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River Ave. Blues » Kei Igawa » Page 3

The Yanks’ $40-million mistakes

May 1, 2009 by Benjamin Kabak 172 Comments

Last night in Scranton, Kei Igawa took the hill for the AAA Yankees. In typical Kei Igawa fashion, he threw 5.1 innings and gave up 7 hits and 5 earned runs. He allowed a home run — his ninth long ball of the season and managed just a 4/6 ground ball to fly ball ratio.

For Igawa, it was yet another in a line of mediocre-to-terrible AAA starts. On the season, the Kei Man is 2-0 but with a 6.75 ERA. In 21.1 innings, he has allowed 23 hits but has walked four while striking out 11. His 0.60 GB/FB ratio is destined to keep him at AAA for at least this year and next.

It’s clear today that Kei Igawa is one of the worst free agent signings of the last five years. He is no longer on the Yanks’ 40-man roster and is probably 9th or 10th on the team’s starting pitching depth charts. Last year, he threw just 4 innings in the bigs, and I expect that to be 4 more than he pitches this year for the Yanks.

So the Yankees, in Igawa, have a mistake. They paid $26 million to the Hanshin Tigers for what has amounted to a pitching lemon, and Igawa, earning $4 million a year, is probably the highest paid AAA pitcher in the history of the game. He is, by the way, under contract through the 2011 season.

Meanwhile, later tonight, another Yankee mistake is going to take the mound, albeit far, far away from the Bronx. In Detroit, the 0-3 Carl Pavano is going to take his 9.50 ERA to the hill as the Indians face off against the Tigers. We all know Pavano’s story. He had a career year in Florida right before free agency and landed with the Yankees after a four-team bidding war. He then went 9-8 in 26 starts spread out over four seasons and walked away with a 5.00 ERA, $39.95 million and a less-than-flattering nickname of “American Idle.”

The Indians gave Carl Pavano $1.5 million to pitch for them this year in the hopes that he could rediscover his groove. Outside of one start against the Yankees, ironically enough, Pavano hasn’t done much of anything, and he’s probably nearing the point of pitching for a job.

So as the rain begins to pick up in New York City, I am left not counting down the hours until a Yankeeography-filled rain delay, but rather I am left wondering which of these two pitchers was the worse move. It’s probably safe to say that signing one of them ranks among Brian Cashman’s worse decisions as GM, but does one take the cake?

Which Yankee pitcher represents a bigger waste of money?
View Results

Filed Under: Pitching, Polls Tagged With: Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa

Can the Yanks dish Kei Igawa?

March 15, 2009 by Joe Pawlikowski 27 Comments

Over at the excellent NPB Tracker, Patrick asks a question we’ve been pondering since 2007: is Kei Igawa movable? We know that the answer is “probably not,” but Patrick gets into a bit more detail. Specifically, he notes the Yanks’ failed efforts to move him back to Japan, including Igawa’s visit to his old club over the off-season. Then there was the Brewers scenario, which didn’t work out. Patrick even notes a humorous tale (told by Igawa himself) of a team that was once interested in Kei: “it seemed like there was a team that saw my (AAA) numbers and tried to acquire me. Then I was told ‘we found out the name, and it was you!'” So yeah, looks like nothing doing on the Igawa front. He’ll head to AAA this off-season, with his only real hope of cracking the majors again relying on injuries and/or ineffectiveness in the bullpen. It’s safe to say that none of us want to imagine such a scenario.

Filed Under: Asides Tagged With: Kei Igawa

Even Japan doesn’t want Kei Igawa back

February 26, 2009 by Benjamin Kabak 68 Comments

In 2006, Japan stunned the international baseball community when they claimed the WBC title. They’re back with a vengeance to defend their crown, and while many players — the pitchers especially — view this tournament as a potential audition for the U.S. Major Leagues, the Land of the Rising Sun is mostly concerned with capture another title. While the rehabbing Hideki Matsui won’t play in the tournament, he is wanted for it. His fellow Japanese Yankee isn’t so lucky. When asked about Kei Igawa’s omission from the team, one of the Japanese reporters assigned to the team said “They think he is not so good.” I don’t think Brian Cashman is going to voice much objection to those sentiments. (Hat tip to PeteAbe for this amusing anecdote.)

Filed Under: Asides, Whimsy Tagged With: 2009 WBC, Hideki Matsui, Kei Igawa

Afternoon updates: Winding down the meetings

December 11, 2008 by Benjamin Kabak 113 Comments

As I study for my contracts final and Joe and Mike get ready to come back to rainy New York, the winter meetings are officially winding down. While it’s unlikely that any major deals will get done before the GMs make it back home tonight, we’ve got rumors galore to share.

  • Forget Nick Punto. MLB Trade Rumors notes that the Twins have resigned Punto to a two-year, $8.5-million deal with an option for 2011. Punto has a career OPS+ of 74 and is going to make $4 million a year. I’m in the wrong line of work.
  • Tyler Kepner sums up the Cameron stituation. The Yanks and Brewers are haggling over money and extra players. Kepner notes that perhaps Kei Igawa could be shipped off to Milwaukee. He’d be the perfect replacement for CC Sabathia. Not.
  • Dan Graziano says the Cameron deal might not happen because the Yankees hurt the Brewers’ feelings. By asking for money a day after giving CC Sabathia the largest pitching contract ever, the Yanks have supposedly insulted the Brewers. Somewhere, the world’s smallest violin player is playing for Doug Melvin.

Filed Under: Hot Stove League Tagged With: Kei Igawa, Mike Cameron

He’s o-Kei in AAA

November 13, 2008 by Benjamin Kabak 54 Comments

In what is perhaps, outside of Edinson Volquez’s Rookie of the Year votes, the most unintentionally hilarious story of the off-season so far, Topps has named Kei Igawa to the card company’s AAA All Star team.

Chad Jennings has the press release from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre home office, and it too is rather funny simply because it’s so endearingly unironic:

2008 may end up being a break through year for left handed pitcher Kei Igawa. The second year pro from Japan set a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise record for wins in a season by a left handed pitcher with 14 and was named the team’s 2008 Pitcher of the Year.

Igawa set the tone for the season with six perfect innings on opening night for the Yankees and closed out the season winning 11 of his final 13 decisions, earning the southpaw a spot on the 2008 Topps’/Minor League Baseball Triple-A All-Star Team…

Igawa led the Yankees in starts (24), wins (14), innings pitched (156.1) and strike outs (117). His 14 wins tied Joe Roa’s franchise record set in 2002. The outstanding work on the hill for the left hander did not end with the regular season as Igawa posted a 1-0 mark with a 1.35 ERA and nine K’s in 13.1 post season innings, helping lead Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to the Governors’ Cup for the first time in franchise history.

I don’t really know what else I can add to this news. I, for one, am glad the Yanks’ $46-million investment is paying dividends for some team. That 6.66 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in 71.2 big league innings makes me wonder just how bad AAA hitters are anyway.

Now, can we trade him?

Filed Under: Minors Tagged With: Kei Igawa

Igawa, LaTroy DFA; Gardner to AAA

July 26, 2008 by Joe Pawlikowski 24 Comments

Just a quick update before we get to the game. According to Ed Price, the Yankees have removed Kei Igawa from the 40-man roster. He passed through waivers unclaimed. To make room on the 25-man roster for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady, the Yankees have optioned Brett Gardner to AAA, and have DFA LaTroy Hawkins, according to WFAN. Oh, happy day!

According to Buster Olney, the Yanks are still working on a deal for Jarrod Washburn, which would be a salary dump move.

We don’t have the full lineups yet, but Nady is in the lineup, playing left field and batting 7th. You have to assume it’s the lineup as usual through five, Cano hitting sixth, and then Cabrera 8th and Molina 9th.

Filed Under: Asides Tagged With: Brett Gardner, Kei Igawa, LaTroy Hawkins

Checking in on Kei Igawa

June 20, 2008 by Benjamin Kabak 19 Comments

It’s time for the once-a-month look back at Kei Igawa! This time, it’s brought to you by Rainer Sabin and The New York Times. Reading about Kei’s predicament in Scranton and his constant trips to New York to visit his wife, I feel bad for the Yanks’ expensive left-handed flop. He just wants to do well.

Filed Under: Asides Tagged With: Kei Igawa

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