Quote:
Originally Posted by redsoxford
Give Igawa a month at Scranton-Wilkes and then let him finish the season in the majors. If he hasn't adjusted by the end of spring training next season then he's possibly a lost cause.
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That sounds like a plan. But, what do they do if worse comes to worst, just release him and pay the $$$? It's hard to fathom that on this scale of investment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luis_Rivera
Also, we knew the problem with Beckett was the curve wasn't working. If the Yankees coaching staff knows something like that then, sure... try and fix the problem. Otherwise, I'd definitely let him show what he's got...
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You are aware that they already sent this guy down to Single-A (as a convenience to the pitching coaches in Tampa, though, not as an indication of his quality) to be taught a better delivery?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luis_Rivera
Of course they're not... they're probably slightly better than AAA level. And of course AAA level isn't at ML level, but we can project major league numbers based on AAA and even AA level performances. Of course, very often we need to balance this projection against scouting to refine it, but it's not like it's a crapshoot pulling these guys from AAA or the Nippon league.
As you move up the talent ladder, scouting becomes less important, and performance more important. While his performance was there in Japan (he was one of the best pitchers there) there were scouting concerns that tempered the enthusiasm over here. Now, it's beginning to seem that those concerns may have merit.
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There's a couple of things wrong with this, though.
First, dealing with AAA prospects usually means a minimal outlay of cash; even a minimum major league contract is easily absorbed if things don't work out. Viewing the Nippon leagues as AAA and investing millions in what are therefore just
prospects is a waste.
Second, Igawa is about to turn 28. Another reason why the AAA prospect analogy does not work. He is not going to get better from this point on, I would bet. That makes him not a prospect any more.
That's why I don't think the AAA prospect analogy works. Due to the money involved, the only thing that makes sense is equality of the leagues, and I don't think that works either. Matsuzaka (and Iwamura, whom I note is not doing poorly) notwithstanding, I think MLB will be, must be, more selective about recruiting only the very best from over there in the future.
Sure, Igawa dominated in Japan but you said scouts had concerns. The Yankees should have listened to them in that case, realizing that being very good in Japan is no guarantee of the same success in the U.S.
100% hindsight on my part, of course, except I remember saying similar things here this past winter.