DUNEDIN – The wraps are off Hideki Irabu from the opening bell this time.
Last year, Irabu’s early spring-training ineffectiveness was explained by pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre not allowing Irabu to throw his filthy forkball until he had built substantial arm strength by firing nothing but fastballs.
Yesterday at Grant Field during the Yankees’ 8-6 loss to the Blue Jays, Irabu worked through his complete arsenal of pitches during a three-inning stint, much to Joe Torre’s pleasure. Fastballs with life accompanied forkballs that vanished at the last nano-second and breaking balls that dropped into the strike zone. Nothing was 100 percent, but compared to Irabu’s first outing last spring when he lost his control and cool against the Indians, it was a colossal step forward.
“We are pretty much letting [the pitchers] do what they feel like,” Torre said when asked about Irabu throwing forkballs so early. “They have been throwing. He is going to have more velocity than he had today.”
That’s a given. But the big question concerning Irabu is how he handles the second half of the season. Until late June a year ago, he was one of the best pitchers in the AL. On June 20, he was 9-3 with a 2.86 ERA and was a strong candidate for an All-Star spot.
However, his lack of conditioning caught him in July and August and was the primary reason Irabu finished 13-9 with a 4.06 ERA. Now, the Yankees would like him to put two solid halves together.
They are pleased he has been working on a conditioning program after his teammates have left for the day. Still, he added two pounds – going from 248 to 250 – in a week. However, he weighed 245 Thursday night.
“I am doing the conditioning menu with [strength coach] Jeff Mangold,” said Irabu, who has stopped inhaling two liters of diet cola a day as well as cutting down on coffee intake. He also reduced his beer consumption this past offseason. “Some times, my pulse reaches to 200 beats per minute. I have stopped drinking soda and I am sure I am going to lose 10 pounds quickly.”
While Irabu was behind 10 of the 12 batters he faced yesterday, he only allowed two hits and one walk, and he fanned Shawn Green looking to finish his three-inning stint.
“He got his curveball over and had some good splitters,” Torre said. “He was good to the last batter.”
As for breaking out the splitter so soon, Irabu explained that wasn’t part of the game plan.
“I really didn’t intend to throw the forkball much today but I ended up throwing it a lot,” Irabu said. “I also threw my curveball a lot. I basically went with the way [catcher] Joe Girardi asked me to throw it.”
Girardi understands the need to build arm strength but was seduced into calling for the forkball to see where it was. More important to Girardi is seeing how Irabu tackles the six-month grind that is ahead.
“He has to stay strong and take care of himself,” Girardi said of Irabu, who is in the third year of a four-year, $12.8 million contract. “He understands the 162-game schedule and New York and the big leagues now. He has a better idea how to prepare every fifth day.”