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 Steinbrenner seethes Irabu's weight, lack of hustle bother the Boss
Posted: Friday April 02, 1999 03:09 PM
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Hideki Irabu didn't need his interpreter to tell him the Boss was mad. George Steinbrenner thinks the Japanese pitcher is overweight and not hustling -- an embarrassment to baseball's most storied team. As the New York Yankees owner sees it, Irabu is a "fat ... toad." And he remained behind when the team left spring training Thursday, leaving his future unclear. Disappointed with Irabu's lack of motivation and mental lapses all spring, the Yankees decided to see if some time away from the club might help the right-hander "clear his mind." "He'll be staying here until Tuesday when he'll join the team in Oakland," Steinbrenner announced after long meetings with Irabu and general manager Brian Cashman following a 7-6 exhibition win over Cleveland. "It's not a slap on the wrist by any means, it's a decision I made," he said. But earlier, the Boss berated Irabu after he failed to cover first base in the ninth inning. Steinbrenner said Irabu weighed 252 pounds. "Not covering first base, I don't know what you've got to do. That's not a Yankee," Steinbrenner said. Irabu did the same thing in a start last weekend in a game against Philadelphia, infuriating the Yankees and leading to speculation that if he did something like that again, he'd start the year in the minor leagues. Instead, he'll be in Florida trying to get his body in shape and his mind focused. "The season doesn't start until Monday and he'll be here. And while he's here we'll be able to make a decision accordingly," said Cashman, who said optioning Irabu to the minors or trading him were both possibilities. Irabu entered the game in the sixth and pitched two solid innings before things unraveled for him with two outs in the ninth. Cleveland's Jolbert Cabrera hit a grounder that first baseman Clay Bellinger fielded while going to his right. Irabu broke late toward first on the play, and by the time he got near the bag, Cabrera had already crossed it. Enrique Wilson followed with a two-run double and Irabu was pulled. As he walked toward the dugout, Irabu looked as if he knew he was in trouble. "I got a late start on the play," Irabu said through his interpreter, George Rose. "To be honest, I can't understand all the things being said about me these days: 'I don't have any guts,' 'I don't have any fight in me.' People are judging me on one play, not the whole performance." Not long after his comments, Irabu met in the coaches' office with Steinbrenner and Cashman while the rest of the Yankees waited in the clubhouse. The team, which had a tumultuous training camp with the Roger Clemens-David Wells trade, manager Joe Torre's diagnosis with prostate cancer and Darryl Strawberry's comeback, was supposed to leave by bus for its charter flight to Los Angeles 45 minutes after the game. But when it appeared the Irabu situation would delay the team's departure, some of the players sat quietly eating pizza while others used the time to get in a quick workout. The scene was so odd that the possibility of an April Fools' Day joke crossed everyone's mind. When Steinbrenner gave the word that it was time to leave about an hour and 45 minutes after the game, pitcher David Cone shouted to his teammates, "Let's hit the road, we're outta here." One of the Yankees hollered back, "I'm not going." As it turns out, that was Irabu's fate -- one that he apparently asked for. "He said he wanted to stay behind," Steinbrenner said. "I just feel this is something they and he needs right now." Steinbrenner said the pitcher will spend the next five days working out at the Yankees' training complex under Billy Connors, the team's director of player personnel. Cashman said he would be staying in Florida, as well. Steinbrenner said he has no regrets about all the effort he and the Yankees have put into Irabu, signed after a drawn-out bidding war in 1997 to a four-year, $12 million contract. Irabu was 13-9 with a 4.06 ERA last year, but did not pitch in the postseason. "No, I really don't," he said. "He was a great pitcher for us last year. We wouldn't have had the record we had last year without him." Steinbrenner said there are still some things to work out in the next few days with Irabu before he can rejoin the team Tuesday when the Yankees open the season against the Athletics. "We're going to work on them," Steinbrenner said. Irabu went 0-2 this spring with an 8.38 ERA in four starts and Thursday's relief outing. In 19 1/3 innings he allowed 30 hits, 18 earned runs with nine walks and eight strikeouts.
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