Eileen Washington agrees. Friends come to visit and Eileen says '14K' or '8J' without hesitation. Irabu, however, is one Japanese tenant who refrains from interaction with the front desk. On a recent weekday morning, a backpack slung off his shoulder, the Yankee pitcher slunk through the lobby. Head down, wearing the sullen expression that is his trademark on the pitcher's mound, he greeted neither Washington nor his Japanese neighbors.
Most Japanese residents say they've encountered the celebrity in the elevator.
The awkward silence makes a trip of just a few floors uncomfortable, they say. He can speak English. In Okinawa they speak English. Irabu gets into a dull-gray sedan from the local taxi company and heads off. Five million dollars . . .