Mychael Urban agrees with my Yabu theory!

Mychael Urban, the A's beat writer for MLB.com apparently agrees with my Yabu theory:

What's the reason for Keiichi Yabu's turnaround? He was awful this spring, and he's looked pretty good so far in the regular season.
-- Nancy L., Storrs, Conn.

Yabu's best pitch is his splitter, and he, as well as several other pitchers, have said that it's a tough pitch to get a good handle on in the dryness of Arizona. That could certainly be a factor.

So, too, could simple adrenaline. He's new to the Majors, but he's a seasoned veteran of professional ball in Japan, and veterans everywhere will tell you that they have a hard time getting juiced for games that don't count. It sounds a little bit like a cop-out, but there's no question that playing in front of bigger crowds and under the lights makes certain people step it up. Yabu might be one of them.
(emphasis mine, of course)

-A's Mailbag 4/14/05

My message to A's fans is simple, don't be down on Yabu, he's going to do some nice things in Oakland. And at $1 million this year, is a steal compared to comparable pitchers in the MLB.