The Legend of Kei Igawa takes, Um, Flight. Sort of.

Ladies and gentlemen, the newest New York Yankee:

Comments

[YF]

We can only hope. And from the looks of it, the Yankee brass will certainly want to restrict him to flying machines of the toy variety....

[SF]

I am not sure if that's a distasteful Corey Lidle joke, YF. Or was that an unintentional cross-reference from the vid?

[attackgerbil]

Wow. Nice hair. It looks like we're gonna get the Gary Wallace version of Johnny Damon.

[SF]

He and Manny can hit the Times Square Toys R Us during the next series between the two clubs. If Manny's around, that is.

[attackgerbil]

He and Manny can hit the Times Square Toys R Us during the next series between the two clubs. If Manny's around, that is.

Providing one out of two of them remembers fare for the D Train.

[Eric]

Which one was he?

[YF]

Tasteless! That was me. I'm sorry, but I'm having a lot of trouble even thinking about the economics of this at the moment--the Yanks potential new prize is a sushi-gorgeing, anime-adicted, remote-control obsessed, subway riding, amateur soccer fanatic, permanently stuck at age 13. He makes Mark Fydrich look like Mike Mussina. So, basically, THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT. The guys at the tabs must be doing backfilps. Who cares if he can pitch!

[m.g. yanks fan]

jesus christ this is going to be a long season...

[attackgerbil]

Gary was Anthony Michael Hall. I think he got the Ferrari, whereas Wyatt got the Porsche.

[SF]

And they both got Kelly LeBrock, right?

[Nick-YF]

SF, I think what they "got" was their confidence, and I think that was the most important thing in the end.

[YF]

Oingo Boingo!

[SF]

I think you saw a different movie than me, Nick.

[walein]

Neither of them "Got" Kelly Labrock. IN the end the freshman PE class "gets" Kelly as their instructor...OOhhhhh Yeahhhhhhhhh (chika chikaaaaa!)

[Quo]

I have to agree with YF on the "Who Cares if He Can Pitch". I get the feeling Igawa and Damon are going to get along well. Tape their antics together and sell it. "Kei and Johnny go to White Castle".

Some of his...relaxed personality and idiosyncracies might do some good in continuing to loosen up that clubhouse.

[attackgerbil]

That there is an "Dead Man's Party" and an "Upstairs at Eric's" from Yaz reference on a baseball forum is a most curious thing. M.G. is right. April One is a long ways off. I, for one, welcome our new video-game playing anime-addicted overlords.

[Yankeeboy]

does this all really matter as long as he can pitch?
otherwise, i wouldnt care less about what he does. Just win...

[Nick-YF]

yeah, this matters. It matters a lot.

[The Concerned Yank Fan]

Did Brian Cashman recently graduate from the "Isaiah Thomas School of GMs?"

[YF]

From the video I've seen, and from the comments of David Wright, the kid looks like he's got a decent fastball without much tail, a change, and a slider that can be dangerously flat. The delivery is a bit jerky, but not that deceptive, and it comes pretty much over the top, so not an extreme problem for lefties. Color me skeptical about a kid who doesn't seem to have a lot of movement on his pitches. Balls that fly thru the strike zone past Pacific League bats might get turned around in the AL. From a baseball perspective, this one makes me nervous.

[attackgerbil]

Nick, it's totally my fault for bringing up the brat-pack in the first place.

[Paul SF]

Is that the sound he's gonna make the first time David Ortiz lands one of his "below-average fastballs" (Baseball Analysts) or "dangerously flat" slider (YF) in the right field porch?

"WAARGH!" "WAARGH!"

[zrsahai (YF)]

Note: A lefty with a fastball at 92ish, an exceptional changeup, and a decent (though sometimes flat) slider should not have a problem pitching in the majors. Does this description ring any bells: lefty with a fastball under 88, reasonable changeup and an exceptional/exquisite breaking ball; in this case a curveball. Cy Young winner Barry Zito will definately be cashing in this offseason. Don't get me wrong... Kei ain't no Barry, but being a lefty and getting a helpful hand from Guidry could make Igawa quite dependable...maybe a decent #2. That would justify every penny the Yanks drop. Toss me an earfull.

[bloodyank78]

Call me an optimist, but zrsahai(YF) just made a ton of sense.

[bloodyank78]

Oh and Paul, if Theo ships Manny out of town, David Americo isn't gonna even see a pitch to hit. Barry Bonds treatment all the way. Or maybe not with the dreaded JD Drew behind him.

[zrsahai (YF)]

Fellow Yankees Fans: Pray to the gods of baseball that the Sox sign JD Drew... I can't wait for him to go down with an inevitable injury and watch the Sox scramble around for a backup in order to save their season: the resulting comedy would be better than a Gaffigan stand-up.

[Brad]

Call me an optimist, but zrsahai(YF) just made a ton of sense

Okay, you're an optimist.

They won't be scrambling too far - he's already on the team. Plus, outside of a broken hand by a HBP, Drew has been relatively healthy.
Oh, is you're outlook the same if the Sox spin Manny into Andrew Jones, which is a very reasonable assumption?

I can't wait for him to go down with an inevitable injury ...

Well, at least we know what we're dealing with when we talk to you on any type of baseball topic. Youre the guy that prays someone gets injured to make the road smoother. Nice, I like the honesty and lack of any real morals or competitiveness. I'd much rather win something because the other team lost some players, than say, to actually beat those players in a game.
I like you already.

[Brad]

above comments were made by me -
Sorry for the anon.

[zrsahai (YF)]

Brad- YF or not- you gotta admit that watching an opponent's previously perceived perfect plan unravel into nothing but complete chaos and their feeble attempt to "duct tape" the situation back to normal which eventually results in nothing but more failure brings nothing but a jumbo smile to your face. THis situation applies perfectly to the 5-game slaughter the Sox were a victim of at Fenway. I, in no way, root for injuries... it takes away from the game; but it is a fact that Drew's injury would lead directly to the fiasco of a situation that I wish upon the BoSox.

[dc]

...personally, i don't want the sox to have any injuries this year for 2 reasons:
1. the human side: how can you root for someone to get hurt, that's inhuman
2. no excuses

[SF]

Wait, so are the Yankees back to their free-spending ways? Is Cash in charge? Or is this a smart, non-depleting acquisition (no talent given up, that is)? What does one do when one's world of baseball logic as thrown into tatters by the unexpected outlay of cash by one's own team? What does this all mean to YFs, who surely seem confused as hell? The focus on KI's "quirks" seems to be an easy deflection from the fact that the Yankees spent $26M for the right to negotiate with a guy a Pacific Rim scout has called "nowhere near Matsuzaka", and "down the list a ways".

Now I have no idea how this guy will do, I have never seen him pitch. He might be good. Great, even. I don't know. And I am not going to crap on this move because to me the Yankees have this money, it's not payroll, and the guy may turn out to be something worth the cash. But (cue Goodwin here!) wouldn't you YFs be RIPPING the Sox for being bridesmaids, spending this kind of cash for a guy who is hardly regarded as anything near a sure thing, not even as unsure a thing as DM? Please answer honestly.

[Lar]

Hey, it's just Kei being Kei..

[Sam]

I think all YFs need to remember this and the previous thread when SF accuses us of being argumentative or belligerent.

From what I've read, he'll want about $6m per. Say 4/$24m - that means a total outlay of $50m over four years. Plus, as far as the Yanks are concerned, only the $24m counts against the luxury tax, so the total deal may look like 4/$74m from their point of view. Compare to Schmidt or Zito - guys who, let's face it are also No 3s or 4s these days, who could command 4/$60m and since that's all payroll, would cost the Yanks 4/$120m because of the tax.

Now, obviously this argument is predicated on the notion that he'll be a serviceable middle of the rotation guy, and I have no idea about that. But the economics of it do actually make sense - largely because we're living in a world where Ted Lilly is going to make $10m-$12m a year.

[Seth]

SF, yes this was a crazy move. It seems to make no sense and come out of nowhere. Does anyone know what the other bids came too, could this guy have been locked up with a much lower posting fee?
I think we like getting overpriced aging lefties though.

[Sam]

As for being bridesmaids - well, that argument amounts to nyah nyah nyah nyah. YFs who are arrogant and immature would throw that insult at the Sox, yes, SF. Want to go there?

[Sam]

Seth, since when does 27 = an aging pitcher?

[LocklandSF]

I'm in the camp that thinks this is a brilliant move if only for the entertainment value, if he turns out to be a bad pitcher, even better, but I hope he's decent enough to stick around because he's total LOON stuck at at age 10.

[Seth]

Look at his splits from 01-03 then 04-06
He is either 'aging' or he just got worse because I dont think there is any leauge switch to account for.

[dc]

...sf, where are these imaginary yf's you're talking about "...who surely seem confused as hell..."?...like i told you on the other thread nobody's really saying anything...it's just not that big a deal, and i suspect most of us are not that thrilled with it...i just read something in the daily news that suggests the yanks are making this move because they think they can get the guy for ted lilly-type money, and that's adding the $26m to a 4 year $4-5m per year contract...the difference v. lilly is that igawa has no ml track record, and the $26m is not taxable, as if that were a big deal to the yanks...this compares to the estimated $20m [or more] that the sox will shell out for dm...there are no false expectations about igawa's potential, especially v. dm...seems like everyone is projecting him as a #4 or 5 starter, perhaps reliever...personally, i'd rather have lilly...since you cherry-pick what you read and respond to, i'll save you some trouble...here's what i wrote over on "Let The Posturing Begin"...which is essentially the same subject as this one:

"...sf, why don't you call out the naysayers by name...who exactly are you talking about?...there aren't many of us left that you haven't already declared "not-guilty" in your earlier post...my recollection was that most yf's were simply stunned about the amount of bid money for a guy who never threw a major league pitch and spent the rest of the week trying to understand the economics of the bid and resultant contract scenarios...but i felt, and my comments bore that out, that this was a great coup for the sox, despite the risk of the unknown...so, please add me to the "nice" list...
...as for igawa, i'm disappointed about the yankees decision to bid so high on any player...i was actually relieved that they didn't win the dm bid...you almost seem disappointed that yf's haven't climbed all over themselves to defend the yankees bid to give you some evidence of yf hypocrisy...i wouldn't hold my breath on that one if i were you...your "percent of overbid" is weak and makes you appear hypocritical..."

...you seem to be trolling the threads trying to pick the same fight with imaginary yf's, then running to another thread when challenged about it sf...give it up already...

[Lar]

SF - The YF's won't be "ripping" into SF's for being "bridesmaid" because this sort of thing happen quite often... maybe a jeer or two, but no one cares after that..

I'm not sure what you're baiting, really..

[SF]

To clarify: it's not the YFs at this site that put up most of the stink. It's guys like Mike Plugh, who went totally off the rails with the DM signing. Or Steve Lombardi's crass Beckett comparison at WasWatching. Most of you guys here have had totally rational opinions about the DM signing. Apologies for not being clearer.

[Nick-YF]

"Hey, it's just Kei being Kei.."

I'm ashamed I didn't think of that as the title, Lar.

[Lar]

I love that list of "legends" though. Would be more amusing if it wasn't the Yanks who won his bid. I was hoping he would be more of the "hardworking" type than the lazy type. We'll see..