -0500

On top of the latest dominated loss to the Blue Jays and AJ Burnett, who has made a year out of his starts against the worst offense that a ridiculous amount of money can buy...

There's this small nugget of joy from Osaka: Hideki "Fat Toad" Irabu, the sloppy uncle to Kei Igawa among tragic Yankee pitching imports from Japan, arrested for being drunk and disorderly in a restaurant. (There was a problem with his credit card. One suspects that the problem was that the card had the name "Hideki Irabu" on it.)

In a classic case of burying the lede, it turns out that Irabu still lives with his mommy. No, I'm not making that up. Dude is 39 and made (according to Baseball Almanac) over $15 million in his 6-year MLB career with the Yankees, Expos and Rangers (and that's not even counting later days money in Nippon Ball), and he's still eating from the high chair and sleeping with his stuffed animals. (Trust me, the other places I could go to in that last sentence were much, much worse.)

I realize that His Toadship also pitched for two other teams, Yankee Fan, but no one remembers anything about that. In the words of the Wu Tang Clan, It's Yours... and it's the icing on the cake of what's turning out to be a delightful year for Yankee Haters. Now, all we need is for the Rays to hang on in the East, and the Sawx to lose the wild-card, and MLB will enter a golden age of light, reason, and utter irrelevance to ESPN. And, alas, A's fans. Paradise Not.

Anyway, getting back to the Toad... the husky sized Hat Tip to H/t, With Malice, the go-to blog for all things Pan-Asiatic.

(Oh, and in case you were wondering what finally caused the Yankees to miss the post-season this year? It's me. I've got three of their hitters on my roto team. America, you're welcome.)

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report (8/4)

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:15:16 -0500

What minor league stars could eventually fill a huge role for a major league team? And more importantly, what minor league star could eventually play a huge part for a struggling fantasy GM? Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon has those answers and many more in his latest minor league report.

Quick Hits: Ramirez, Bay, Dunn, Washburn

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:16:30 -0500

-The Pittsburgh Post- Gazette is reporting that the Pirates and Rays are "deep into trade talks" for Jason Bay.
-The Phillies, Dodger and Marlins are said to be talking to the Red Sox about Manny. Frankly, its hard to believe that the Marlins, with their $22 million payroll, would step up for a player with a salary close to their total payroll. The Dodgers are a possibility but its being reported on SI.com that Ramirez favors Philadelpiha.
-There appear to be no serious nibbles for Reds OF Adam Dunn. He's only 28 and on track to hit 40 HRs yet there is little talk on the news outlets about him. He does strike out a lot but so do a lot of other power hitters. Could it be the remarks made last week by Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi that Dunn is soft and no good in the clutch??
-The Jarrod Washburn deal between the Yankees and Mariners seemed a lot closer a couple days ago than it does today. The talks appear to have stalled because the Yankees want to include Kei Igawa and the Mariners don't want him.

48 Hours Left

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:05:17 -0500

With the trade deadline looming, there are several players available for trade who looked a lot more likely to be moved a week ago than they do today. Lets take a look:
-The Rockies are 6 games back in the weak NL west and have been playing great since the All-Star break. It seemed like they were prepared to let Brian Fuentes and Matt Holliday go in favor of acquiring a few prospects for the future. GM Dan O'Dowd said in the last couple days that it was "unlikely" that Fuentes would go.
-While Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox would be mutually happy to cut ties, it will not be an easy deal to pull off so quickly. He is a very expensive player to move and does not appear to have many suitors. The Dodgers and Mets have shown interest, so far.
-Jarrod Washburn going to the Yankees no longer looks imminent. While the Yankees were willing to take on his $14 million salary if they could throw Kei Igawa in the deal, the Mariners insisted that the Yanks include a prospect. That may be more that the Yankes are willing to pay.
-O's closer George Sherrill may also stay where he is due to an exhorbitant asking price. It was reported that the Cards were interested but they have just decided to put Jason Isringhausen back in the closer role, indicating a cooling of their interest.
-Mets manager Jerry Manuel announced yesterday that Fernando Tatis is his new starting left fielder, signaling the Mariners that they have backed off in their interest in Raul Ibanez.
-Blue Jays AJ Burnett also appears less likely to be traded than he was a week ago because GM Ricciardi says so but also maybe because he has an opt-out clause and a no-trade clause for 15 teams in his contract and no one wants to deal with that.

Forty-eight hours is an eternity going into the trade deadline and anything could still happen. It's not always easy to see through all the smoke being blown by all the GMs.

Yankees, Mariners, done deal?

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:33:20 -0500

The New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners are still in serious talks about a possible deal including Jarrod Washburn, Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger writes. The Yankees would like to include Kei Igawa in the deal, but Seattle is less than impressed with Igawa's track record at the Major League level. The Mariners are reportedly looking for an outfielder and New York could talk about including Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner or Justin Christian in the right deal. Washburn has a no-trade clause in his contract that would allow him to block a trade, but it is feasible that he would waive it for a trade to a contender.

Yankees beat Red Sox; 8 - 0 since All - Star break

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:53:58 -0500

Robinson Cano homered and drove in three runs, Andy Pettitte gave the Yankees another strong start and New York beat the Boston Red Sox 10-3 Saturday for its season-best eighth straight win. The Yankees closed within one game of second-place Boston in the AL East and remained unbeaten since the All-Star break. Tampa Bay began the day with a one-game lead over the Red Sox. Newly acquired Xavier Nady started in left field in his first game with New York, and reliever Damaso Marte struck out David Ortiz in a key spot. The Yankees finalized their deal with Pittsburgh on Saturday, acquiring Nady and Marte for four minor leaguers. Alex Rodriguez was drilled on the left arm by Red Sox reliever Craig Hansen in the eighth and fans cheered. Rodriguez stayed in the game before being replaced at third base in the bottom half by Wilson Betemit. In New York's 1-0 win in the opener Friday night, Joba Chamberlain drew the ire of Boston's bench after he threw a high, inside pitch that sent Kevin Youkilis to the ground in the seventh. Cano went 3-for-4 with his ninth homer and a two-run double Saturday, improving to 18-for-35 since the All-Star break. Pettitte (12-7) allowed one earned run and struck out seven over six innings to continue a brilliant run by New York starters. They've allowed three earned runs or less in 15 of their last 16 games. Marte entered with runners at first and second and one out in the seventh and struck out Ortiz on four pitches. Edwar Ramirez then retired Manny Ramirez on a fly to center. Manny Ramirez, who missed the series opener with what he said was a sore right knee, batted fourth and went 0-for-4, ending an 11-game hitting streak. Manager Terry Francona said MRIs on both knees ''came back fine'' but wouldn't say if his slugger was disciplined. Rodriguez's first-inning error led to two unearned runs but Bobby Abreu singled in a run in the third and the Yankees took the lead for good in the fourth on Cano's homer and Johnny Damon's RBI single. New York pushed across four more runs in the sixth, chasing Tim Wakefield (6-8). Johnny Damon drove in Nady with a fielder's choice before rookie reliever Justin Masterson entered. Masterson, who retired all eight batters Wednesday in his only relief appearance after nine starts, allowed RBI hits to all three hitters he faced -- a single by Derek Jeter, a double by Abreu and a single by Rodriguez. Notes: The Red Sox lost two straight at home for just the third time this season. ... Edwar Ramirez retired four batters and walked one and has retired 36 of the last 41 batters he's faced, allowing just one hit. ... With 16 wins against the Red Sox, Pettitte is tied with Randy Johnson for second among active pitchers. Mike Mussina has 20. ... To make room on the 25-man active roster for Nady and Marte, the Yankees optioned OF Brett Gardner to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and designated RHP LaTroy Hawkins for assignment. They also announced that LHP Kei Igawa cleared waivers and was outrighted to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. ... Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia's hitting streak ended at nine games.

Quick Hits: Uribe/Cora, Pirates(not the Pittsburgh kind) Washburn

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:14:35 -0500

-The Uribe-Cora deal between the White Sox and Red Sox is off. The Boston Globe is reporting that the Red Sox are the ones who backed off but other news sources are saying the White Sox needed "something else" to fall into place for this deal to work.
-To whomever is pirating this website, you have done great harm here. Be gone.
-The Jarrod Washburn talks continue between the Yanks and the Mariners. The Yankees want to include Kei Igawa in the deal and Seattle is hesitating. The Newark Star-Ledger is reporting that the Yankees might be willing to part with Melky Carbrera, Brett Gardner or Justin Christian.
-While very interested in Xavier Nady, the Rays are unwilling to pay the Pirates high price and have turned their attention to the Indians Casey Blake.

Washburn to NYY Heating Up?

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:06:31 -0500

Trade talks seem to be heating up between the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. The Yanks could pull in Jarrod Washburn and Jose Vidro, while Seattle could get Kei Igawa and perhaps salary relief.

Yanks Need a Catcher

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:29:46 -0500

Could they match up with Seattle?

Yankees Mailbag

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:21:07 -0500

With Chien-Ming Wang out until September, do you think the Yankees will go out and trade some players for a big-time starter like C.C Sabathia, or will they possibly bring someone up from the Minors, not including Kei Igawa?

A tale of two stadiums

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:49:20 -0500

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Who starts for the Yankees?

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:42:36 -0500

There has been plenty of debate this week on who picks up the extra start for the New York Yankees. The extra start is part of a double-header this Friday against the New York Mets. There have been quite a few names mentioned for this start. They include Ian Kennedy, Alan Horne, Sidney Ponson, Kei Igawa, Alfredo Aceves and Jeff Karstens. Manager Joe Girardi has narrowed his list, which includes Ponson at the top.

Proving Michael Kay Wrong Makes Me Smile

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:58:21 -0500

A little bit over two weeks ago I took the media to task, namely Michael Kay, for their completely incorrect criticism of how the Yankees were handling Joba. And I would like to say now only 3 weeks later that I was right you were wrong, I'm smart you're stupid, I'm stunningly handsome you have eaten one too many donuts (probably way more than 1).

In 4 starts since the Yankees inserted Joba as a starter the team is 3-1 with their only loss coming in his first outing against the Toronto Blue Jays. An outing where the Yanks faced Roy Halladay so the chances of winning are incredibly diminished. An outing in which Veras and Edwar gave up 6 runs in the 7th inning. Every fan would sign up for any pitcher to go 3-1 with the lone loss coming against a Cy Young opponent.

Since the first start the Yanks have gone from 2 games under .500 to 7 games over .500, but that's not really the point. The point is that this month Joba has given the Yanks 18 1/3 major league innings and has given 5 earned runs during that period. So instead of having Kei Igawa or some replacement throw those innings, they got a 2.50 ERA over 18 major league innings and in the process have lucked out into training Dan Giese to be the initial filler for the Yankees injured Wang.

So once again Michael Kay baffles with his blatantly wrong opinions and analysis, let's see if he actually admits it for once.

Igawa Searching For a Way Back to New York

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:36:42 -0500

The Yankees' $20 million bust from Japan toils in AAA. Good story and he's trying his best but it's hard to see what the Yankees saw in him in the first place.