That's what the Yankees are trying to do right now in the bottom of the second. Robinson Cano hit a home run, then Andy Phillips doubled the opposite way. And now, Miggy Cairo just tied the game.
Igawa is a tough choice to back for today's game because: 1. He's inexperienced and terrible in day games, going 4-5 with a 7.09 in Japan. 2. He has little respect (none earned) from Yankees fans. 3. He's just not that good. He walks everyone, and worse, misses high, leading to a ton of home runs.
Michael Kay, who once in a while pops in with something insightful, did it again in the first inning when he mentioned how a scout said Igawa's throwing just as well as in Japan. Same approach, too. Yet, he led the league in strikeouts three times over there. As Kay says, it's an indictment of the hitting over there.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Japan is a glorified Triple-A league (though that shows how much the quality has improved in recent decades). Yes, there's very good major leaguers there, but there are lots of those in our Triple-A as well. With that approach in mind, instead of the prevailing attitude that it's a league of equals, unfortunate, overpaid signings such as Igawa could be avoided.
The only thing in Igawa's favor today is that the team has alternated wins and losses in his appearances. Last time out, they lost.
I think Igawa is not that bad of a player but should be moved to the bullpen. He needs sometime to develop and the pressures of being a starter have clearly gotten to him. With Dice-K everyone said it would take him a while to get adjusted to MLB hitting. Can't the same be said for Igawa? It doesn't help that the Yankees are in a horrible slide and depending on their starting rotation to give up at most 3 runs over six-seven innings. The guy never has really had a chance to get comfortable and unfortunately, he is going to be labelled a bust as a result.
I wouldn't mind moving Igawa to the bullpen, though I don't know who there is to put in his place, sadly.
I think, though, his problem that may be insurmountable is that he pitches junk in dangerous places and can't adjust. It's not that he won't; he doesn't seem to have the stuff for it. So he misses too much so he's forced to throw over the plate. What was worst today, and maybe he's been doing this elsewhere, is the amount of 0-0, 0-1 or 1-0 hanging breaking balls he was tossing. Those are pitcher's counts, and home-run offerings shouldn't be a regular feature.
Maybe he can learn to spot that changeup and throw slop low and away and low and inside, but that'll take awhile to learn. And for his money, he should be major-league ready.
You look at Dice-K, and even in his struggles, he was victim to the bad inning, not the bad everything. Yes, he's had a better team. But the Yanks have regularly scored for Igawa, and he's spit on it. Give Pettitte that run support and he's got 9, 10 wins.