Quirks and All, Irabu Has Stuff to Stop Angels

ANAHEIM —  He received an outlandish contract from the New York Yankees. He was booed by Yankee fans. He spat in the direction of opposing fans. He was even in an automobile accident involving George Steinbrenner’s car.

Was there ever any doubt that Hideki Irabu, the New York Yankees’ pudgy Japanese pitcher, deserved his own wing in the Bronx Zoo?

Irabu went 6 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs in an 8-5 victory over the Angels at Anaheim Stadium Wednesday. He still may not live up to his billing--the phrase “Nolan Ryan of Japan,” may lose something, like Irabu’s fastball, in translation. But a brief demotion to triple-A Columbus seems to have helped.

“He seems more focused on what he has to do,” Manager Joe Torre said before the game. “He was confused before. I think he tried to do too much and tried to complicate himself a little.”

He might be a reliable starter, just an unstable one. Wednesday’s victory was Irabu’s second quality outing since being recalled. It was also marked by a few Irabu-sized oddities.

In the fourth, Irabu (4-2) fielded Dave Hollins’ bunt, but lost control of the ball, lobbing it toward the Yankee dugout. He responded by throwing his glove at the ball, knocking it into the dugout, sending Hollins to second base.

Irabu later committed a balk, enabling Hollins to score.

More embarrassing was Irabu’s reaction after being called for another balk in the seventh, which moved Garret Anderson to third. Irabu kicked the mound like a mule to show his disgust with the call.

Irabu left later in the inning. He struck out seven and walked one, prompting color commentator Sparky Anderson to tell the TV audience, “You know, the guy who scouted Irabu for Mr. Steinbrenner, I think he’ll be all right.”

George Steinbrenner’s employees aren’t known for feeling comfortable with their decisions. But it has been this kind of sideshow from the beginning.

Irabu made it clear he would only play for the Yankees, who acquired his rights from the San Diego Padres. They then signed him to a four-year, $12.8-million deal that a few Yankee players questioned.

But Irabu received a standing ovation from 51,901 at Yankee Stadium after beating Detroit in his major league debut. Another 54,664 booed Irabu after he was slammed by the Seattle Mariners two weeks later.

In between there was the incident in Milwaukee, where Irabu spit at Brewer fans who were taunting him. Meanwhile, questions about his legendary, or rather alleged, velocity also have crept into the Yankee clubhouse.

“We heard so much about the guy throwing 99 and we never saw it,” Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte said. “He was closer to 92, and most of the time, he was around 88 or 90. That’s the thing I don’t understand. But, hey, the guy has got a big contract, and obviously, he’s not going anywhere. He’s here to stay, so we might as well help him as best we can.”

The Yankees are trying. They have brought in Billy Connors, the club’s pitching coordinator, to work with Irabu.

“When I first got here, everything was a first-time experience for me,” Irabu said last week. “I had so many things to think about. After experiencing the minor leagues, I realized I only had one thing to think about, my pitching.”