first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Oliver Perez vs Woody Williams
Still doesn’t seem right to see Ollie in a Pirate uniform, but I’m glad he’s found his niche in Pittsburgh. Wonder where he gets his taco shop fix when he’s in town. Personally I’d be at Lolita’s on Clairemont Mesa. Where would you go?
Stuff’s been piling up on the virtual desk again. Here you go; now it’s your problem…
Also, I’ve added some more links to the blogroll on the right:
There you go.
[In honor of Hideki Irabu's retirement announcement, I thought it would be appropriate to re-run the article that started it all here at Ducksnorts (we're talking pre-blog days). In a very minor and tangential way, Irabu helped pave the way to Petco Park. One of the players acquired in the deal that sent The Fat Toad to the Yankees was Rafael Medina, who in turn was part of the payment for Kevin Brown, who helped lead the Padres to the 1998 World Series, which helped get the new stadium funded and built. Also, according to some sources Irabu was born on the exact same day as I was, so I like to think of him as my evil twin. This was originally published September 6, 1997. I don't think I could write this article today. If I did, I wouldn't include the references to Richard Nixon or terrorists, and the tone generally would be less melodramatic. But a lot changes in 7 1/2 years, and there it is. I've added a few links in the article and at the end as well; otherwise everything remains as it did back then. Enjoy!]
It was just a matter of time before Hideki Irabu and George Steinbrenner discovered what the rest of us already knew: that even under the best conditions, making the transition from the Chiba Lotte Marines to the New York Yankees would be difficult. Under the conditions that Irabu set for himself, however, it has been darned near impossible. In a display of two-facedness that would have made the late Richard M. Nixon proud, Irabu humbly stated his dream to play baseball professionally in the United States; then, when it became evident that his dream would be realized via the San Diego Padres, he and his agent, Don Nomura, suddenly changed their tune.
What Irabu had meant to say, so the story goes, was that he had dreamed of playing for the Yankees. Apparently his dream included visions of himself making outrageous demands of his prospective new employer and insisting he would not work unless those demands were met. Perhaps this is unfair of me, because I’ve never been a terrorist, but it seems that the only careers in which this type of behavior is tolerated and too often rewarded are terrorism and professional sports. I can count on one finger the number of seconds I would remain employed were I to place such demands on my employer.
Irabu’s crowning achievement came when he compared San Diego to a prison camp. I have lived in San Diego for several years, and although I have never been incarcerated, I like to think that my present living conditions are significantly better than those of a prison (unless I was in for tax evasion or embezzlement or something and got to watch TV and play golf all day).
Regardless the respective merits of San Diego and a prison camp, Irabu had made it quite clear to everyone that he had no intention of playing for anyone but the Yankees. So the Padres, not being complete idiots, cut their losses and, with the blessing of Chiba Lotte, dealt him to the Bronx Bombers for Rafael Medina, Ruben Rivera, and $3 million. The Yankees then, after lengthy negotiations, signed Irabu to a very generous long-term contract.
The general assumption was that the out-of-shape Irabu would zip through the minors and come up in time to help the Yankees defend their status as “World Champions.” And sure enough, he abused hitters at the A, AA, and AAA levels, all the while attracting more and more media and fan interest as “the next [Hideo] Nomo, only better.” He finally made it to the major leagues and struck out nine Detroit Tigers in his debut.
But already opponents questioned his ability, much as his own teammates had previously questioned his right to pitch for the Yankees. Mr. Steinbrenner dismissed Irabu’s detractors as jealous naysayers. Boss George claimed to lose respect for David Justice after the Indians’ slugger called the pitcher’s stuff “average.” Meanwhile, the hefty hurler continued his downward spiral, each start worse than the one previous.
The Yankees then decided his mechanics needed to be fixed, so they sent him back to the minors for a couple starts. Again, he pitched well.
When Irabu returned to New York, he arrived with Yankee minor league pitching instructor Billy Connors, who would serve as a sort of personal coach. Irabu, mechanics allegedly fixed, took the mound again with the same approach as before his demotion and the same predictable results: Fall behind in the count with the forkball, leave the fastball (92 mph, rather than the 99 mph he had allegedly been clocked at in Japan) out over the plate, look out for falling objects.
After a start at Oakland, in which Irabu faced a less-than-formidable lineup and allowed three homers in three plus innings, manager Joe Torre called his performance unacceptable in the context of a pennant race [Ed note: I believe I was at this game; one of the few times I've ever actively booed a professional athlete]. Torre gave him one more start, this time against the lowly Philadelphia Phillies. Irabu never made it out of the fourth inning. Steinbrenner, who had been sitting in the front row to watch his prize pitcher ignite yet another bonfire at the expense of a possible return to the World Series, left the stadium soon after Irabu left the playing field and later blasted him, calling him, as Brian Hunter and David Justice had before, overhyped and suggesting that he needed to learn how to pitch and stop blaming everyone and everything else for his own personal failures. Irabu, meanwhile, declined to speak with reporters, choosing instead to spend some quality time with breakable objects in the visitor’s clubhouse.
The jury is still very much out on Hideki Irabu. Forty-something innings aren’t nearly enough to make a sound judgment on his status as a major league pitcher. But the early returns are, to put it delicately, less than favorable. Many young men have great “stuff” but possess the mental toughness of strawberry Jell-o. Irabu, with his fan-spitting, glove-throwing, clubhouse-sprinkler-breaking antics (to say nothing of his body), is resembling a considerably fouler flavor. And right now he’s probably wondering what he ever did to deserve this. And how much nicer a prison camp would be.
Additional sources:
first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Brian Lawrence vs Josh Fogg
The Padres have drawn 24 walks in their first three games of the season, and issued just 9. Both of tonight’s starters are control artists, with Lawrence averaging 2.41 walks per 9 over 700+ career innings, and Fogg checking in at 3.03 over 500+ innings.
I’ll be roaming the park tonight in the new Akinori Otsuka T-shirt my wife bought me. Chat away, folks. I look forward to hearing more about blind midgets.
The answer is yes, but it took 12 innings. Bases loaded walk to Xavier Nady, who wasn’t supposed to play due to strep throat. But a win is a win, and especially after the opening day loss in Denver, I don’t think anyone is complaining.
Nice job, guys, on the in-game discussion yesterday. I’ll try to address some of the things you brought up in the comments.
Pregame ceremony did drag on a bit. Fortunately we missed most of it because we were still walking to the stadium. The Pirates introductions were interesting. Biggest cheers went to Oliver Perez, Benito Santiago, and Chula Vista native Ty Wigginton. A few folks remembered Jason Bay and Brian Meadows.
Jake Peavy? Dominant: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K. The only ball that was really well hit was the Matt Lawton double in the sixth. A little help from Phil Nevin and Peavy’s line looks even better. (Speaking of which, one thing I’m not looking forward to this year is watching Nevin and Ryan Klesko attempt to play defense on the same field, at the same time. Ugh.) Anyway, Peavy was running 93-95 mph with the fastball, according to the scoreboard. He also was working a real nice changeup and locating everything well. What else is new, right? First batter of the game was Lawton. Struck him out on three pitches. One other thing worth mentioning is that home plate umpire Dan Iassogna had a very generous outside corner. Not that Peavy didn’t throw great, but more than one hitter on both sides started trotting down toward first on balls that appeared to be outside, only to be called back to the plate.
Eric Young, getting the start in center in place of Nady, made a spectacular running grab to rob Bay of extra bases and end the first. Young separated his shoulder in the process and was unable to continue. Adam Hyzdu took over (and promptly made a terrific diving catch the next inning).
Trevor Hoffman looked okay. Not great, not horrible. Just okay. The two balls that went for hits weren’t real well struck, just well placed. Way too early to be seriously concerned about Hoffy.
It’s a win at home, and baseball is back in San Diego. Life is good.
first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Jake Peavy vs Mark Redman
AB H HR BB SO BA OBP SLG
Peavy vs current Pirates: 65 18 1 4 28 .277 .347 .492
Redman vs current Padres: 32 12 1 3 1 .375 .429 .563
That looks real impressive till you realize that Geoff Blum and Eric Young are doing all the damage. Anyway, I’ll be at the game tonight so y’all are on your own for this one.
Pads beat the Rox, 14-6. Real nail biter. Rockies pitchers issued 11 walks, which we all know is a recipe for success at Coors.
Obviously 14 runs is real good. So are three hits from Sean Burroughs and two from Brian Giles (including his second homer in as many days). The latter is swinging the bat very well. Hopefully he can keep that going at home.
Despite his line, and despite the fact that he wasn’t able to go the requisite five innings, Adam Eaton looked good. His fastball was 91-93 mph in the first, and generally around 93-96 thereafter. He was having trouble commanding the new and improved breaking ball, but that’s not surprising given where he was pitching. The fastball and changeup were very effective, and he finished with seven strikeouts. Thanks to some sloppy defense, Eaton racked up a pretty high pitch count and left with two out in the fifth. He also appeared to be having some kind of physical problem – trainer Jim Daniel came out at one point – so perhaps it was a case of wanting to err on the side of caution so early in the season. TV announcers speculated that it may have been a rib injury sustained while reacting to a line drive back through the middle. Wire reports mention a blister on his pitching hand. Whatever it is, hopefully it isn’t serious.
Tim Redding made his Padre debut and retired the only batter he faced. I was on the phone during the middle innings and only caught glimpses of the Padres seven-run seventh. I did see Chris Hammond throw a few silly changeups. Darrell May closed out the game in fairly non-descript fashion. His fastball sat around 83-85 mph, topping out at 87.
One encouraging sign: In his third trip to the plate, Burroughs turned on an inside offering from Jason Jennings and hammered it down the right field line but it hooked foul. Just missed a homer. Let’s see more of that approach.
Next up, home opener against the Pirates. I’ll be there; will you?
first pitch: 5:35 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Adam Eaton vs Jason Jennings
G IP H ER HR BB SO ERA BA OBP SLG
Eaton vs Col '04: 5 29.0 47 28 3 11 22 8.69 .382 .428 .577
Jennings vs SD '04: 6 39.2 47 20 4 10 23 4.54 .299 .343 .433
Uh-oh, that’s not good.
That was ugly. And I’d say the same even if the Padres had ended up winning. Caught the first few innings on television. Some observations:
Off day today, then they’re back at it on Wednesday. Also, in case you missed it in the excitement over Opening Day, Ducksnorts’ first ever interview – with Will Carroll – is now up; be sure to give it a read. I’d like to do more of these, so if you have any suggestions please let me know.
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