As you might have heard this winter, the Texas Rangers have made a giant gamble Japanese ace Yu Darvish, and today he made his first start for them in a spring training game. He made a strong first start when he pitched two scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres. After signing a $56 million contract this winter, that is exactly the kind of start I expected, however, I am still not convinced. While, yes, he did not give up a run and only two hits, those two hits were doubles and Darvish had to make a play himself to save one of those runs. It goes without saying that Rangers fans like myself are wary of Japanese pitchers coming to play for us because we have been burned before, but it is fair to bring up Colby Lewis that made a successful transition from Japan a couple years ago. Despite this good start to his Texas Rangers career, one must wonder: which path will Darvish take? Will he shine in the states like Lewis did? Or will he fold like Daisuke Matsuzaka did for the Red Sox? The reason I am not convinced is that Daisuke made phenomenal starts to start his U.S career, but he just could not keep it throughout the heat of a MLB summer and postseason. No matter how you spin it, pitching in Japan is different than pitching in the U.S. The only question that remains is will Darvish be able to make the transition? I'm still not convinced, but I am fully prepared for him to prove me wrong.
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