Darvish solid against Milwaukee batters

For some strange reason the media here is holding its breath every time this guy takes the mound, I would expect the Rangers to be doing that after basically throwing away 50 million dollars they have to put everything Darvish does in a good light. Since there is nothing else to report about any other Japanese players (Matsui who?) I guess the Japanese media have to fixate on someone...

Darvish's problem is that his fastball command has been erratic. His expectations are to go out there and dominate, but it’s a little different game in the MLB. There is a more concentration of talent so he has to grind it out, and he is doing better.

Smith, he has yet to give up a homerun, and he didn't allow a run his first outing. So far he has allowed 3 runs in 9 innings for a whopping 3.00 ERA. That's really sub-par, isn't it. Remember, this is just spring training. Save the bashing for the season.

Let's go easy on the guy. This is a helluva transition for anybody: new baseball philosophies, new language, new customs, traditions, new baseballs. Today he was interviewed (with translator) on TV. They played sequential segments between innings. He handled himself quite well. Too bad most Americans playing pro ball in Nihon seem to have long since flunked diplomacy or never took a course in it. Not exactly role models ... ;-) Yu is handling PR graciously. So much is expected of him -- in all areas. I wish him success and think, in time, he will become successful here. OK, so I'm a huge Ranger fan ....

Not that bad. Gotta lower the WHIP though (a.k.a. Dice-K's issue too). Just still spring training. The batters will be a whole lot better a month from now. Usually pitching progresses ahead of batting in spring.

Darvish will have to become a pitcher and not a thrower. A 150km/h fastball won't impress a lot of major league hitters unless it has a lot of movement. Plus, most teams have hitters capable of hitting homeruns throughout the lineup, there aren't any hitters that he can 'rest' on like in Japan. He will have to rely on breaking pitches to set up the fastball, and not vice versa.

Spring training in Arizona's climate with MLB standard baseballs can be quite a change for any Japanese pitcher... but, Texas will be no different, so Darvish needs to get this figured out soon... fortunately (or not) for him, most of Texas' home games are in the night...

I have to agree with Vast, the fastball he threw in Japan won't knock them out of their socks in America. He knows that, which is why he's having control problems with it. It is a hell of a transition but many of us made the opposite transition (in other industries, obviously) for less than 50 million dollars.