To mix things up a little bit, today’s report is on Japanese phenom Yu Darvish’s first MLB start with the Rangers last night. Darvish came from Japan where he is reported to be a bigger deal than Ichiro. The Rangers paid over $100 million to sign Darvish and he is newest big name from Japan since the Red Sox signed Daisuke Matsuzaka which turned out to be a bust. All eyes will be on him all season long to see if Darvish can be the first pitcher whose skills transfer fully from Japan to the U.S.

Last night Darvish was slated to go against the Seattle Mariners at home in front of an enormous Monday night crowd of 40,000. There were over 80 members of the Japanese media there including color commentators who were broadcasting the game live in Japan. The hype clearly got to Darvish as he started off by walking the first batter on 4 pitches. He settled down but only briefly as his first inning included 40 pitches and 4 runs allowed with 3 walks. It seemed like Darvish was a few pitches away from being pulled in the first inning. Although his command was suspect, he did get a few strikeouts and left to the dugout to cheers of the fans.

The second inning he settled down and started throwing strikes although not entirely as he let up another run in the 2nd. All the more proof that it was nerves affecting him came through when he then set down 10 straight batters starting in the 3rd inning and left the game without allowing another run. He ended with 5.2 IP 8 H, 4 BB, 5 ER, 5 K and got an ovation from the Texas crowd who probably felt a bit better since he left while the Rangers had a 7-5 lead. I know you can’t erase an inning, but if you take away Darvish’s first MLB inning, he ends with 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 3 Ks. A line you can easily live with. Also impressive to see was that after throwing 40 pitches in the first inning, Darvish threw 70 in the next 4.2 innings and seemed relatively efficient.

I have no doubt that Darvish let the hype and his nerves affect him in the first inning. Once he got over that, he seemed almost dominant. There is some concerns because even in the later innings his pitches would bounce to the plate but at the same time, even in the first inning he got 2 Ks and his movement seems almost unhittable. Darvish may not win the Cy Young this year, and his ERA will almost certainly rise above 2.00 (something he didn’t see in Japan) but I think his future is bright. Unlike Dice-K he is a hard thrower, his velocity was around 94 MPH last night, and seems ready to be the first successful Japanese to American pitcher. His year will certainly have some growing pains but it will have a lot of rewards as well.