In Defense of Kei Igawa

Igawa was good out there today. 5 IP O ER, 2H, 3BB. He also overcame 2 Errors, and pitched out of a jam with real ease. His nickname in Japan is Iron Nerves. Karstens on the other hand, just got rocked the other day when he faced a legitimate, non-minor league roster. With hitters and pitchers coming closer to rounding into form, what happens at the end of Spring Training better correlates with the regular season. But most importantly, this is Spring Training. You wouldn't bench a guy with a proven track record just because of his spring training stats. Come even Mid-April, nobody will remember this Karstens-Igawa dilemma. If the market value of a mediocre starting pitcher is 10 Mil right now on the Free Agent Market, the Yankees paid about market value. Igawa just has more upside than the remaining FA's. It's understandable that Yankee fans want to see some home grown talent, but that time will come soon enough with Hughes, Clippard, and Sanchez waiting in the wings. This isn't a knock on Karstens btw, the guy deserves a roster spot as a long reliever.