I hope this move is O-Kei

May 5, 2008 by Benjamin Kabak 34 Comments

With Ian Kennedy on the way down, all signs are point to a Kei Igawa start in Detroit next weekend. Considering that Kennedy claims he’s making progress, I’d rather just see Ian make his next start at the Big League level. For what it’s worth, Igawa is 3-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 39.2 AAA innings. He’s walked just 12 and has 40 strike outs, but he’s still getting more outs in the air than on the ground. Igawa’s never had much of a problem getting MiLB hitters out, but his stuff hasn’t translated into Big League success at all yet.

Batty

I can’t wait to see his shell game again.
Joe

What happened to the scout who recommended Igawa? Do the Yankees have their own version of Siberia where they ship failed employees? I could see that guy locked up in a row of cells with Brien Taylor, Ed Yarnall, etc. I heard there being forced to paint over the River Ave Blues special cell, which had been reserved for Melky Cabrera, they are turning it into the “wait to see if he can sustain this pace fanboy” cell.
- Curramba
  
  Well, he also recommended El Duque so he can’t be all that bad a scout.
zack

Ugh, this is pretty much the last thing I (and I imagine most) Yankee fans want. Sure, I guess at the exact moment it gives them a slightly higher chance of winning, but certainly not by all that much. 6.25 ERA with infuriating tenancies and no upside or 9 ERA with upside and improvement.

As long as they actually work on Kennedy in the minors so he doesn’t simply come back up and face the same problems again.

Seriously, I think I would take a few more losses with Kennedy pitching and getting better than the slightly higher chance of winning with Igawa. But, as long as IPK improves, so be it.
- Curramba
  
  I am with you, I’d rather have the kid learn his craft up in the majors than having Igawa take over. I doubt Igawa is going to be any better than the kid. I won’t be surprised if they get shelled when he pitches.
TurnTwo

as crazy as it looks to type this, Kei cant be any worse than IPK was the first month plus of the season.

if IPK thinks he’s making progress, and from my amateur eyes i think he is, there’s nothing wrong in sending him down to Scranton to put up some 2007-type numbers and force his way back to NY.
- Count Zero
  
  Agreed. Not to mention work on his confidence…
JT

Kennedy basically skipped AAA. It was a little premature for the Yankees to put so much pressure on him and expect so much. It would do Kennedy good to go back down to AAA and relearn his craft.
- whozat
  
  “It was a little premature for the Yankees to put so much pressure on him and expect so much.”
  
  #5 starter isn’t that much of an expectation. I really think more of the expectation came from the fans and media. All the Yanks expect is 5-6 innings of league-average-ish performance from him. That both he AND Hughes struggled so mightily magnified things.
  - mustang
    
    I agree with the both you.
  - ceciguante
    
    i disagree, whozat. i think #5 starter is a big expectation if you’re 23 and zoomed through the minors. i don’t think enough fans recognize that “league average performance” as a starter is something pretty rare for a rookie.
- Jon W.
  
  I think that’s a good point that a lot of people (including me) overlook. Kennedy had such unprecedented success in the minors that we all expected him to be successful this year. Hopefully we can get himself straightened out and come back in a month or so. And who knows, maybe Igawa will show something this time. Stranger things have happened.
nick blasioli

i think that they (agawa, and kennedy) should stay at aaa and the yankees should sign a veteran starter…there are many out there to select from….
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.
  
  Name them.
  - Batty
    
    Aww – you guys don’t like the idea of Roger Clemens or David Wells coming back? ;)
    
    I keed, I keed.
- mustang
  
  who ?
Glen L

I don’t think its a bad thing to send IPK down, as he admittedly is not confident. Hopefully he can pitch well down in the minors, get reaccustomed to challenging batters, and come up again relatively soon and pitch well.

We all knew (or should have known) there’d be bumps along the way this year. So it goes.
mustang

Isn’t this similar to what they did last year. They patched the early parts of the season with AAA pitchers until they got some help. They just have to stay close until the trading deadline or Hughes comes back.
mustang

There is Freddy Garcia who should be pitching in June. Then there, I can’t believe I’m going to say this, Carl Pavano wouldn’t that be a twist.

Anyone know how is the meal ticket I mean Pavano doing?
Steve S

I think the schedule hurts Kennedy. At this stage looking at his comments, I dont know if its a good idea for him to have two starts in two weeks against that Detroit lineup. For these kids there is a mental element to the game and its clear that Kennedy seems scared of the strikezone which he wasn’t last year. Let him work on some stuff in AAA and come back up with his control restored.
- steve (different one)
  
  this is the crux of it i think.
  
  the Yankees are likely privately conceding that game against Detroit.
  
  Detroit is hitting so well right now that you either send Kennedy or Igawa out there to get shelled.
  
  i prefer it to be Igawa since i don’t particularly care what effects a good ass-kicking will have on his psyche.
  
  the Yankees will probably lose that game. in the grand scheme of things, it’s one game.
  
  i think it is a smart move to remove Kennedy from that situation.
kunaldo

igawa better not wear sunglasses….who had the splits for with/without?
- Curramba
  
  He suck either way
Batty

I forgot which blog recommended the idea but if Hughes didn’t get hurt I would have loved to see a platoon of Hughes and IPK – both could throw 4-5 innings, get the work they need in the majors and not kill the bullpen (which I think is more of a reason to send them back down vs not performing well).

Hopefully we’ll see IPK back after the Tigers feast on him. (Watch it – now he’ll throw a perfect game)
A-Point

The Yankees need only 3 starts from the #5 pitcher this month. Given that, it means limited damage that Igawa can do, and who knows, maybe he will be effective enough to get a couple of wins. Stranger things have happened.

Kennedy needs to get back to basics. His walk totals show that he is afraid of MLB batters. Letting have some time to get some confidence seems the smartest path, and while Igawa isn’t a great option, it isn’t like there are that many chances for him to tack on losses.
JRVJ

Actually, the one concern I have about Igawa is that he threw over 100 pitches in his last start, partially to save his bullpen (River Ave.’s recap of Saturday’s game says 116, but the boxscore says 108).

In any case, hopefully Igawa pitches well, because the better he pitches, the more chance the Yankees will trade him for something other than a bucket of balls.
Micky7 Old Ranger

May will be a good month for us, a few days off and other then Detroit, teams we should beat up on…I hope.
Those that want to go out and find a starter…as stated before…name one that is good!
I for one, am waiting for the day they call up Brett or Justin. These two are about the same except Justin has more power and is older. I know I am being redundant, but hay, these guys could be the answer to some of our problems. Both of them play excellent defence and can run faster than Johnny (on his best days). They both are hitting or getting on base over 35% of the time…it would drive the other pitchers crazy…as Ichiro did this weekend. Oh well, just a thought, nothing else to write about. 27/08.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.
  
  Can you please not have special characters in your login name? It’s screwing up our commenting system.
Sam

Well, Igawa beat the Red Sox and Cleveland last year in April. I haven’t seen Kennedy do anything except get shelled and lose. I’ll go with Igawa right now, at least the Yanks win 40 percent of his starts and not 5 percent of Kennedy’s.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.
  
  So you watched Igawa throw two good games last year but you didn’t watch Ian Kennedy’s starts last year?
xkevinx

I think that everyone expects Kennedy and Hughes to be back, but they may not be anytime soon. They had their chance and blew it. Everyone knows that they have a higher ceiling than Rasner and Igawa, but they will only be back up this season if Rasner or Igawa struggle.

I can’t imagine them replacing Rasner so long as his ERA is south of 4.5. Unlikely, but same goes for Igawa. Mix in the competition from Joba, and God forbid Pavano latter this year (I can’t believe I just typed that), and there is a distinct chance that Kennedy does not rejoin the rotation this season.
mustang

Listening to the FAN today Mike and the Mad Dog were throwing around names of possible starters. One name that I was surprise and happy to hear was my boy Daniel “Danimal” McCutchen. Love that nickname. LOL
Mike said he talked with the Yankees and they said he wasn’t ready yet. I known Cashman see him more like a reliever type. Furthermore, I don’t want them to make the same mistake and rush him. Still it’s cool that he is being talked about.
McCaff

So since they have called up Igawa, i’ve wondered when some of the youngers guys would get a chance, since they have more promise than Igawa in the long run. Guys such as Dellin Betances, Daniel McCutchen, and the new phenom Zach McCallister. McCutchen is more seasoned, but why not give a young guy a chance and see what they have? Maybe this i my dislike for Igawa talking, but i’d rather have David Cone come out of the booth and pitch than have batting practice thrown by our $46 million dud.
RollingWave

I think we should bring a big dose of Vodka with us for that game…

then again, stranger things have happened. maybe he could turn it around. he was pretty inconsistent year to year wise in Japan too . alternating between awsome to just average .