Igawa's First Start
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Igawa's First Start
Yesterday I watched Kei Igawa's first start in the majors. He was not very good, but rather pitched like the Igawa Hanshin Tiger's fans are too familiar with. He had trouble locating the strike zone, and only really had his fastball operating at anywhere near full efficiency. He gave up seven runs including walking one in. He needs to improve very rapidly despite being considered a "long-term" prospect by the Yankees management.
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Re: Igawa's First Start
[ Author: Guest: Ed Kranepool | Posted: Apr 9, 2007 10:45 AM
]
Regrettably, I think Igawa will be the Yankees' Kaz Matsui. The fans will be merciless.
Re: Igawa's First Start
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Apr 9, 2007 6:12 PM
| HT Fan
]
Alright, let's see how well he adjusts in his second start before giving up on him, shall we? He's begun previous seasons fairly badly (attracting merciless criticism from some posters on this site) only to finish the year with some pretty good numbers.
And let's consider the other Yankee starters so far:
Pettite: 5 innings, 6 hits, 2 ER
Mussina: 4 innings, 8 hits, 6 ER
Pavano: 4.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 ER
Rasner: 4.1 innings, 8 hits, 5 ER
Nothing much to write home about either.
And let's consider the other Yankee starters so far:
Pettite: 5 innings, 6 hits, 2 ER
Mussina: 4 innings, 8 hits, 6 ER
Pavano: 4.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 ER
Rasner: 4.1 innings, 8 hits, 5 ER
Nothing much to write home about either.
Re: Igawa's First Start
[ Author: Sara B | Posted: Apr 9, 2007 6:46 PM
| HT Fan
]
It's only one start, and it might be good to consider the context - the weather in New York City has been unusually cold and windy, and none of the Yankees starting pitchers have done well thus far in the early season (Igawa lasted five innings, longest of them all).
Nevertheless, Kei-san will have a short leash in the Bronx, and impatient NY fans with bad memories of Hideki Irabu will not be kind to him unless he delivers strikeouts and victories. Surely Igawa was nervous in his first Yankee Stadium outing, so let's hope he finds his inner zen soon and begins to pitch his best.
Nevertheless, Kei-san will have a short leash in the Bronx, and impatient NY fans with bad memories of Hideki Irabu will not be kind to him unless he delivers strikeouts and victories. Surely Igawa was nervous in his first Yankee Stadium outing, so let's hope he finds his inner zen soon and begins to pitch his best.
Re: Igawa's First Start
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Apr 14, 2007 7:04 PM
| HT Fan
]
Well, his second start was much better, with a chance for a win blown by the Yankees' bullpen. Be patient guys. I'm inclined to agree with this comment (from RotoWorld):
It seems clear already that Igawa isn't going to be a great pitcher for the Yankees, but he should have a fair amount of success as a fourth or fifth starter if he can just avoid walking more than two or three batters per start.And that's the big if.
Re: Igawa's First Start
[ Author: Sara B | Posted: Apr 14, 2007 10:23 PM
| HT Fan
]
Kei-san had a much better outing last night against the Oakland A's on the west coast. He went 5 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. The Yankees lost the game after his departure, in the 11th inning.
As quoted in this morning's New York Times, Igawa said (through interpreter Yumi Watanabe) "I'm not satisfied yet. I need to work on the pace of the game and go from there."
Sounds like he is getting used to a lot of new things, and I for one have great confidence in this marvelous pitcher. Ganbatte, "Iron Nerves" Igawa!
As quoted in this morning's New York Times, Igawa said (through interpreter Yumi Watanabe) "I'm not satisfied yet. I need to work on the pace of the game and go from there."
Sounds like he is getting used to a lot of new things, and I for one have great confidence in this marvelous pitcher. Ganbatte, "Iron Nerves" Igawa!
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