Igawa: “It was pretty hard for me”
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Mar 25, 2011 
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Freddy Garcia was long gone by the time Kei Igawa pitched his one inning at the Yankees minor league complex on Thursday. After five days in Japan, Igawa returned this week to get back to baseball.
I“It was pretty disastrous,” he said. “The roads were a mess and when I was home, the water wasn’t running. It was pretty hard for me… I feel relieved that my parents and family were okay. The town is a mess, though, and right now the radiation is a big problem. That worries me a lot.”
Igawa’s hometown of Oarai is on the coast and was hit hard. Not as hard as some of the more northern cities and towns, but hard enough that he has several friends with flooded homes, and the drive from the airport to his home took twice as long as usual.
When the earthquake hit, Igawa got a frantic call from his wife, who is living in Japan.
“She was in a panic,” Igawa said. “That worried me the most.”
When the tsunami hit, Igawa suddenly couldn’t reach anyone. He finally got in touch via email, but he didn’t speak to his wife or parents again until he actually got to Japan.
“To see my wife was a huge relief,” he said. “The house was okay, but the inside was a little shaken and things were broken… I wanted to stay home a little longer, because my family and friends are going through a hard time. But I also had to resume baseball, because that’s my job.”
Obviously not the best situation, but glad to hear it isn’t any worse.
so…… Millwood finally decided to sign the minor league offer?
Do we really need him at this point?
My heart goes out to him and all the Japanese people. The triple disaster of an earthquake, tsunami, and radiation is awful beyond words. But I suspect that they will bounce back quicker than many people think.
His family can’t legally leave Japan for a time?
I can’t even imagine.
At least his family is OK.
I think that’s funny that Girardi wouldn’t appear on Mad Dog’s program. As I was surfing XM Radio the other day, I caught MD going nuts about Girardi, but didn’t realize what happened. He hates the Yankees anyhow so good for them.
By the way, Girardi supposed to appear on Francesa’s show five days a week, but his agent backed out of the deal with him too. Francesa mentioned it on the radio the other day, but didn’t go crazy like his former partner has about it. Girardi will appear on Thursdays with Francesa starting next week.
Crawdad,
Wonder what kind of compensation G gets for radio appearances? Or is that part of his coaching obligation ?
I couldn’t imagine mad dog would pay enough to put up w his schtick..
Francesa has his faults, but compared to Russo, he is Einstein on steroids, while Russo is like a crazy person on the street muttering incoherently.
I’m sure Francesa being on YES helps him to get Girardi weekly, otherwise, he’ll be on with his buddy Kay on 1050.
“By the way, Girardi supposed to appear on Francesa’s show five days a week, but his agent backed out of the deal with him too”
Good move, IMO.
Rich,
Yeah, Francesa’s fault is mainly with his giant ego and his inability to accept contrary views from his as possibly being right while he might be wrong. Dog is just an idiot with a big mouth.
Francesa does have a larger audience than Kay, so they can likely pay more, but maybe so.
Being on everyday would risked becoming tedious.
Craw
I agree with that.
I recently subscribed to SIRIUS, and after not hearing Russo’s voice for a few years, let me tell you, it shockingly annoying. Unlistenable, really. It’s a contest between him and that dude who talks with the hoarse voice for who’s the worst.
Nothing good can come from the overexposure of five days a week of Francesa nitpicking. One day a week seems reasonable – an overview rather than surgical analysis.
Another future candidate to take Pettitte’s spot. Gotta love that control.
ihttp://trentonthunderbaselines.wordpress.com/
IMO those Japanese reactors ought to receive the Chernobyl treatment.
They should be buried in sand and concrete. Forever.
The place is total loss and the area around the plants a wasteland.
What are those folks thinking ? Cut your losses. Do it now.
Stop endangering even more peoples lives.
Forget baseball Kei. Be with your family. Go home.
I hope Girardi signs that deal with SXM radio, if so I wonder which show he’ll appear on?
GB7,
Your link is broken.
Sorry. I apologize. I just had to get that off my chest. It has been bothering me for quite some time.
MTU – They will be buried… in about 10 years when they finally cool off the rods.
http://trentonthunderbaselines.wordpress.com/
ID-
I admit I’m not a Nuclear scientist but do you really think they can afford ten years ?
When Chernobyl blew they got the message finally and encassed it.
Maybe Ray VT who is a Nuclear scientist would render his opinion sometime ?
Speaking for myself I am very, very uneasy about the way they appear to be handling the situation.
I may be wrong but that’s my take.
MTU – I don’t think its a matter of “affording” that timeframe… I’m pretty sure you can’t just bury it though.
I believe (i’m not a damn nuclear physicist so i apologize to the trolls if every minute detail here isn’t accurate) that they have to keep cooling the rods and covering them with water. If they are exposed to air there is a huge release of radiation.
They also have to cool the rods before they “bury and forget it” so they don’t all melt down into “Corium” and burn through the bottom of the containment chamber. If it burns through it spreads deep underground into the water supply irradiating millions.
Not a good situation, but don’t believe at this point they are “stalling” for anything. The power plants are already destroyed and can never be re-used (same for the fuel rods and everything else), so there is no motivation other than human safety at this point.
Glad to hear all is well with his family. Just a complete tragedy and a reminder of how fragile the planet, and we as human beings, really are.
To lighten the mood, I’d like to repost what might be the greatest conversation-exchanges ever on LoHud:
# m March 23rd, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Serious question for the fellas. Do you guys wish there were less women on this board? You can answer anonymously if you want.
————————–
# Rich in NJ March 23rd, 2011 at 4:15 pm
m
I wish there were more.
————————–
# Jerkface March 23rd, 2011 at 4:16 pm
My anonymous answer: Yes
Publically and pubicly I’m for women.
————————–
# I Like Inge March 23rd, 2011 at 4:17 pm
More women.
————————–
# Irreverent Discourse March 23rd, 2011 at 4:18 pm
i wish they were all forced to write in pink text so we could single them out and attack them easier
————————–
# I Like Inge March 23rd, 2011 at 4:18 pm
I’m with Mr. Face. I’m Pro Chicks
Why don’t yanks release igawa and save 400k if someone picks him up?
Or is he that beneficial to the minor squad??
Shame- LOL
Personally I like Irreverent Discourse’s pink text idea (sans the attacking part) just because I love pink.
ID-
I hope you are right. That is not the way it appears to me.
“Tepco” has a history of hiding some of their failures.
Many Japanese are not happy with the way it has and is being handled.
Can’t say that I blame them.
Erin – It’d be funny to have pink text just to see exactly how many women rove the blog.. speaking as one with a gender-ambiguous handle, I’m sure I’d be surprised at the number.
lol Erin… it seemed like a good idea at the time :p
Damn Brad Lidge will open the season on the DL. Pardon me while I fix my fantasy team
Hall pitched well yesterday against the Phillies farm team.
GreenBeret7 March 25th, 2011 at 9:34 am
http://trentonthunderbaselines.wordpress.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanx for the info. Lefthanders are always welcome and Shaefer Hall is doing his best to be part of the Yankee future.
Isn’t Bleich scheduled to begin throwing again ?
DKnobler DKnobler
Scouts following Yankees have been stunned by Phil Hughes’ lack of velocity this spring 87-89 mph, with more 87s than 89s
AndrewMarchand Andrew Marchand
A scout mentioned this to me as well the other day for a preview story I’m writing. He said Hughes’ velocity has been down
Normally I wouldnt care about those velocity readings. But Hughes did have a huge jump in innings last yr. So it does slightly raise an eyebrow.
Hughes didn’t appear to have a lack of velocity the other day.
All pitchers velocity should be “down” in spring training… most of them don’t get up to speed until mid-May. Anyone throwing at full speed today or starting the season throwing 8-9 inning starts should be the top of the “might be injured soon” list.
For all his failure as a ML pitcher for the Yankees, Kei Igawa is, by all reports, a good guy who gives it his best. He deserves all our hopes and prayers.
I was going to go off on something quasi-philosophical about the role of nuclear power as a source of energy in the 21st century….but I think I won’t, and spare the blog readership.
My best thoughts and prayers for Kei.
I was going to go off on something quasi-philosophical about the role of nuclear power as a source of energy in the 21st century….but I think I won’t, and spare the blog readership.
—
Nuclear power, the best power.
The Phil I saw the other day appeared to be pitching just fine.
Sorry I can’t type in pink
New thread ==>
New Post: Yankees add some experienced pitching depth
Russo has a shock jock element to his delivery that many don’t like; I’m not particularly enamored with his voice and shtick but like hi or not he has a very popular show and network with many listeners. Girardi was wrong in not doing a few minutes with him during spring training IMO. It should have nothing to do with whether Russo likes the Yankees or not, every other manager in baseball gives his some time in spring training. Nor should it have anything to do with Girardi’s agent negotiating with Sirius for a spot this season. It’s Joe’s call not the agents. Just talk baseball for a few minutes. As Russo pointed out, it promotes the sport and baseball needs that right now.
Bob Raissman has a good column on the nuances this morning.
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo....._for_.html
Russo isn’t a shock jock, when he goes on Stern he gets all embarrassed and can’t curse…