Darvish’s Mentality: A+

A very subtle thing happened during Yu Darvish’s last start. He started the game against the Angels in a matchup against the man he replaced in the Texas rotation, CJ Wilson.

Then it started raining.

Two hours later the rain stopped. Darvish returned to the hill. Wilson did not.

In the modern baseball era, this is unheard of. The thinking is to shut down a pitcher during a rain delay, and have a fresh arm gear up for when the play resumes. It’s curious that the Rangers would allow their 100 million dollar investment to buck this conventional baseball wisdom.

Critics question his coaches. I extol his virtue as a breed of pitcher that has been systematically destroyed in the majors. The Gamer.

For the Gamer, it’s not a matter that can be settled in a contract or more endorsement deals. The Gamer cares about one thing only. The Game itself. He cares that his reputation, concentration and dedication be conceded under no circumstances. The Gamer will not compromise. The Gamer will snarl, spit and swear at you if you try to mess with him or force him into relenting. The Gamer will vilify all who stand in his way. Friend or Foe. Manager or Umpire. No one is allowed to get between the Gamer and his sense of honor.

In his refusal to be benched after a lengthy rain delay, Yu Darvish cemented his young reputation as a Gamer. The dollars and cents are for his agents and management to haggle over. When negotiations are done, Yu Darvish will give his unwavering commitment to his team. And the results are speaking for themselves.

I don’t know what Darvish said to his coaches, or how he threatened them, but manager Ron Washington indicated that his Gamer left no other options than for him to resume pitching.

I give Darvish two wins. One for the scoreboard, and the other in the willpower department. Talent and willpower are an unfair combination for a pitcher to take to the mound.

Darvish 2 - Wilson 0

Yu Darvish Versus the Blue Jays

After his dominating start against the Blue Jays, Yu Darvish stands at 4-0 with an ERA hovering around 2. It’s only a sample from the first month, but those numbers seem a lot like his numbers in Japan.

It’s true that Darvish has improved in each one of his starts so far. Against the Blue Jays, he had even more swagger than he had against the Yankees. He is starting to realize that when he has his best stuff, there is no one in the world that can hit him. When the ball floats up and he misses his spots, he is as hittable as anyone. They key for Darvish and for any pitcher is to minimize mistakes up in the zone.

Watching the condensed version of Darvish’s performance against the Jays, Darvish put on a display of pinpoint accuracy. It actually reminded me of watching a sped up version of Greg Maddux. When the catcher set up on the outside corner, Darvish assaulted the target with balls that zeroes from above, as well as curving left and right. There was a wide variety of motion on the pitches to the same spot. This is the recipe for unhittability.

What’s really impressing me is that Darvish has started to throw a change-up on a regular basis. He already has one of the league’s nastiest slider and curveball. So to add something that changes pace on top of lethal breaking balls is utterly unfair to opposing batters.

If Darvish stays as consistent with his pitch location as he did against Toronto, there is no reason he can’t go 4-0 next month as well.

Cowboy hats off to the AL Rookie of the month. Yu Darvish.

Yu Darvish Spanks the Yanks

Darvish displayed the first signs of his major league mojo yesterday against the Yankees.

His control was sharp, throwing 83 strikes over the course of 8 and 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. That is one of the higher strike totals in the majors this year. I especially liked his swagger coming of the mound. He had the look of a dude who knows he is the Man.

In his previous starts, Darvish seemed to only have mastery of one of his pitches at a time. So far his curveball has been his most dominant pitch. But against the Yankees, Darvish was locating both of his fastballs, throwing a cutter with nasty movement, and knifing in and out of the zone with his slider and curve. It’s unconfirmed, but it even looked like he threw a couple of change-ups. I have never noticed Darvish throwing a change-up before. In Japan he had no need for one. But in the majors, adding a change of pace pitch will make him all the more deadly. Maybe this is the first sign of his tutelage by the brothers Maddux.

If Darvish is this consistent with locating all of his pitches, he will be unstoppable. Any time his game is on like it was against the Yankees, no major league lineups will have success.

He has gotten into trouble when his breaking balls are not sharp and when his fastball drifts into the middle of the plate. That happened a few times against the Yankees, but he was able to isolate those mistakes and strand all runners.

A quality start like this is a big step to calming down the haters and solidifying Darvish as a major league ace in the making.

Looking forward to his next time out.

Yu Darvish Versus the Twins

Darvish is making some very fast adjustments.

The biggest thing I noticed in Darvish’s second start of the season was that he simplified his motion from the windup. In the first start he pumped his gloved over his head, but against the Twins, he eliminated that. It makes his presence on the mound similar to how Randy Johnson used to appear before he pitched. This will be good in the long run.

Darvish also looked very relaxed on the mound. He still had issues with his control at times, but overall, this game felt more solid than his debut. When his breaking pitches are on, they are deadly, even at the major league level. He needs to make sure he keeps his fastball away from the middle of the plate. That’s when he gets hit. With his speed hovering around 91-92 MPH, he will not blow the ball by hitters the way he did in Japan. I haven’t seen him throw any change-ups yet. I’m thinking that would be a great weapon the Maddux brothers could start tutoring him on.

Overall, I’m damn impressed with Darvish’s transition so far. He isn’t dominating, but he has the look and feel of a major league ace. With some more experience and consistency, I think Darvish can evolve into a Mark Prior / Adam Wainwright type of fastball pitcher with great breaking stuff.

On Darvish’s Debut: Yu Gets the ‘W’

So Darvish looked awful in the first inning, but then settled down, had a decent stretch and ultimately recorded the first major league win of his young career. I hope he buys his teammates big, fat Texas style steak dinners after this one, because the Rangers’ offense saved the day in this one.

Darvish had a terrible start. Maybe it was nerves, or the hype, or the Texas accents. Whatever the reason, there is no excuse to walk three batters in one inning. That’s just sloppy pitching. The main thing I noticed was that Darvish looks really uncomfortable out of the wind-up. It’s something he avoided in Japan for some reason, but he will be expected to master and dominate out of the windup in the big leagues. I’m glad his first game is out of the way. The first inning let all the haters come out to play on Twitter and the blogs.

Now we’ll all get to see what this guy is made of. I hope the fact that he got the ‘W’ doesn’t cloud his memory of a very shaky start. Darvish can be sharper, and he needs to strive to be perfect for this thing to work out. His teammates won’t spot him 11 runs every time out. Sometimes he might only get 8.

No excuses. Just get better each time out.

Yu Darvish: What to Expect

Yu Darvish is not a video game player.

He won’t strike out every hitter he faces in the major leagues.

He won’t be the numbers he put up in Japan.

He will be something else.

If he works hard, and mentally adapts to the MLB atmosphere, he can still dominate. He cannot pitch in a vacuum. He needs to develop a killer mental game. He has said in the past that he doesn’t see the batters when he pitches. That he just tries to make great pitches. That works in a bullpen session, and maybe it worked in Japan, but it won’t work against major league caliber batters.

For any pitcher to be successful, they need to be ready for psychological warfare. And they need to have the mental wits to know how to win on that kind of baseball battlefield.

Darvish needs to acknowledge the skill of his opponents, fear what they’re capable of, and then spend all of his mental energy finding ways to think circles around them. Great pitches are the foundation of a great pitcher. But a great mental game is far harder to come by. Pitches, on their own, exist in a vacuum. They are mere executions. Their movement and velocity don’t matter if they are not surprising enough to fool batter after batter. The soul of a legendary pitcher is a love and mastery of the mental game of baseball. This is the attribute that lets them outthink and defeat the game’s equally skilled hitters.

I hope someone is working with Darvish on the psychological subtleties of pitching. 

It will be interesting to see what kind of advice the Maddux brothers give Darvish. So far they’ve only been talking execution and form. But I know at least Greg Maddux knows how to outthink anyone who would dare hold a bat and attempt to face him.

If Darvish develops the mental game, he will be a top 5 talent. If not, there is a much broader and unforgiving range of skill level he will fall into.

Darvish Musing, December 19

I watch a lot of baseball in Japan.

I’ve been to several games live, and I frequently turn it on when the season is going on. It’s fun, but it feels to me like watching college or top level high school baseball. It doesn’t generally have the shock value or alarming depth of talent that a major league baseball game can have.

The game in Japan is taught and played very conservatively. Teams will bunt EVERY TIME a runner is on first and there are no outs. They will bunt MOST of the time with a runner on first and one out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this in the FIRST inning of a game. This is a very different type of baseball than I’m used to.

But like I said, it’s baseball so it’s nice to watch. It’s just nothing special.

Except when Yu Darvish pitches. Those are the games I don’t dare turn the channel on.

Yes, he is throwing to conservative batters who are easily coaxed into making outs, but the actual quality of the pitches is phenomenal. I’ve experienced the same thing merely watching someone like Freddy Garcia warming up in the bullpen.

Darvish basically feels like he’s in the bullpen warming up when he is pitching to competition in Japan. I think this is what creates those otherworldly statistics that can’t be trusted like five straight seasons with a sub 2 ERA. But man, I can’t wait to see how this bullpen pitcher does in the big leagues. Those pitches are incredible. 

Darvish’s five year long bullpen session is just about over. He should be nice and warm now.

Yu Darvish Hunting

While the MLB Playoffs are heating up and delivering us some classic series and drama filled elimination games, hidden beneath the on field theatrics, the offseason free agent hunting has all the key players circling around the precious few available options.

Think about this: the Red Sox failed to make the playoffs and the Yankees are freshly dismissed from October.

Enter the urgency factor.

A free agent in waiting like Yu Darvish should take note. Both of baseball’s perennial powerhouses need a dramatic turn around. Both teams historically overspend in this situation.

The stars have all aligned for Darvish to make his jump and reap the financial implications.

If the Yankees retain C.C. Sabathia, I see Darvish making a strong case for being the #2 man in the Yanks’ rotation. Similarly, I see Darvish coming it at #2 behind Josh Beckett on the Red Sox. If Darvish lives up to the expectations of scouts that have watched him this year, either New York or Boston would effectively have two aces at the top of their rotation by acquiring Darvish.

With the Red Sox eliminated and the Yanks in hot pursuit, I think the Darvish to Dice-K comparisons will be set aside. Darvish represents a chance to pull away from the pack. Given the context of baseball’s two free-wheeling spenders, we’re gonna see a lot of zeroes showing up in a headline about Darvish real soon.

For now, I’m gonna go back to rooting for the Cardinals in their improbable playoff run still in progress.

But I eagerly anticipate another drama, dollar bill filled offseason. It may be the only thing that can distract we from the winter doldrums that would ensue if the NBA labor issues persist.

Let the Yu Darvish hunting begin shortly…