DUNEDIN, Fla. – If you rightfully crucified Kei Igawa for a putrid outing against the University of South Florida last week, then you have to praise him for two perfect innings yesterday against six Blue Jays batters, even if four of them aren’t big leaguers.
To say yesterday’s assignment was critical to Igawa’s chances of making the team would be a tiny stretch. Yet, considering he was awful against USF, a huge disappointment last year and will never live down the Yankees spending $46 million to import him from Japan, there was more on the line for Igawa than just another early spring-training outing.
“It was more important for him because he is fighting for a spot on the team,” Joe Girardi said after a 2-0 rain-shortened, 5-inning perfect game performance that lifted the Yankees’ record to 3-0.
Phil Hughes hurled a perfect first and threw one pitch in the second before the game was stopped for 42 minutes. Slated to throw two innings, Hughes headed for the indoor mound at Knology Park during the delay and threw 30 more pitches.
Barring injury to one of the five starters, the 28-year-old Igawa is in the mix for the long relief job or the lefty specialist role that Girardi loves to have but doesn’t have a clear-cut candidate for. And if he continues to pitch well, Igawa, who has three years and $15 million remaining, could be dealt.
“We are thinking about him any way he can help the team,” Girardi said.
It was believed Igawa was throwing the ball well before the USF debacle in which he walked two, hit a batter and gave up a grand slam. Yesterday, he bounced back on a day when if he had been spanked it would have put him closer to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre than The Bronx.
“I concentrated on throwing strikes when I threw hard,” Igawa said. “The last time I was concentrating on just throwing strikes.”
Pitching coach Dave Eiland put the mini-outing into perspective but admitted Igawa made progress.
“It was only two innings but it was a very positive step in the right direction,” Eiland said. “He had good arm action. He used to slow his arm action down on his change-up.”
Girardi was impressed with Igawa’s command. “He was outstanding locating the fastball,” Girardi said.
As for Hughes, there wasn’t much to be gleaned from his 10-pitch perfect first inning except that Girardi said Hughes was sharper than any other pitcher in camp before the game.
“I am a little ahead of most guys because of all the work I did,” said Hughes, who started throwing bullpen sessions in early January. “But they will catch up.”
While Igawa’s 2008 future is very undecided, the only question around Hughes is where he will slot into the rotation. It’s assumed Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte are first and second and Hughes will settle into the third hole in front of Mike Mussina and Ian Kennedy.
Yet, Hughes isn’t taking anything for granted. From the first day of camp he has joined Pettitte and other pitchers for an early-morning conditioning program that combines running and agility drills.
“There is nothing handed to you,” Hughes said. “I might have a little bit of big league experience, but . . .”
Hughes, 21, missed three months last season with hamstring and ankle injuries. In 13 games he was 5-3 with a 4.46 ERA.
“Last year was the most disappointing season I had playing baseball,” Hughes said. “That drives you. I want to get back to where I was and not cruise through.”