Hideki Irabu's pitching problems with the Yankees and
demotion to AAA Columbus Monday has left N.Y. "retailers,
sports apparel makers and other businesses weeping as their
dreams of a multi-million dollar windfall go up in smoke,"
according to Richard Wilner of the N.Y. POST. Wilner
reports that at MSG Network, which owns TV/radio rights to
the Yankees, the Asahi Beer Irabu updates "are biting the
dust -- at least temporarily." Also, a spokesperson for
N.Y. restaurant TakeSushi, which offered Irabu a $300,000
endorsement deal prior to his debut early in July, said, "We
never thought Irabu would take the offer, but now we're glad
he didn't." However, retailers are "the most visible losers
in the Irabu slide," as they are left with "thousands of
unsold" Irabu products. Steve Raab, the head of special
markets for Starter: "We'll hold onto the screens and hope
that he comes back." Wilner estimates that NYC "stands to
lose roughly $50,000 in sales tax per game" from extra
tickets, parking and food not sold when Irabu pitches, and
that Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner will lose $300,000 in
ticket sales each time Irabu misses a start (N.Y. POST,
7/30). The FINANCIAL TIMES' John Authers details the
difficulties of signing foreign players under the header
"Foreigner Strikes Out NY Yankees" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 7/30).
