The OTHER Japanese Pitching Prize

In a much lower-profile — for the Yankees, anyway — announcement yesterday, the Yankees have won the bidding rights to Kei Igawa, a lefthanded pitcher in Japan, for the apparently bargain-rate discount of $26 million.

Not much is know about Igawa Stateside, but, as you'd expect, they do love them some Kei in Japan, as this video from YanksFan/SoxFan shows. He seems to have trouble with miniature flying objects, which, if you'll forgive us, can't be all that comforting for the Yanks, given recent history. As YanksFan/Sox Fan puts it: "That was me. I'm having a lot of trouble even thinking about the economics of this at the moment — the Yanks' potential new prize is a sushi-gorging, anime-addicted, remote-control obsessed, subway riding, amateur soccer fanatic, permanently stuck at age 13. He makes Mark Fydrich look like Mike Mussina. So, basically, THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT. The guys at the tabs must be doing backfilps. Who cares if he can pitch!"

Indeed: Who cares?

The Legend Of Kei Igawa Takes, Um, Flight. Sort Of [YanksFan/SoxFan] Bwana Igawa? [Bronx Banter]