The end of Kei Igawa?

With the struggles of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, the Yankees had every right to give someone else a chance to start. Last season the Yankees gave the Hanshin Tigers $26 million dollars for the privelege to negotiate with Kei Igawa. "Shades" was terrible last season, as he allowed a lot of fly balls, a lot of walks, and all the while he didn't miss enough bats. But with Alan Horne and Humberto Sanchez still recovering from injuries, it made sense to give Igawa another start. After all, if they could get anything from that investment, they would be happy. Given that Igawa is a lefty, there is all the more reason to give him every chance to succeed.

But Friday may have been his last chance. Igawa had been having mild success in AAA, but none of that translated back to the majors. The Detroit Tigers had 11 hits in just 3 innings of work off Igawa. He had better control than expected, except for his still awfully wild off-speed pitches, but he had no strikeouts and the Tigers tagged him.

Manager Joe Girardi said the plan is for Igawa to make his next start Wednesday in Tampa, but that plan (hopefully) can change. That leads to the question of who else would start. Dan McCutcheon has been thought of as a possible reliever candidate later this season, but he may be able to help more as a starter now. Steven White has been around for a while. He throws pretty hard, but he didn't seem to impress as much this spring. Chase Wright can come back, too, but he showed he wasn't ready last season. He has pitched pretty well so far this season, but he still needs some more time to tune up. Jeff Karstens is the other main option, but he isn't ready to come back from his injury...

And speaking of injuries, wasn't it about time that another Yankee got hurt? Welcome to the disabled list, Jonathan Albaladejo! Alby hurt his elbow Friday, and early reports have not been very positive. Chris Britton is staying on the roster. This is the second time he has been sent down only to be called up the very next day due to an injury. Britton was bounced around all last season and seemingly denied a shot, and this year, it hasn't been any different. They traded Jaret Wright for him, and while I'm sure the managers do not like his wright, the guy has pitched pretty well when given a chance. Maybe with all these injuries, we can finally be forced to see what he can do. Maybe all those Yankees fans clamoring for Britton will finally get to see their hero in action. I like Britton, but we'll see. It's still likely that he's a placeholder until they feel someone else is ready. We will likely see more of Edwar Ramirez, who has yet to allow a run in his first four appearances this season. He showed flashes of brilliance interspersed with many walks and home runs. When he was on, his devastating changeup fooled hitters into many swings and misses. He has more potential to improve than anyone in the bullpen. Just look at how thin he is...