Igawa no Longer Hanshin's Ace?

He certainly has had a rotten start, Christopher, and was far from impressive in the open-sen. Reasons? Sulky about not being released to the majors? I dont know. If that's the case he's only doing himself a disservice putting up bad numbers as it will hurt his chances of getting picked up by a major league club this season. One of the sports papers speculated that he seemed very "stuck up" this year. Let's just hope we see a return to form.

In saying that, it's nice to see the other pitchers step up and give us a nice start to the season. Especially the new guys! Taiyo has been a little wild but has gotten results, and young Noumi has impressed as well.

Igawa is underperforming on a team that has started well. His two matches do not suggest effort on his part whereas everyone else on the side seems to be trying. He didn't start well last year either, but I seem to remember him winning his first match at least. Stuck up may well be a good appraisal of him.

Nohmi had his second outing against the BayStars and did very well indeed. The surprise was Andoh starting in the second game against the BayStars.

Oh well, we'll see if you're right. If he's not really trying he'll find himself down on the farm if he's not careful. Knowing him, however, he's just as likely to come roaring back with a shutout in his next start. Still early days.

But the people over at Osaka Gas are certainly very happy with Nohmi's performances so far. If Nohmi does well with the Tigers, they figure that their team could become a viable route to the pros for promising ball players who don't get drafted out of high school or university.

- Knowing him, however, he's just as likely to come roaring back with a shutout in his next start.

I hope you're right - his performance against Hiroshima did not indicate an interest in what he was doing. He scattered the six runs he gave up over several innings.

Yes, I do think so, Igawa is no more an ACE pitcher for Hanshin.

It was a very surprising move that Andoh is in the starting line up. But to my surprise he just did great. In fact, a reversal of role will be good, with Andoh being started and Igawa as a setup or reliever.

Fukuhara continues his last year momentum. Willaims needs to improve his right-hander record. Fujitha is doing great at the moment.

If these few stuffs can be worked out then, Tigers will have the best ERA team.

Among the batters, it's sad to see Sekimoto in the bench. Maybe Fujimoto and Sekimoto can replace each other in the case of RHP and LHP respectively. As far as batters are concerned,

Sheets - Doing great when bases are not loaded.
Kanemoto & Akahoshi - In nice form.
Imaoka & Spencer - Shaky but useful.
Toritani - Hitting has been spectatular this season but yet to improve on out-course balls.
Fujimoto & Yano - Doing average but chipping in useful RBIs.

They lost one easy win game, bad luck Igawa, against Carp. Errors were huge in that match. Then they won a lost game, against Yokohama.

I hope they continue the current vein.

Good luck Tigers.

There were signs of the old Igawa last night - some of his pitches were really awesome, but his sixth inning was abysmal. He just seemed to collapse completely and took the Tigers completely by surprise (and I think the Giants as well). The Tigers could have still won the match though if they hadn't been so agressive.

Without sounding like the proverbial broken record, Okada left him in too long when he obviously had lost the plot somewhat. But I think there were a lot of positives to take from his performance last night.

Yes it was a rather abysmal collapse. Before the sixth I was thinking that here was the shutout I had been talking about. Oh well.

With all due consideration, are these postings being written by George Steinbrenner? Two bad outings and one of the greatest Tiger pitchers of the last decade is not an ace? Let's have a little patience, hmmm? Igawa will find his form soon enough and then these postings will look mighty silly!

Actually Sara, it's three bad outings and you need to have seen the way he has performed to understand why people are unhappy. He has not performed well at all, and given that the Tigers have a good chance at the pennant this year, his attitude is worrying.

Christopher, to be fair to Igawa, are you sure it's really his attitude as such? Lots of players go through bad patches, and while the problem is often psychological, it's not necessarily an attitude problem.

Sure, I know the background, and how Igawa's peeved at not being allowed to go to the majors, but I think we should be careful before jumping to the conclusion that he's got a bad attitude here. To be sure, he probably needs to concentrate more on his game, but that's a whole lot different to having a bad attitude.

His last start indicated that he still has the stuff - for five innings he held his opponents scoreless with some fine pitching. But unlike previous years when he would have then gone on to pitch a shutout, he found himself in all sorts of trouble in the next inning. Sounds like lack of concentration rather than attitude to me.

His lack of concentration and effort would indicate that there is some problem with how he views his pitching. I was not actually implying a bad attitude, rather a lack of the right attitude. His pitching was patchy - the fifth innings was Igawa at his best, but some of the earlier ones owed more to luck than skill in their avoidance of scores. I would very much like to see him bounce back, though, and return to the Igawa of old.

I wonder what's up with Igawa as well. It seems to me that the last few Japanese pitchers dating back to 1980 who have won 20 games have gone downhill from then on. Look at Kazumi Saitoh, for example. He has just totally collapsed.

Igawa is too young to have peaked and should be in his prime. Is he losing something on his fastball or is he just not locating like he used to? I don't think he is deliberately tanking it, though.

Well, he's scheduled to start tonight against the Giants on 7 days' rest. I think he and everyone else knows that it's time he did something. Should be an interesting game after the Giants gave us a bath last night.

I didn't get to see him pitch - how was he? It looked from the score that things were much improved.

Igawa won the game, but the batters said in an interview that they wanted to win one for Igawa badly. He admitted that he did not pitch as well as he could, but he would take the win. He was very good in patches. But still, his changeup was in the taking. It looks like all batters were just waiting for his changeup pitch.

It was confirmed that he is no longer the ace when he left the mount in the 7th with two outs and the bases loaded. Remember, last night Uehara was left to pitch through when he was in the same situation but with only one out. Uehara topped pinch hitter Machida and Sheets.

But it's good to see the Tigers without errors when Igawa is pitching. Usually he gets fed up easily. I guess the Spencer catch was the turning point for Igawa in the bottom of the first.

It is strange to see Fukuhara was shaky against the Giants in both of his outings.

What happened to Andoh? He has been made a starter and pitched 8 solid innings. After that, no news?

I think Fujikawa and Kubota can exchange roles. Kubota is slightly unpredictable where are Fujikawa has more variety. We lost two winnable games with Kubota giving up hits in the 9th/8th.

What do you guys think of Rookie Hasegawa? I think he has great potential, but is still a little shaky. Also I would like to see more of Sekimoto in the place of Fujomoto. But for fielding grounders, Fujomoto is better, isn't he?

Hope Igawa leads us from now on.

Andoh has pitched two games (both victories). The second was the middle game of the recent Dragons series. Given Okada's six pitcher rotation, he should pitch again on Saturday. Kubota isn't quite there yet but is a very nice closer and worth persevering with.

Congratulations to Igawa for shutting out the Marines in Hanshin's 3-0 victory over the Pacific League leaders tonight. About time, too. Can't write the guy off yet.

By all accounts he pitched superbly. And what's more, he is the first pitcher to shut the Marines out this season. Let's hope for more.

Yep, mixed up his pitches wonderfully. And it should be noted that his control was fantastic, even in the last few innings when they were playing in torrential rainy, almost dangerous, conditions.

Well it didn't last long - he was back to his normal indifferent form last night in a game the Tigers should have won. His first inning's pitching was so abysmal I half expected Okada to pull him. Has he already peaked?

- ...he was back to his normal indifferent form last night...

Or perhaps his normal form if his previous two starts and last night was not normal.

Christopher, I think we ought to wait and see what happens in his next start before pouncing on the poor guy. He took a while to get settled this season, sure, but then he had two brilliant outings, including a shoutout of Japan's hottest team. You say he might have peaked - I say he may be on the verge of a string of successes. Who's to know?

- Has he already peaked?

I still think at this time it's too early to make judgement on Igawa. While Igawa has been average at times, he has been great at other times. Currently, Igawa is 4-2 with a 3.75 ERA, and currently has 56 strikeouts. While, Igawa hasn't been as good as he was in the past, I still don't think he has peaked. I just think Igawa needs to work on his problems and work them out. After he works on his problems and gets them settled out, I think Igawa will have a great year. [Career Stats - NPB-BIS - in Japanese]

He actually only had one brilliant outing. The seven innings after that were not very good (Igawa's words). I appreciate you are a big Igawa fan (I am an Igawa fan, too), but he is not pitching as he should and as he can. His whole performance against the Buffaloes was not good, and unfortunately, more indicative of his form this year than the outing against the Marines. I do not think it is too much to expect more from him given what he has shown he is able to do. Not a brilliant performance every time, but a much better showing than so far this season.

Remember he is supposed to be Hanshin's ace. This kind of inconsistency I expect from Fukuhara not Igawa.

- but he is not pitching as he should and as he can.

I'll admit that Igawa hasn't been as good as he was in the past, but I think it's still too early to write off Igawa. There has to currently be some kind of problem with Igawa when he pitches. I think if Igawa can work out these problems, I think Igawa can have a very good year.

I'm just hoping that the situation about when Igawa wanted to be posted isn't bothering him. Though, I really don't think that is bothering him, but I think there is some kind of mental problem with Igawa.

- I do not think it is too much to expect more from him given what he has shown he is able to do. Not a brilliant performance every time, but a much better showing than so far this season.

I understand that it isn't too much to expect from Igawa to pitch more consistency. I think that maybe Hanshin should move him down in the rotation for a while, so maybe he can regain his form of last year. Though, Igawa's performance still hasn't been completely bad this year, it's just been inconsistent at times. Igawa's hardships this year have been an enigma to me though, as I think that there is truly something bothering him this year.

Judging solely from box scores, I think the fact that he's striking a lot of people out is a good sign, as is the fact that he pulled it together and shut Orix down for 5 innings after the 1st inning debacle. He's still walking way too many, though. Obviously it's impossible for me to make a valid judgement without seeing him play, but his stats seem to show some positive signs.

Guys, guys. You have to be kidding me. From first hand experience, Igawa is a fantastic pitcher. Perfection is never attainable, we are human, and so is The and Still Ace Igawa.

If you guys will remember back to 2003 or 2004, can't recall, Igawa threw 8 complete games in a row, often topping 150 pitches! That is crazy! This guy is your best starting pitcher and you are throwing him in meaningless innings and risking injury.

If you look at the present reign of Okada, how he handles his pitchers, it's insane. Yoshino was a fantastic lefty specialist in 2003. In 2004 he hurts his arm, gets called back up, and in his first game, gives up 10 runs and gets one out. They leave him out there. His first game back from injury and he throws 75 pitches. Unbelievable!

Jerrod Riggan throws 17 innings in the month of April, first month of the season. Blows out his elbow in June. Kubota, his arm is hurt, he is just pitching with it because he is afraid to say anything. There are others also.

It looks to me like Igawa is tired. Very, very, tired. He will never say that, because he is a stand up pitcher and person. He is not stuck up, he is a fantastic pitcher. When he does come to the States, he will be treated with kid gloves and realize how important and valuable his arm really is. They will treat him with care and respect, worrying about him, not the team. I wish you guys only knew.

Are you Jerrod Riggan?

That's very interesting. I hadn't thought that Okada was such the slave driver as you indicate. His handling of pitchers this season had seemed to indicate a care over not extending them too much (six pitcher rotation, pulling them as soon as they started to flag). My impression was that Igawa had some mental problem, not that he was very tired, but maybe not.

- I hadn't thought that Okada was such the slave driver as you indicate. His handling of pitchers this season had seemed to indicate a care over not extending them too much (six pitcher rotation, pulling them as soon as they started to flag).

Andoh threw 141 pitches in last night's 2-1 loss to Rakuten. Ouch.

Fukuhara threw 102 in his complete game shutout. Recently Igawa has been pulled in the seventh and sixth innings. Andoh didn't pitch well and maybe needed the practice.

- If you guys will remember back to 2003 or 2004, can't recall, Igawa threw 8 complete games in a row, often topping 150 pitches! That is crazy! This guy is your best starting pitcher and you are throwing him in meaningless innings and risking injury.

I don't think that the pitch count is bothering him, though, because he was able to produce good numbers in 2003 and 2004 despite the high pitch counts. I think that there is some kind of mental problem that Igawa is dealing with right now. I think that once this problem is resolved, Igawa will return to the form of the past.

With such talent, you can't write him off. But I just finished watching tonight's replay. How depressing! At least with other bad starts, he actually settled down, but tonight he seemed to get worse!

Say goodbye to first place, but as a Tigers fan, you get used to that.

After his performance against Softbank last night (5 innings, 8 runs) Igawa has been sent to the farm (ni-gun) team. Okada seems to have finally lost patience with him.

And Okada made the correct decision to send him to the farm after his performance on Wednesday.

Mind you, Okada was also correct to keep him in the rotation up until now, even after all the trouble he's had this year. And even now you can't write Igawa off. Give him a few weeks in the relaxed atmosphere of ni-gun and see what happens. We're only two months into the season.

Even now with Igawa, I still think it is too early to count him out. If Igawa can go to ni-gun and pitch a few good games, I think he will be back to his old self. I think this will help Igawa in the long run.

The problem is Okada. He consistently makes bad decisions. He does not seem to realize the talents of his players, and certainly does not support them. Sending Igawa to the farm team is yet another poor decision. But perhaps getting away from Okada will do the guy good.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you there. Okada's performance was dismal last year, but he has improved and is managing the team well this season. He makes mistakes and some of his decisions are not the best (the refusal to use Kataoka for example), but all kantoku make mistakes. He has managed the team with skill and perception so far. The decision to send Igawa was the right one, and the only one open in the circumstances. Before he took it, he gave Igawa plenty of time to work things out, and only took it when it was absolutely necessary.

- The problem is Okada. He consistently makes bad decisions.

Though, the problem definetely isn't Okada's fault. Sending Igawa to ni-gun isn't a bad idea, in fact it's probably the best thing for Igawa, to go down to ni-gun and pitch a few good games, and then return to Hanshin.

Also, Okada has led the Tigers to a 29-24-2 record, only a half game behind Yakult for 1st. This year, Okada deserves big praise so far for his managing. It's a 360 degree turnaround from last year. Last year I was calling for Okada's resignation, but now I think Okada is the right person for the managerial job and has changed my opinion on the subject matter.

[Central League Standings]

- He does not seem to realize the talents of his players, and certainly does not support them.

How do you think Okada doesn't realize the talents of Igawa? Just because the Tigers sent Igawa to ni-gun by no means shows that they don't support Igawa. It's as I repeat, probably best thing for Igawa to go to ni-gun to work on his problems right now, which I see as mental problems. Once these are worked out, in my opinion Igawa will be back to the Igawa of the past.

It looks like Igawa is back with the top team, he rejoined them June 12th. [Hanshin Registry History - in Japanese]

So far, Igawa has gone 1-1 since returning. On June 15th versus Seibu, Igawa pitched 6 scoreless innings for a win, and only gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 7. [Box Score] This peformance is a bright spot for Igawa, as it looks like the time at ni-gun has helped him. With this said I expect Igawa to have a good rest of the year.

- So far, Igawa has gone 1-1 since returning.

Igawa has only pitched one game since his return from ni-gun.

I think the "1-1" stood for "1 for 1" instead of "1 and 1." It isn't clear from the original post. This is why I prefer things to be spelled out.

Thanks for correct for my mistake.

No, 1-1 meant I thought he pitched two games, winning one and losing one. From looking at the stats, I accidently typed 1-1 since returning when looking at his stats earlier. I accidently gave Igawa a loss that he got before going down to ni-gun.

So far he's 1-0 since returning, or 1 for 1 since returning from ni-gun. Still, I expect Igawa to have a great rest of the year.