Darvish Watch

Under Construction

2008-08-12T23:06:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I'm updating the dozen or so starts that Darvish has made since I stopped posting in late-April. My thesis is finished and I'm free for a few weeks. Within a couple of days this will be complete.

Darvish Watch 08: Episode 8

2008-08-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

After a disappointing walk-off road loss for Darvish against the Seibu Lions, the Chiba Lotte Marines marched into Hokkaido to take on the Fighters at home. Darvish's 136 pitch effort had gone to waste and it was on his mind to take revenge and right the ship on this night.

For the most part, this contest proved to be fairly unremarkable although the lack of control that Nippon Ham's ace displayed continues to be the major flaw that he must correct to dominate completely. In the end, he scattered five hits and struck out eight, but walked four batters and racked up another lofty pitch count (130) over eight innings of work. He was in trouble in the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 8th innings but managed to limit the damage to a single run in the 6th.

His opponent Hiroyuki Kobayashi was a bit more effective, working nine innings on seven hits and a single walk. He did, however throw a ridiculous 150 pitches for Bobby Valentine prompting me to think that Kobayashi must have hit on Bobby V's wife or something. The game did close on an exciting note, as Lotte scored two big runs in the top of the 11th inning on a two-run homer by Shoichi Ohmatsu. The Fighters answered with three in the bottom of the inning to reverse the score and walk off with a victory.

Darvish Watch 08: Episode 7

2008-08-12T18:51:00.001-07:00

The Nippon Ham Fighters visited Seibu bringing Yu Darvish into battle with them. Darvish would face budding ace Hideaki Wakui in a marquee matchup of Pacific League hurlers. In Japan, even to a greater degree than in the US, the marquee pitching matchup has a way of ending 1-0 on some kind of late inning breakthrough. It's a lot like a prize fight between two superb technicians.

The Fighters would draw first blood in this game pounding out three hits in the first four batters. The lone out was a typical sac bunt by the number two hitter, Takahito Kudo. The 1-0 lead handed to Darvish became 2-0 after another rally by the Fighters in the top of the 2nd. Seibu third baseman, Takeya Nakamura, blasted a two out home run against Darvish in the bottom of the 2nd to announce that the Lions would not go quietly into the night.

Both pitchers would settle down a bit and show the ace form that we've come to expect from each young star, but Nippon Ham scratched out a run in the top of the 5th to give Japan's ace, Darvish, a bit of cushion to work with. It was just that kind of game, however, as catcher Tooru Hosogawa smoked a one out homer to keep it close in the bottom of the frame. Wakui continued to work strong as the game progressed, while Darvish again faced some problems in the bottom of the 7th.

A leadoff double prompted a quick sacrifice, allowing light-hitting, part-time first baseman Hiroyuki Oshima to drive in the runner from third on a ground out. Game tied. Wakui gave way to the bullpen after eight complete innings and 135 pitches, while Darvish labored on. The bottom of the ninth saw the game still knotted and a rally in the works for Seibu. A one out double by Nakamura saw Darvish fall apart as he issues walks to the next two batters. The bases were loaded with only an out on the board, and the number nine hitter Hiram Bocachica representing the potential winning at bat. Bocachica popped out to second to end the threat of a game tying sacrifice, however that bit of good fortune was met by heartbreak as leadoff man Yasuyuki Kataoka hit a seeing eye grounder to left to score both the tying and winning runs on Darvish's 136th and final pitch.

As they say in Japan, "Zannen," or "too bad."

Darvish Watch 08: Episode 6

2008-04-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

In his sixth start, Yu Darvish took the mound against the Orix Buffaloes for the first time in the 2008 season . The Darvish Watch campaign for a sub-1.00 season ERA is still on track with a string of lights out performances to begin the year. That story seemed to be slightly overshadowed by the news that super-rookie Sho Nakata has been mashing the ball for the Nippon Ham farm club and blasted a monster home run off Aussie Adrian Burnside. His attitude has been the major factor keeping him on the farm as he's had problems with lateness and oversleeping. His defense has also been heavily criticized by his minor league manager, although he now admits that if Nakata keeps hitting like he has (currently a 7 game hit streak and 7 of his last 14) it will be hard to keep him from the Fighters lineup for long.

On to the game....

Scrutiny of Darvish's 1st inning results is the first order of business here, as it is every week. Let's get right to it:

Tomotaka Sakaguchi (CF) Pop out to 3B
Arihito Muramatsu (LF) Fly out to LF
Tuffy Rhodes (DH) Pop out to LF

Well, whaddaya know? A clean, 1-2-3 first inning for Darvish. That generally is a great sign of things to come for the 21-year old righty. A strong first, more often than not, snowballs into a dominant performance for the young ace. How many in a row was he able to put away following his clean opening frame? None. Alex Cabrera, newly acquired this season by Orix, mashed a 3-2 fastball, belt high on the outside part of the plate, over the straightaway centerfield fence. Touche. 1-0 Orix.

Knowing Darvish as we do, it's no surprise that he settled down right away and proceeded to retire 10 of the next 11 batters, and 15 of the next 19 batters. One of those baserunners came on an error by catcher Shinji Takahashi, playing out of position at first base. The 8th inning proved to be the undoing for Darvish on this night, however. Alas. Kensuke Tanaka, playing second base for Nippon Ham, led off the 7th with a solo home run to take Darvish off the hook and knot the game at one apiece, but a barrage of hits greeted our hero in the 8th that led to a second run and a deficit for the Fighters. The inning in question started with an easy out and then went single, RBI double, walk, single, 3-6-1 double play. To his credit, Darvish worked out of further trouble by turning a much needed twin killing to end the threat.

The Fighters got the game back to a tie with a stunning 9th inning rally, and won it in the 10th with a walk off homer by Tomoyuki Oda, who entered the game in the 8th to pinch hit and play first. Darvish exited the game after the 9th, allowing reliever Hisashi Takeda to notch the victory. Still, he pitched 9 full innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 9 in the process. Not his sharpest outing, but his ERA still sits below 1.00 at 0.69. If your shaky outings look like this, you know you're good.

Darvish Watch 08: Episode 5

2008-04-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

To date, this season has been a remarkable collection of dominant innings for Yu Darvish, as he has only been scored upon in 1 of 34 innings pitched. His ERA entering the game against SoftBank was a phenomenal 0.53 and hitters just can't touch him at all. Still, SoftBank was the club that gave him some trouble a couple of weeks earlier and a bad first inning would be deadly. Hawks' leadoff man and shortstop Munenori Kawasaki was hit by a pitch to start the game against Darvish the last go around. What would he do in this contest?

Munenori Kawasaki (SS) Line drive base hit to left
Tadaashi Nakasawa (2B) Strikes out looking
Hiroshi Tsubahara (RF) Bloop single to left (throwing error on LF, run scores)
Nobuhiko Matsunaka (LF) Strikes out swinging
Hiroki Kokubo (DH) Ground out to pitcher

So, another shaky start for Darvish. There seems to be some reason to continue worrying about the trend that has become his trademark. Nothing earth-shattering occurred here, but the inability to work clean 1st innings on a regular basis is the Achilles heel for an otherwise unhittable man. In this case, an error cost Darvish an unearned run, but there were two hits scratched across by the Hawks and the hope for a sub-1.00 ERA will depend on getting the lone chink in his armor worked out.

The good news is that Darvish only allowed one more baserunner in working the complete game shutout. The eighth and ninth innings saw our ace retire 5 of the last 6 batters by strikeout and slam the door on the Hawks for good. All told, Darvish threw 103 pitches over 9, allowing three hits and no walks, striking out 10. His ERA now stands at a miniscule 0.42 and he has pitched 42 of 43 innings with no score. Uncanny.

Darvish Watch 08: Episode 4

2008-04-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

So far so good for young Yu Darvish. Three starts and three wins for the Fighters have come as a result of dominating pitching by the 21-year old ace, only sullied by a difficult 7th inning in his previous start against the SoftBank Hawks. In consecutive games we've seen a little trouble for Darvish, much as we did in 2007, but to date none of the baserunners allowed has touched home plate. In our continuing scrutiny of the Darvish First, we look at the latest confrontation between Darvish and his Rakuten Golden Eagles' hitters.

Naoto Watanabe (SS) Flyout to Left
Yosuke Takasu (2B) Groundout to Second
Daisuke Kusano (3B) Groundout to First

Whaddaya know? A clean first inning. Things looked good for a dominating performance, as Darvish rarely gets started cleanly and falters late. The biggest challenge in this contest would be to avoid blinking first against the once might Hisashi Iwakuma. The Rakuten starter was once one of Japan's best starting pitchers, before regular arm problems robbed him of his health and heat. This will be a make or break season for Iwakuma, as he is still young, but needs to stay on the field all year to be worthy of consideration as a top flight pitcher.

Both pitchers cruised through the bulk of this contest with Darvish allowing only three baserunners through 7. Iwakuma allowed a single walk through 6, but lost command in the 7th, giving up a crucial sac fly to Julio Zuleta and handing Darvish a lead. You just know that our hero made that run hold up, and finished off yet another complete game shutout. Working the complete game, Darvish gave up 3 hits and lone walk on 95 pitches, striking out 6 in the process. A truly dominating performance in which the Fighters' ace threw less than 10 pitches per inning. Iwakuma may have lost the battle on this night, but can still win the war by pitching this well on a regular basis.

Darvish Watch 08: Episode 3

2008-04-20T16:25:00.001-07:00

Unscored upon in 18 consecutive innings to open the year, Yu Darvish would face the SoftBank Hawks in his 3rd go around. Struggling with his control in the previous start, Darvish battled to keep his team in contention for the eventual win. The first inning watch continues as the ace of the Fighter's staff opposed Rick Guttormson, who threw a no-hitter in 2006 and was suspended for drug use in 2007 after testing positive for finasteride. Finasteride is a hair-growth product that is apparently used as a masking ageny, and Guttormson seems to have a nice, full head of hair. Hmmmmm.....

First batter, Hawks' shortstop Munenori Kawasaki found his way on base after being plunked by Darvish. Not an auspicious start, to say the least. The middle of the SoftBank lineup is very good and presents some problems with the speedy Kawasaki on the basepaths disturbing Darvish's concentration. Nothing would come of the leadoff runner, however, and Darvish never looked to be in any serious difficulty against the Hawks throughout most of the game. In fact, after the initial hit batsmen, Darvish only allowed a walk and a single through 6 innings. The single in the 6th frame was erased on a double play.

While Darvish cruised, Guttormson struggled. The Hawks starter allowed 4 earned runs over 6 innings and left the game on the short end of the score. Darvish seemed to let up a bit as he took the mound in the 7th with a comfortable lead, giving up a leadoff double, a bloop single to right, and an infield single to short, loading the bases with none out. Hawks third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda then laced a line drive double to left field, scoring two and putting Darvish against the ropes for the first time this season. A 24 inning consecutive scoreless streak was snapped and suddenly the game seemed in doubt.

Alas, the Hawks went 1-2-3 following the big hit by Matsuda and Darvish stepped away with a lead intact. Narrowly averting disaster, the young ace's night was through. The bullpen closed out a big win for the Fighters, and allowed Darvish to sit out a few innings for the first time all year.

Darvish Watch 08: Episode 2

2008-04-20T16:06:00.001-07:00

After a rousing first start, Darvish looked to build on his success against the intriguing Seibu Lions. The Lions struggled in 2007 after losing Daisuke Matsuzaka to the Boston Red Sox and face an even more imposing task in 2008 after seeing slugger Alex Cabrera and stalwart outfielder Kazuhiro Wada walk as free agents in the offseason. Darvish would oppose Seibu's young ace Hideaki Wakui on this occasion and all eyes were watching as one of the most attractive rivalries in the Pacific League unfolded.

The easy first inning of the opening start against Lotte was encouraging for Darvish fans, but a long string of success is perhaps the only thing that will ease the nerves built up over the course of the entire 2007 campaign. After retiring the first batter, Darvish allowed a double to centerfielder Shogo Akada. Would he allow this to rattle him and start a string of trouble? Not this time. Darvish retired the next two batters and went back to the dugout with a quick regrouping.

Still, this wasn't the sharpest outing for the 21-year old righty, as he hit a batter and allowed a follow up line drive to left for a single and some trouble in the 2nd. Again, he battled out of trouble. Unlike the first start of the season, this game had Darvish working out of the stretch on a regular basis. Wakui was equally shaky, but dueled the Nippon Ham ace effectively through 9 innings. The score was tied at zero until pinch hitter Shinji Takahashi delivered a walk off single in the bottom of the 10th handing Wakui the loss and Fighter's reliever Hisashi Takeda a victory after entering in the top of the inning.

Darvish managed to work 9 innings, allowing 7 hits, 4 walks, and a hit batsman on 132 pitches. He struck out 7, but came away with a no decision thanks to the equally impressive Wakui who worked one inning too many as it turned out. Still, this outing proved to be encouraging for Darvish fans as he battled through a lack of sharpness to hold the Lions at zero and gave his team a chance to win.

Darvish Watch 08: Episode 1

2008-04-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

After an eventful offseason that saw Yu Darvish lead the Japanese national team to an impressive championship in the Asian Games, qualifying Japan for the Beijing Olympics, a new season is upon us with tremendous promise for the 21-year old ace of the Nippon Ham Fighters. There's not much left for Darvish to accomplish in Japan, after the 2006 Japan Series title, 2007 Sawamura Award, and international success to his credit. Some speculation about a post-season posting to the Major Leagues has been bandied about, as have tabloid stories about the New York Yankees' interest in Yu. All of that is a distraction from the regular season ahead and the prospect that Darvish could post a sub-1.00 ERA and a 20 win season, among other historical feats. He is far ahead of Daisuke Matsuzaka's trajectory at the same age and we really can't project a ceiling for his ability.

The first start for Darvish in 2008 came against the Chiba Lotte Marines and Bobby Valentine. The Marines are a solid offensive club with an interesting mix of power and speed, but rarely put everything together for long stretches. Darvish struggled a great deal during the first inning of starts in 2007, often succumbing to control problems and poorly timed walks. On a number of occasions last season, the young righty seemed to overthrow in the 1st, losing his grip on the count, the scoreboard, and his emotions. Innings 2 through 9 were lights out, but that 1st inning was his undoing far too often. How did he open the season?

In this contest, Darvish came out throwing darts and retired the side without any difficulty whatsoever. In fact, he retired the first 7 batters he faced with 4 strikeouts and proceeded to dominate 13 of his first 14 batters faced, before walking light hitting Shoichi Ohmatsu in the 5th. All in all, Darvish allowed 5 baserunners on 4 hits and a walk over 9 complete, fanning 10. The complete game shutout came on 124 effortless pitches and the Fighters opened the season with a win. A promising beginning for Darvish and his Hokkaido boys. Keep the line moving Yu and let's make some history in '08.

Holding Place

2008-02-17T21:26:00.001-08:00

Consider this post a holding spot for the posthumous 2007 season recap and stat line for Darvish. When I catch up on my 2008 posting, I'll come back and get this together.....

In the meantime, enjoy highlights of Darvish's 2007 season, strikeout by strikeout!!

Outstanding!!!

Darvish Watch: Episode 15

2007-07-11T05:08:00.000-07:00

An outstanding pitching matchup awaited on July 6th as the two best clubs in the Pacific faced off with Yu Darvish going for the Fighters and Shunsuke Watanabe on the hill for Lotte. Watanabe was the third wheel in the starting rotation for the WBC Japan team. He's a side-arming righty with decent control and a very difficult arm slot. A low scoring affair would seem to have been the safe bet prior to first pitch. Speaking of which, let's go over Darvish's first inning.

Tsuyoshi (TSUYOSHI) Nishioka (G4)
Daisuke Hayakawa (P5)
Kazuya Fukuura (G4)

Yes! Woo hoo!!! A 1-2-3 first inning at last. It's a miracle. That had to bode well for the tall righty to start this highly anticipated contest. Would trouble come in the second? A little trouble manifested as Darvish allowed a leadoff single to Zaburo followed by a plunking of Benny Agbayani. A little Whoudini work later and no harm done. In fact, after the second inning, Darvish didn't allow another baserunner. You heard me. Young Yu Darvish retired the final 23 batters he faced against Lotte and won thanks to a 6th inning 2-run bomb by the ever amazing Inaba. The final line for Nippon Ham's ace included a lone hit, a hit batsman, and 10 strikeouts. It was a dominating complete game shutout. Just what the doctor ordered to solidify the growing lead in the Pacific and put Darvish in the Sawamura hunt with Softbank Hawks starter Toshiya Sugiuchi and 22-year old Lotte sensation Yoshihisa Naruse. Youth prevails in the Pacific and the Fighters have the lead.

Darvish Watch: Episode 14

2007-07-11T04:42:00.000-07:00

Yu Darvish versus the Orix Blue Wave seems like an unfair matchup at first glance. The rising ace of the Nippon Ham Fighters against the aging and streaky boys from Orix...There's always that first inning thing though. Let's get right to it.

Keiichi Hirano (F8)
Arihito Muramatsu (groundball single to 1B)
Greg LaRocca (G6)
Tuffy Rhodes (looking K)

Well, Darvish passed the first test of the game. He survived the first inning unscathed. In fact, young Darvish retired nine consecutive batters after the Muramatsu single. The fourth inning began with a HBP for Muramatsu and a walk by LaRocca, but Darvish put those mistakes behind him quickly and retired the next 12 batters in order. Stupendous. In the 6th inning the Fighters scratched across a run on a leadoff double by Morimoto and an RBI single by the ever amazing Inaba. 1-0 would stand until the 8th inning.

Darvish completed his 12-in-a-row domination by retiring the last batter of the 7th. He was clearly gassed at this point, but Trey Hillman elected to stick with his big man. Base hit for the pinch hitting Kimoto. Catcher Takeshi Hidaka grounded out but Hirano took advantage of a tiring Darvish by lining a single to right field. Trouble was officially a-brewin'. Hillman stuck with Yu again, and I sat in my chair wondering if this was really happening. You just know when a pitcher is gassed. Everyone watching had to know it. Velocity was down, pace slowed, and good wood met each successive ball. Time to change.

No change came and the Fighters paid. RBI ground ball to short. Game tied. Hit by pitch. Bases clearing double for Tuffy Rhodes, which tallied his 1000th career RBI and prompted a fist pump from on top of second base. The double was a ringing shot off the wall that could easily have gone out. Still Darvish remained. Line drive single to center by first baseman Kitagawa. Darvish removed.

The Fighters went on to lose the game by a final score of 4-1. Questionable managing led to the Fighters demise on this night. You have to wonder if the young ace's reputation for complete games is getting the better of him with respect to pace and fatigue. The point is now moot as the Fighters dropped a game to Orix. The good news is that the Nippon Ham boys have put their miserable last place days of April behind them and now sit atop the Pacific. Darvish will have another night soon....

Darvish Watch: Episode 13

2007-06-26T05:02:00.001-07:00

I'm going to cut and paste the intro to Darvish Watch: Episode 12 because it's appropriate once again this time around. Here you go:

"Greetings again Darvish Watch fans. I'd like to start today with a little quiz. What is the key to a Yu Darvish victory in 2007? Answer: a good first inning. We've followed this exciting young pitcher's ascent into the lofty heights of pitching royalty in Japan, pitching stellar complete games, striking out batters in the double digits, and looking the part of the matinee idol while doing it. What he hasn't done much is come out guns blazing in the first inning to retire the side cleanly."

Do you remember that? Good. Here's a rundown of Darvish's first inning from June 23rd against Hanshin.

Takahiro Shouda - WALK
Norihiro Akahoshi - DOUBLE TO RIGHT
Weizhu Lin - LINE DRIVE RBI SINGLE TO CENTER
Tomoaki Kanemoto - 3 RUN HOME RUN
Makoto Imaoka - SWINGING K
Takashi Toritani - WALK
Akihiro Yano - 4-6-3 DOUBLE PLAY

Just like that 4-0 Hanshin. I'll let you in on a little secret. The final score of this game was 6-4 Nippon Ham in 11 innings. Once again the only damage to Yu Darvish was a first inning meltdown. I promise you that I will provide a recap soon with numbers from his first innings compared with the numbers from all other innings pitched. It will be a stark contrast, and will go a long way to showing why Darvish has room to grow. Why does this keep happening? I have a theory.

I believe that Darvish is both immature and overconfident at times. He is so dominant that he has fallen for his own image a bit. This year, after winning the Japan Series and the Konami Asia Cup, Darvish appeared with dyed brown hair and a little swagger on the mound. His numbers show that he has earned that swagger, but I think it manifests itself negatively in the first inning. He's too pumped up and too sure of himself. His focus is poor and he overthrows. Most of the time, the meltdowns are a simple matter of a hafl centimeter here and a quarter of a centimeter there. His control is just off enough that he falls behind, walks the leadoff man, and then gets into trouble with good professional hitters waiting on a straight fastball. Just like that a few runs are on the board. If I were his manager, I'd make him throw 2 simulated innings prior to the next start to wear him out just a bit. Work him in the pen and then bring him out a little winded.

Better focus comes with each successive inning, and Darvish managed to go the rest of the game allowing 6 baserunners over 8 innings. The pen took over in the 10th, and got the win in the 11th. Darvish pitched to 2 batters over the minimum from the 3rd inning until the end of the 9th. He struck out 11 Tigers on the day, but was a victim of another rocky start. It's the second consecutive game that he's walked 5 batters and control seems to have eluded the young ace. We'll be watching again this weekend to see if he can conquer the demons that have plagued him at the start of ballgames. Click below to enlarge current stats:

Darvish Watch: Episode 12

2007-06-17T00:34:00.001-07:00

Greetings again Darvish Watch fans. I'd like to start today with a little quiz. What is the key to a Yu Darvish victory in 2007? Answer: a good first inning. We've followed this exciting young pitcher's ascent into the lofty heights of pitching royalty in Japan, pitching stellar complete games, striking out batters in the double digits, and looking the part of the matinee idol while doing it. What he hasn't done much is come out guns blazing in the first inning to retire the side cleanly. In recent weeks, I've given you the lowdown on Darvish's first innings, batter by batter, to illustrate his struggles. I'll do the same today.

Hirokazu Ibata (pop out to 2nd)
Hidenori Kuramoto (strike out - runner advances to 1st on passed ball)
Masahiko Morino (walk)
Kosuke Fukudome (RBI double to center)
Kazuki Inoue (walk)
Koji Nakamura (fly out to right)
Motonobu Tanishige (bases loaded RBI walk)
Michihisa Sawai (looking K)

Yes, a little bad luck led to the first baserunner, but I have to tell you that Darvish was straight awful for the better part of the early innings. He had nothing on any of his pitches and very little control. The three walks in this inning are enough to illustrate that, and the final walk to Tanishige that accounted for the second run came on four pitches, none of which was close. Tanishige is a .242 hitter with a .315 OBP and a grand total of 8 extra base hits in 191 plate appearances. You cannot walk that kind of hitter, let alone force in a run on four pitches.

I'll add to the severity of this situation by telling you that the Chunichi starter was Kenshin Kawakami, former Rookie of the Year(1998), Sawamura Award winner(2004), and currently the highest paid pitcher in Japan. In this kind of matchup, especially in conservative Japanese strategic settings, a 2-0 lead early could spell curtains. Most teams don't have the big guns to mount more than a single decent rally against a top starter. Nippon Ham is just such a team. Darvish's margin of error is so thin that these first inning ordeals make it very hard to regroup. This was the case in this contest, as Kawakami dominated the Fighters from the very start, allowing only 3 baserunners through the first 5 innings, two of whom came in the 1st, ironically.

Darvish, meanwhile, never got it going completely, giving up another run in the 4th inning after recording the first two outs quickly. He gave up a hit, hit a batter, and then allowed a little roller to second base to score the runner on an infield single. It was a bit of hard luck for the young ace, but he did allow the hit batsman after all. Nippon Ham had it's one shining moment, where there was some hope. Kawakami appeared to tire just a bit in the 7th as he gave up a leadoff hit followed by a 2 run blast to catcher Shinji Takahashi. After walking the very next batter, Nippon Ham played things conservatively, sac bunting for the first out. Chunichi manager Ochiai went to the pen, who made things a little more interesting, but runners were left stranded, the score 3-2 Dragons.

That's where the game ended. Darvish went the full nine innings, allowing only 5 hits, but he walked 5 batters and hit another. That was his undoing. Considering his early problems, the 20-year old righty only allowed 2 batters over the minimum after the 4th inning. He was never sharp, and he never looked like the world class Darvish that we have come to know, but on an off night he managed to go nine, allowing only 3 runs, striking out 8. Tough loss. Click below for updated stats:

Darvish Watch: Episode 11

2007-06-09T03:07:00.000-07:00

Interleague play continues in Japan as the Nippon Ham Fighters, now firmly in second place in the Pacific, took on the Yakult Swallows and All World outfielder Norichika Aoki. The Fighters have used a strong run prior to interleague, and a ridiculous 12-0 record against the Central to establish themselves as the hottest team in the sport. 14 consecutive wins to be exact! Darvish would look to continue Nippon Ham's string of victories, and their unblemished mark in interleague, on this steamy Saturday evening.

Continuing the trend of sluggish starts this season, Darvish gave up a scorching leadoff double to Aoki on a 1 and 1 cutter that was clocked at 89, but stayed a little too high and wasn't quite outside enough. Darvish then needed 8 pitches to fan Tanaka on a 91 mph straight fastball that the right fielder couldn't quite catch up to. After easily retiring Alex Ramirez, the Nippon Ham ace decided to double up on the "shuuto" to Aaron Guiel and looked to have the inning in the books until an error on the second baseman cost him the runner on base and a chance at an easy escape. 1-0 Yakult.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Darvish led off by issuing a walk. Fortunately, Japanese baseball clubs love to sac bunt and Darvish managed to retire the remaining two batter easily, stranding the runner at second. What if? We'll never know.

From the 3rd inning through the last out of the 9th, the young ace of the Fighters allowed 3 baserunners. A double, a home run to Alex Ramirez, and a single walk was all she wrote for Yakult. Darvish briefly had the lead after his teammates put 2 on the board in the top of the 6th inning, but Ramirez' solo shot evened the score and created a marathon of a game that didn't end until Yakult's 20-year veteran Ken Suzuki hit a pinch hit, walk off home run off Nippon Ham reliever Hisashi Takeda of the 1.85 ERA in 2007.

Suzuki (pictured at left and right) has played in a total of 122 games since the start of the 2005 season with 309 at bats and a combined .240 average and 8 home runs. The hit was his first of the 2007 season in 11 total at bats. Congratulations Ken. I suppose Trey Hillman may wish he'd stuck with Darvish for one more inning, as his ace had only thrown 124 pitches to that point, and we all know that means he has at least one more inning in him.

Norichika Aoki went 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored. He also worked a walk against Darvish, and saw his batting average drop to .350 on the year. Maybe he'll have better luck tomorrow. ;)

So, Nippon Ham's unblemished record in interleague is no more. Darvish did everything he had to do to get the win, but you can't win them all. 9 IP, 3 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts, one earned run. Click below for updated stats:

Darvish Watch: Episode 10

2007-06-09T02:11:00.000-07:00

While the elements conspired to prevent Yu Darvish from punishing the Yokohama Bay Stars, the struggling Hanshin Tigers were not so lucky. After consecutive days of rained out baseball against the Yokohama boys, including one aborted game after one inning, Trey Hillman gave Darvish the day off. After a night's sleep, Darvish took the hill dry and fired up to face the Hanshin club.

A bad offensive club is just what the doctor ordered for a pitcher who has struggled to get off to good starts in recent days. A 1-2-3 first was easy to predict against these toothless Tigers, but what we imagine and what happens are often very different things. Not on this day. 1-2-3 went the Tigers against Darvish, and in fact the first 7 Hanshin batters went back to the bench with their bats in their hands on this evening in June. After walking the second batter of the 3rd inning, young Yu Darvish close the door on any further danger. The top of the 4th inning saw one time Waseda University shortstop, and the would be saviour of the Hanshin franchise, go deep against Darvish in one of the few bright moments of his 4 year pro career. That player is Takashi Toritani, who once was considered a possibility to be drafted and traded to a Major League team (perhaps the Yankees), but went to Hanshin instead. Nothing he has done in his time with the Tigers has lived up to the huge billing he received as an amateur, but he now has a home run against the best pitcher on this side of the Pacific. Congratulations.

Following the home run to Toritani, Darvish allowed 2 baserunners over the remaining 5 innings he pitched, both erased on double plays. With an 8-1 lead, Trey Hillman relieved Darvish after the 8th inning, in a move that still puzzles me to this day. Darvish is Mr. Complete Game, and was cruising. The Nippon Ham relief core came in and needed 3 pitchers to get 3 outs, giving up 4 runs in the process. It wasn't the pen's finest hour, but Darvish got the win and Nippon Ham continues to climb the standings on their way toward first place. Remarkable after their horrendous start. Here are Darvish's updated stats on the season (click to enlarge):

Darvish Watch: Episode 10 (false start)

2007-05-31T21:24:00.001-07:00

After being rained out the night before, Darvish and the Nippon Ham Fighters looked to take the field against the Yokohama Bay Stars in a continuation of the inter-league play going on across Japan. The Fighters have posted a Japan-best 6-0 record in interleague and have moved up nicely in the Pacific standings. On the hill for Yokohama was 26 year veteran, Kimiyasu Kudo. The game began after a 41 minute rain delay, although why they started to play is tough to figure. Kudo threw his first pitch amidst a driving and unrelenting rain before a small crowd of brave, umbrella wielding loyalists. The 44-year old gave up hits to three of the first four batters and allowed Nippon Ham to take a 1 run lead. Lord knows why they then asked Darvish to take the field, when the rain had not only continued, but also increased in intensity.

Darvish didn't complain, although he should have had a long conversation with the crew chief. An injury in a game like this would have been a tragedy. Instead, the young man induced a weak groundball back to the pitcher to retire the leadoff man, and then proceeded to blow away batters 2 and 3 with nasty heat. He needed only 10 pitches to retire the side 1-2-3, but jogged off the field soaked to the bone, water pouring off his drenched cap and dripping wildly off his shaggy hair. Game over.

The umps finally got it right by calling the game, but why did it take them so long? How is it fair to the players or the fans in that situation? Yokohama owes everyone an apology, as do the umpires on this night. None of the statistics count from this aborted mess, so we'll have to wait for the next night for a look at Yu Darvish. Will the rains hold up?

Darvish Watch: Episode 9

2007-05-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

A bounce back game seemed in order for young Yu Darvish, coming off a humiliating performance against the Japan-top SoftBank Hawks. His 6 consecutive complete game streak had been broken and a new string of successes perhaps lied ahead. What would the Fighters do against the Central-top Yomiuri Giants in this inter-league matchup? Would Darvish's 1st inning struggles continue, or would he show a bit sharper control? Outside the Hawks, the 2 through 6 of the Giants has to be the most feared bunch of hitters in Japan right now.

Here's the 1st inning for you:

Takahashi: single past 3rd
Tani: foul tip strikeout (notice he was swinging)
Ogasawara: RBI double
Lee: RBI ground out to 1st
Nioka: ground out to 3rd

The Giants are one of the few teams to put a real hitter in the #2 hole. Part of that has to do with the use of a pitcher in the lineup in the Central, but it should probably be the rule rather than the exception in both leagues. Darvish didn't walk or hit anyone, but the Giants probably had studied the control problems and were sitting on anything around the plate. When a pitcher exhibits control problems in certain situations, hitters are smart enough to know that he will be trying to correct those problems with fastballs and stuff located in the strike zone. Knowing that is enough to get a slight advantage, especially if it's the 1st inning.

Darvish had surrendered a 2-0 lead before his team had even come to bat. Fortunately, on this day the Fighters lived up to their namesake and picked up their struggling ace. 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st on a two run triple by outfielder Eichi Koyano, and a 2 run shot by the very next batter, 22-year old Yukio Tanaka. Back in business.

Over the remaining 8 innings both teams were held scoreless. The Giants only managed 4 hits and no other baserunners over that span, while Giants rookie starter Norihito Kaneto continued his brilliant 2007 with 2 hits and a walk over 8. He went 1-2-3 in the final 4 frames of the contest, but his offense couldn't get anything going against Yu Darvish. Darvish finished his comnplete game victory with only 109 pitches in the books, and struck out 5 against no walks. He had it all working in holding down one of the best lineups in the sport, and helped the Fighters earn a two game sweep of the Giants to move up in the Pacific standings. Click below for updated stats:

Darvish Watch: Episode 8

2007-05-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

Could our hero make it to 7 consecutive complete games against the Pacific leading SoftBank Hawks? To this point in the season, Yu Darvish has been nothing short of miraculous for the Fighters and is poised as a 20-year old terminator for whatever team puts him on the field, be it Nippon Ham or the Japanese national team he figures to lead in the future. SoftBank sports a very tough 3-4-5 punch of Tamura, Matsunaka, and Kokubo who could put the fear of Babe Ruth in any opposing pitcher's heart. What about Darvish? Surely he is above such timidity.....

In the last post, I mentioned that Darvish has struggled with his command in the first inning of several starts this season. Orix failed to play their leadoff success into runs by foolishly wasting an out with a typically Japanese sacrifice. What would SoftBank find before them on this day? Here's a rundown of the first inning, batter by batter:

Honda: walk
Morimoto: sac to catcher (there it is...ugh)
Tamura: RBI double
Matsunaka: walk
Kokubo: RBI double
Shibahara: sac fly
Honma: walk
Hyzdu: fly out to center

When you sport a 3-4-5 like SoftBank you can get away with the sac bunt. I still don't understand why anyone would put a 500-ish OPS guy in the #2 hole as a designated sac bunter. Morimoto did his job, but what a stupid job it is. Had SoftBank put Tamura, Matsunaka, and Kokubo at the 2-3-4, they might have extended that inning even further. As it is, Darvish threw a million pitches and gave up 3 early runs. It didn't get much better for the young ace.

Darvish gave up a leadoff hit up the middle in the 2nd before working out of trouble by retiring the next 3 batters in order. The third inning was a little more adventurous as Darvish issued a leadoff walk, much to Trey Hillman's chagrin, and then promptly recorded two outs. On the verge of escaping once again, Darvish gave up two singles to the left side which simply found holes in the defense. He got catcher Yamazaki looking to end the threat with the bases loaded. Here's where it gets interesting.

Trey Hillman, after watching his ace struggle with command and confidence on the mound, decides to relieve him after allowing back to back walks to open the 4th inning. Darvish had thrown 83 unimpressive pitches over 3+ innings and looked out of it. As he strode from the mound to the dugout, Darvish was visibly humiliated and annoyed. He controlled his reaction, but he was clearly embarrassed and extremely angry. I would have to guess that he was first angry at himself, but not without also being infuriated by Hillman's choice to remove him at that point in the game. At the time, I also felt the hook was premature. Darvish wasn't on his game and he was often not close to the strike zone, but he had managed to work his way out of huge trouble to that point, only allowing 3 runs. If a pitcher is your ace, and you hope he will have your trust going forward, you have to let him try to get out of a few early jams. The Fighters had scratched across 2 runs at that point and the score was only 3-2. Surely you have to build your best pitcher up to the point where he will get out of his funk by buckling down and fighting through it.

I just can't see many managers going out there to relieve Clemens, Pedro, Maddux, Santana, Oswalt, or a host of other top pitchers in the 4th inning, with the game 3-2. Darvish helped the Fighters win their first Japan Series less than a year ago, and I think has earned the right to toss a stinker without a quick hook. I believe the young man thought so as well, although he'd never admit it. Nevertheless, the game continued without Darvish and we saw the Nippon Ham pen give up 5 runs in the fifth inning to lose the game 8-2. Darvish could have done that.

And so ends the complete game string at 6. Maybe the next game will see better results for the Fighters top man on the mound. Click below for updated stats:

Darvish Watch: Episode 7

2007-05-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

Following a stellar outing against Lotte on April 26th, young Yu Darvish was looking to put together his 6th consecutive complete game as he took on the lowly Orix Buffaloes. Since falling victim to a rain shortened season opener, Darvish has pitched every inning of each of his starts and has looked completely dominant in all but a few of those frames. Orix' offense didn't figure to stand much of a chance against the tall ace of the Fighters.

Most of Darvish's struggles in 2007 have come in the first inning when he's battled his command. On several occasions, he has missed the plate by a few centimeters here and there and has gotten himself in trouble by nibbling a bit too much. Nibbling is not his profile, as Darvish almost always shows confidence beyond what the normal 20-year old should rightly possess. The first batter to step to the plate in this contest, Hiroaki Ohnishi, was a victim of Darvish's lack of first inning command when he was grazed across the letters by a fastball offering that didn't stay in the zone enough. Knowing that Darvish is likely to be best hit in the 1st inning, a smart manager would take a few pitches and let his #2 and 3 men attempt to capitalize on the good fortune of an early base runner. Anyway, a manager who understands run expectancy would certainly do so. In Japan, when facing an opposing ace, the protocol is to sacrifice the runner to second without fail. That is precisely what Mitsunaka Goto, he of the Mendoza line average, did on this particular occasion. I would question the logic of hitting a guy with a 500-ish OPS in the #2 slot, if I didn't know that the Japanese play for the sac bunt.

No runs came of the leadoff baserunner, and Orix would never threaten again. Darvish locked in and allowed 3 hits for the remainder of the game. In the 9th inning, looking for the complete game shutout, Darvish faced outstanding foreign import Greg LaRocca who took him yard for a solo shot that broke up the bid for a cool zero in the runs column. With the lead trimmed to 3-1, Darvish fanned 2 of the remaining 3 batters to take his strikeout tally to 7 and quiet the would be rally before it started. Another complete game and another win for the suddenly awakened Nippon Ham Fighters. Click below for a look at Darvish's updated stat line:

Darvish Watch: Episode 6

2007-04-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

After the last outing, Darvish had to be motivated for a better start against Lotte. A lack of control early ended up costing the young ace the game, as he pitched every bit the ace that he is the remaining 8 innings. Darvish has managed to go all 9 innings in his 4 starts after the rain-shortened opening game, and has shown the ability to keep his focus throughout most of the contests so far, something he struggled with in his first year and a half as a professional.

Lotte came into the April 26th affair in first place in the Pacific with the champion Fighters dragging far behind in last. Nothing has gone right for Nippon Ham so far this season, and it appears as though the offense can't make due without the 2006 MVP Ogasawara and iconic, if mediocre, Shinjo. The pitching should be better than it has performed, and you can really pin the struggles on the loss of Hideki Okajima, although his 2007 season in Boston shows how much the Fighters may eventually miss him. How would Darvish fair?

In contrast to the shaky 1st inning of a game earlier, Yu got the Marines to go 1-2-3 with a looking K sandwiched by two groundouts to the left side. A leadoff triple by Shinjo replacement Hichyori Morimoto was eventually plated by the lone offensive bright spot for Nippon Ham in 2007, Atsunori Inaba. 1-0 Nippon Ham early.

Darvish was brilliant. He finished the game going 1-2-3 in seven of the nine innings, earning a complete game shutout. The only baserunners for Bobby V's Lotte club were a walk by #2 man Daisuke Hayakawa, a walk and a single by Benny Agbayani, and a single for .200 hitting DH, Tasuku Hashimoto. 4 baserunners over 9 complete in a 1-0 shutout against the best team in the league. It's not hard to understand why people are so high on this young player. I like to remind people as often as possible that Yu Darvish doesn't turn 21 until August 16th. Manager Trey Hillman's quotes about Darvish being better than Daisuke Matsuzaka at the same age are not only looking better and better all the time, but the physical tools that the Fighters' ace possesses are much better as well. The stamina and power that Darvish should develop over time may help to project him as the better player. That's frightening considering my high opinion of the Red Sox newest starter. More to come as our hero looks to extend the string of complete games, and master the control of his improving arsenal. Click below to enlarge his updated game log and stat line.

Darvish Watch: Episode 5

2007-04-21T02:31:00.000-07:00

This outing would be a very nice test for the emerging ace of Japan, as the SoftBank Hawks are in my estimation the most talented bunch of ballplayers on this side of the Pacific. You wouldn't know it by their .500 record, but it's a long season. At least they hope so, and so do the Nippon Ham Fighters who have gone from the penthouse to the basement in a few months time. Darvish is the key to their chances for the postseason in 2007. How would he fare?

The first inning of this start went like this:

Omura: single to center
Honda: walk
Tamura: walk
Matsunaka: strikes out with the bases loaded
(Omura scores on a wild pitch, 1-0 SoftBank)
Kokubo: 3-run homer (7)
Shibahara: ground out to short
Buchanan: single to left
Honma: walk
Tanoue: strike out

A 4-run first inning saw Darvish on the ropes. It wasn't so much that he was serving up meatballs, but rather that he couldn't find the plate. The velocity was there. The movement was there. His mechanics looked good. He was squeezed on a pitch or two, but he was just barely missing on everything. If you look at this inning, you'd think that Kyle Farnsworth, Daniel Cabrera, or Ambiorix Burgos was on the hill, but in fact the pitches were not all over the place. Darvish's touch was just off enough that the location was a few centimeters outside or low. He got himself into real trouble with the bases loaded, nobody out, situation right off the bat and had Nobuhiko Matsunaka (a former Triple Crown winner) staring him down from the left side of the plate. Striking him out was huge, but the first run crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Aside from the continued problems late in the inning, the at bat to Kokubo was destined to be. He fell behind, and Kokubo is playing the role of Alex Rodriguez early in 2007. A straight fastball down the middle was supposed to ride in on the third baseman, but didn't. It rode it's way all the way out to the left field seats.

The game looked to be a lost cause with the anemic offense that Nippon Ham is putting on the field this season. They've currently hit a Pacific League low 12 homers and scored a similarly dismal 77 runs over 23 games. For those of you counting, 77 runs over 23 games means a per game average of 3.35 runs scored. The pitching has given up 4 runs a game, which isn't awful, but you've got yourself a very bad formula for success. Darvish did his best to keep the team in the game. After the 1st inning, he proceeded to retire the next 6 batters in a row, including three strikeouts. Leading off the 4th inning, Darvish hit designated hitter Buchanan, but continued his march by putting away nine consecutive. In fact, if you exclude the 1st inning from this game, Darvish allowed two hits, hit a batter, and struck out 8 over eight innings of shut out baseball.

Nippon Ham would scratch across two runs, but the game was lost when Kokubo launched his big fly in the first inning. Darvish was brilliant, mixing up fastballs with tremendous movement, with a nice curve, and a biting slider. He was unhittable. Unlike the Iceman, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan's new ace is a rock star with a little smile, piercing eyes, and a relaxed gait on the mound. His dyed-brown hair looks like flickering flames under his hat, and he has "it" out there. It was too bad to see him struggle in the first inning, but the rest of the game showed why some circles believe he could eventually surpass Matsuzaka's astounding ability. I thought that was a stretch when I first heard it, even though I thought enough of him to start this blog, but I'm coming around. He's for real. Let's hope he gets a win the next time out.

CG, 9 IP, 5 hits, 3 walks, 1 HBP, 4 ER, 10 K

Darvish Watch: Episode 4

2007-04-14T01:33:00.000-07:00

This season has seen an explosion from Yu Darvish, with back-to-back 14 strikeout performances and a newfound confidence on the mound. He just looks different. His body is more mature, and muscular. His stare from the mound is more intense. His leg drive and follow through are more sharp and assertive. It stands to reason that the lowly Rakuten Eagles would stand no chance against the dashing ace pitcher of Nippon Ham.

The first inning saw a two out single by left fielder Koichi Isobe, followed by an inning ending strikeout of cleanup man Jose Fernandez. A leadoff walk in the second was erased on a double play ball to short and another strikeout. A two out single in the third was erased on a pop out to catcher. The fourth inning saw Darvish in about as much trouble as he would gave all day, as two singles had the Eagles on the board first with a 1-0 lead, but the bleeding stopped there with another double play.

Darvish cruised from the fourth inning on, striking out the side in the fifth and sitting down the Rakuten batters in order 1-2-3 in both the sixth and seventh. Meanwhile, a two run bottom of the fifth had given the Fighters' ace a slim lead to work with and he made it count. From the RBI single he gave up in the fifth inning, Darvish retired 15 of the final 16 batters to face him, including 6 strikeouts. Nippon Ham's offense shut the door with a 4 run outburst in the bottom of the 8th against Rakuten reliever Matsumoto. In the end, it was a one-sided affair that was only competitive if you believed that the boys from Tohoku ever stood a chance in the first place, which I didn't.

Darvish went all 9 innings for the third consecutive start, throwing 114 pitches. That's a per inning average of 12.7 pitches, and a dominating tally. He allowed 5 hits and walked one, striking out 9. Darvish is now 2-0 on the season with a 2.18 ERA and some very impressive ratios. Click below to enlarge the game log:

Darvish Watch: Episode 3

2007-04-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

Could Yu Darvish break the schneid and post a win in his third time out? He would have to be his very best against the team I'm picking to win the whole enchilada this season, SoftBank. The Hawks sent to the mound Kazumi Saito in an attempt to nullify the Nippon Ham advantage. Saito has become the heir apparent to the Sawamura Award in Japan, having narrowly edged Matsuzaka in most statistical categories last season. He is a fine pitcher with good size and a deceptive delivery, but I have always felt that he is lacking something, despite the great numbers. He pitches effectively down in the zone with both his fastball and nasty fork. His curve is sometimes a difficult pitch for batters to recognize. The main drawback to Saito's repertoire, in my opinion, is the lack of velocity. He generally pitches in the 88-89 mph range with the low fastball and then drops the velocity with a hammer of a forkball. It looks just like the low fastball, but it dies a horrible death along with the batters that can't lay off.

Darvish and Saito are a contrast in images. Saito looks as if he has a perpetual chip on his shoulder about something, while Darvish sports dyed-brown idol-esque hair, a tan, and a very laid back expression. Both are ace pitchers, and this was a very good game.

Saito started off very rocky, allowing 3 runs in the top of the first to Nippon Ham, handing over a great cushion for the young Fighters #1 starter. Saito was angry with himself, and knew the kind of bind he'd worked for himself, as Darvish wouldn't surrender much, even to the stacked Hawks' lineup. A series of hits in the bottom of the first, stole back one of the runs from Nippon Ham and it looked as though the SoftBank boys might get more, but it wasn't to be. Darvish went 1-2-3 in five of the final eight innings, including three swinging strikeouts to retire the side in the 7th. Ten of the last fifteen outs he recorded were of the strikeout variety on his way to a back-to-back 14 K outing. SoftBank managed to threaten again in the 8th inning, scoring a run on a couple of hits and a ground out, but the pressure didn't get to our hero and he ended the inning with a strong performance against the heart of the Hawks' order.

Finally a win. The final tally for Darvish was 9 innings complete, 5 hits, 2 walks, 2 earned runs, and 14 strikeouts. The season has jumped off to a fast start for the 20-year old and we'll be ready for his next outing in just a week. Come back for more, Darvish fans.

Darvish Watch: Episode 2

2007-04-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

After a disappointing rain-soaked tie in the season opener, Nippon Ham and Yu Darvish were looking to bounce back against the Matsuzaka-less Seibu Lions in the home opener. The entrances given to the players at Sapporo Dome are a bit like a pro wrestling affair, since the days of Shinjo began in Hokkaido, and Darvish was brought to the field in a stretch limo of some kind. The Lions gave Nippon Ham a good run for its money all season last year, but figure to struggle to duplicate that success minus their own #1 guy. Darvish would be matched up opposite rookie right hander Takayuki Kishi (23), who features a 95 mph fastball to go with a big slider. Kishi graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University last year and was the Lions first selection in the amateur draft. There are very high hopes for him in the wake of the Matsuzaka posting and he didn't disappoint.

Kishi was able to match Darvish for 7 innings, allowing 4 hits and two walks, striking out 7 Fighters. He left the ballgame ahead 2-0 as his team was able to score a run in each the 3rd and the 4th innings. The run in the third was an unearned blotch on Darvish's record as shortstop Makoto Kaneko booted a ball he should have had, allowing a runner to score. The fourth inning saw long time slugger and follicley-challenged Kazuhiro Wada hit a home run to left center field. If not for a bottom of the 9th rally by the Fighters, Darvish would have taken the hard luck loss. Thankfully for the 20-year old ace, the Nippon Ham boys sent 7 men to the plate against Seibu closer Chikara "Power" Onodera, stringing together a number of hits to tie the game at 2.

Darvish was through for the day, having gone the full 9 innings allowing 7 hits and 3 walks against 14 strikeouts. The score remained tied 2-2, concluding in a draw after the regulation 12 innings. Once again Darvish had led his team to a dead end finish. I don't care for the tie in baseball, but it doesn't matter what I think. Two games, two ties. Will Darvish go for three as he takes on the SoftBank Hawks on April 7th? You'll have to wait and see....

Darvish Watch: Episode 1

2007-04-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

A grand opening day in Chiba Prefecture, Japan saw the Japan Champion Nippon Ham Fighters and ace Yu Darvish taking on 2005 champion Lotte and everyone's favorite mustachio, Bobby Valentine. I kid about the "grand" opening day, as the weather was simply awful to start the 2007 campaign and both teams struggled through the rain to give the fans their new season.

Darvish took the mound against possible 2007 MLB free agent defector Naoyuki Shimizu. The first few innings looked a lot like the first game of the season as batters hacked and swung and generally looked unable to get anything done at the plate. Shimizu recorded 5 swinging strikeouts in his first 6 outs, while Darvish managed to go 1-2-3 over the first three frames. Nippon Ham managed to scratch across 2 runs in the third on a combination of walks and timely hits by second baseman Kensuke Tanaka and first baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto. Darvish continued to cruise, retiring 15 of 17 batters through 5 complete. Meanwhile, the 6th inning saw two more Nippon Ham runs added to the tally, making the game 4-0 in the now driving rain.

It was clear that the game needed to be stopped, but the home team was afforded the opportunity at one last round of at bats. They took advantage as Darvish was unable to get his pitches located. The conditions were not appropriate for play, but the game went on. Single to center, fly out to center, infield single in front of the pitcher, fly out to right, walk, grand slam, game tied at 4. That's where this game ended. It seems a bit unfair to Yu Darvish to miss a win, and inflate his ERA this way, but that's the Japanese game. Rain is not a cause for immediate delay or postponement and something like this can happen. Chalk it up to gremlins. Let's hope that the next start for the young ace is in better conditions in the Sapporo Dome. Wink, wink.

2007 is the Year of Darvish

2007-04-07T05:22:00.000-07:00

A little late, but better late than never. The Year of Darvish has begun. With the departure of Daisuke Matsuzaka to the Major Leagues, Japan is in search of a new "face". A new ace. That front man could be 20-year old Yu Darvish.

Coming off a second season in the professional ranks in which he won his last 10 decisions on his way to a Pacific League title, Japan Series championship, and finally a title at the Asia Games, the young right hander is poised to break out. Looking at his final stats from the 2006 campaign, it's not readily evident that Darvish is set to be Japan's ace, but watching him pitch in the most important games of the year, one had to marvel at how far he's come in such a short time. The poise and maturity that he displayed in becoming a leader on the Nippon Ham ball club did not go unnoticed by the fans of the sport here in Japan.

The ratios are nothing to get excited about, especially the K/BB mark of 1.80, which illustrates the biggest problem with the young man's game. He features a fastball in the low to mid 90s, which he can locate in all the zones. His slider and curve are both plus pitches, but he can't always put them in a good spot. While the fastball is live, the breaking pitches are occasionally wild. When he's missing the breaking stuff, he gives up walks. If he relies too heavily on the fastball to make up for his poor control with the offspeed pitches, he gets hit. Once Darvish is consistently able to hit his spots and throw strikes with the breaking balls, he will be on top of the world. He's that good. Recently, Trey Hillman said that he believed that Darvish is ahead of where Matsuzaka was at 20. He thinks Darvish may one day be better than the Red Sox new ace. I don't completely agree with that, although I think he would make a fine #1 pitcher in the Majors too, given a bit more refinement and experience.

In the meantime, let's sit back and enjoy the ride. The Year of Darvish has begun.

The Saga Continues

2007-03-05T05:21:00.000-08:00

If you are arriving here wondering where the coverage went, I'm sad to say 2006 was interrupted by a lot of busy things. Yu Darvish was never interrupted and in fact went on to great things including an NPB Championship and the title at the Asian Games. He's poised to lead the rotation in 2007 and could be one of the biggest stories in baseball as the season progresses. Fear not, a 2006 recap and 2007 preview will be out soon. Don't go away....

Who is Yu Darvish?

2006-07-25T04:28:00.000-07:00

The million dollar question is, "Who in the World is Yu Darvish?" This phenom has burst on the scene in Japan and is a marvel to behold on the mound. He lacks the polish and seasoning that a true star pitcher possesses, but it's important to keep in mind that we are talking about a 19 year old player that was rushed to the pros by a team looking to stake its identity among a field of more famous teams.

The story begins with a Japanese woman and an Iranian man, who married and settled down in Osaka, Japan to raise a family. The elder Darvish was a player for the Iranian national soccer team, and met his wife in the United States while the two attended university. His athletic roots were apparently passed on to his son, as the young Darvish began to show his uncanny baseball skills as a second grader. Progressing quickly, Yu Darvish joined a boys baseball league in junior high school and became the ace of the rotation in no time. As a 16 year old high school student in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, this stellar young pitcher struck out 11 consecutive batters and 13 overall to lead his team to the finals of the prefectural championships. He also threw a 4-hit, 80 pitch, complete game shutout in one hour and nineteen minutes that season topping out at 87 MPH against neighboring Iwate Prefecture's top club. That was just the beginning of the story.

Major League scouts began watching Darvish while he played in the boys league in junior high school. It seems that scouts will find pitchers wherever they may be, and however young they are. More and more of these scouts were seen in the stands as Darvish spearheaded Tohoku High School's run for the Koshien National High School Baseball Invitational(Spring) and Championship(Summer) in 2004. Representatives of the Dodgers, Mets, and Angels were salivating at the opportunity to sign the young man to a minor league deal before the Koshien trophy was even in the hands of the eventual winner. Standing at 6'4", with a 93+ MPH fastball now in his arsenal, along with an excellent curve, changeup, and knuckle curve, what wasn't to like?

Darvish also enjoyed a cult following of sorts as the national media and a throng of idol-worshipping female fans fawned over the ace pitcher for his "exotic" good looks. It wasn't so long ago when "mixed-blood" people were shunned by Japanese society, and the perception of impurity offended the homogenous Japanese sensibilities to the point that anyone not completely Japanese was forbidden to participate in some of the Japanese national athletic events. Sadaharu Oh was one such individual. Check out his autobiograpy, co-authored by David Falkner, pages 54-57. Times they are a-changin'.

In the Spring warm up to the main event in 2004, high school teams from around Japan gathered in Osaka to play one another for the 76th Koshien Spring Tournament. Darvish electrified the fans, media, and scouts by pitching a 2-0 no-hitter against Kumamoto Kogyo on March 26th. He allowed only 2 walks and a baserunner who reached on an error, while going all 9 for the victory. The team would be ousted from the competition as Yu struggled with back and shoulder pain after his brilliant performance and was unable to pitch. The Summer would have to be his redemption.

On August 7th, 2004 the real competition began. The coveted 86th Summer Championship was on the line, and Darvish figured to lead his team deep into the event's final days. All eyes were on the now famous young ace. In his first outing, Darvish tossed an 8-hit, 13-0 shutout against Kita Ozu High School striking out 10 and hitting 91 on the radar gun. In his second start against Ishikawa Yugakukan, the young hurler delivered another complete game shutout, fanning 12, against a team that hit over .400 in the qualifying rounds. The nation was captivated by the youthful star, and his legend began to swell. Could he be good enough to carry his team to the title? It would be on his shoulders yet again as Tohoku faced Chiba Keidai Fuzoku in the 3rd round of the tournament.

In what can only be described as a colossal disappointment, Darvish dominated the Chiba ballclub for 8.2 innings, throwing yet another shutout, before an infield error cost the team the tying run and sent the game into extra innings. One out away from his third shutout victory and a date with destiny, and it all came crashing down. Tohoku went on to lose the ballgame 3-1 in the 10th inning, and Darvish's storybook high school career was over.

The Japanese Professional League Draft promised to be a huge event in 2004, as Yu seemed perched to be the figurehead of the day. One lucky team would secure a diamond in the rough pitcher with "can't miss" potential written all over his right arm. That team would be the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Pacific League, who had recently uprooted their franchise and moved to the northern island of Hokkaido. Sapporo, Japan would be the new domed hometown of the team, and Yu Darvish. With a freshly inked $145,000 contract to his name, how soon before the 18 year old would make his debut with the Big Boys? (I know that salary is a joke by American standards, but 18 year old pitchers are at the mercy of the good old boy ownership system in Japan.)

Darvish opened the 2005 campaign with the Fighters' minor league club and looked to make a quick name for himself. Coming off a stellar Koshien, and a highly publicized draft, it was no surprise that the club was looking for a savior to arrive in Sapporo lightning fast. A minor controversy erupted in the national media and pictured were published of Yu smoking at a pachinko (think slot machine) parlor. The team confined him to the minor league dormitory and restricted his movements. Smoking is illegal for individuals under 20 years old in Japan, hence the uproar. (Again, this seems preposterous by American standards, but Japan is a country of strict cultural duties).

In his first 5 starts with the minor league affiliate, Darvish posted a 1-1 record with 26 innings pitched, 25 hits, 12 walks, 26 strikeouts, and 16 runs allowed (12 earned). That works out to a 1.35 WHIP and a 4.15 ERA. Still, despite the mediocre numbers and the wet-behind-the-ears status of young Darvish, the strikeouts(9Ks per 9 IP) and marquee quality of the pitcher won out and he was vaulted into the Bigs. After being called up to Sapporo, the future ace showed his potential, along with a bit of nerves, as he went 5-5 in 14 starts with a 3.53 ERA over 94.1 innings pitched. In those innings, Darvish gave up 97 hits, 48 walks, and 52 strikeouts. The high walk total accounted for a less than impressive 1.54 WHIP and a whole lot of question marks about how fast he'd been pushed along.

Enter the 2006 season, and a fresh start with the Fighters from Day One. At 19, Darvish had gone from high school phenom, to minor league tabloid story, to struggling rookie hurler in a blink of an eye. You would never see this kind of thing in a million years in the US, but nevertheless here we are. How has Darvish fared to this point in his sophmore campaign? In a similar snapshot to his rookie totals, Yu has started 15 ballgames for the Fighters so far. He is 6-5 with a 3.08 ERA in 96.1 innings pitched. He's given up 88 hits and 34 walks while striking out 71 and holding opponents to a .244 OBA. His WHIP stands at 1.28 and he's on a roll in his last 3 games. In those contests he is 2-0 with a 0.43 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 14 strikeouts in 21 IP.

He's tossed a few stinkers this season, but it looks like he's learning. In fact, if you throw away a poor outing against Yakult on June 13th, Darvish has dominated 5 of the last 6 games he's started. In the 5 games he's pitched well, he is 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, 33 strikeouts in 29 innings, and the walks are under control with only 10. He doesn't turn 20 until August 16th, but already we are seeing early signs of greatness from the young pro. I'm sure his struggles will resurface at some point, but the talent is there and I find the young man's future intriguing. I hope you do too, and I'd like to invite you to check back often for updates on the career of Yu Darvish. Until next time......

The Watch Begins

2006-07-12T06:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another spin-off project of Canyon of Heroes. In case you don't know COH, it's a Yankees Fan Blog dedicated to the daily drama of the New York Yankees. Canyon of Heroes has also endeavored to cover wide-ranging baseball events and points of interest from New York to Los Angeles, and Cuba to Japan. The first such spin-off is Matsuzaka Watch, a blog designed to follow the career of Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Seibu Lions. As a resident of Japan, I spend part of my energy following Japanese Pro Yakyu in an effort to educate fans around the world about the Japanese game, and provide a layman's scouting report on various Far East players for Yankee fans back home.

Matsuzaka Watch is a project with an immediate goal. Bring Daisuke Matsuzaka to the Yankees. By generating interest and awareness about the young star player, I hope to build excitement and demand for his services in the Big Apple. Darvish Watch, on the other hand, is more of a long term project with a slightly different goal in mind. Yes, I hope to inform and generate interest about this stellar young player as well, but he is far from ready for the Major Leagues, and can be described as a diamond in the rough. Why Darvish, and why now?

I've been a fan of Yu Darvish since I first saw him pitch at the Koshien Summer High School Baseball Invitational 2 years ago. In 2004, Darvish led the Tohoku High School club to a second place finish at Koshien and turned heads with his brilliant pitching. As a resident of the Tohoku district of Japan, I took immediate notice of the young man's game. The city of Sendai is kind of an unofficial capital city of Tohoku, much the same as Boston is the center of New England in the US. I live some 2 and a half hours from Sendai, but the buzz about the tall half-Iranian, half-Japanese pitcher shook Northern Japan with a tremendous excitement. I was hooked.

I also have an acute interest in Darvish for his multi-cultural heritage. I am an American of German-Irish background, and my wife is Japanese. At the moment we are expecting our first child, and I feel a great enthusiasm for the rich and diverse experience our baby is about to have as a part of two distinct cultures. Role models for children of multi-cultural families are increasingly visible, and in no part of society moreso than sports. I think of Derek Jeter's impact immediately. Darvish shares some element of my personal experience, and combined with his intriguing ability, he is a natural fit for this blog.

What follows is a chronicle of the soon-to-be 20 year old's early career, beginning with a biography which will lead to the present day. Stay tuned for a comprehensive look at Yu Darvish of the Nippon Ham Fighters, and come back often for the latest on his promising young career.