It was memorable. It was a privilege to see Yu Darvish's first go at being a Major League pitcher. But I honestly can't wait for Yu's next start when I can just watch him throw filth from my couch.
Before links, some quick thoughts:
- Paul Nauert is terrible at being a baseball umpire.
- We now know what it would be like if Kevin Youkilis were a Ranger.
- When it was 4-0 with only one out in the top of the first inning, the awkwardness of the crowd was palpable. "What do we do here? Should we try saying 'YUUUUUUUUU' again? Maybe he thought it was boos this entire time. Should we all just come back later?"
- Ogando + Adams (Ogandams? We'll work on this) is a certified ridiculous pairing. Remember Crabtree/Zimmerman/Wettleland in 1999? This could be that but with way, way better starting pitching to get to those late innings.
- Somehow Darvish's first game isn't the headline of the morning.
As T.R. Sullivan writes, the man has been paid.
Late last night Ian Kinsler agreed to a five-year, $75 million contract extension that includes an option year that could keep Kinsler in a Rangers' uniform through the 2019 season. This looks like a great deal for the Rangers and I'm glad we won't have to worry about seeing Ian Kinsler in another team's uniform for a long, long time.
Richard Durrett offers his thoughts on the extension while writing that Kinsler was "the most important member of the core group of Rangers heading toward free agency."
Jeff Wilson has more details on Kinsler's new contract with a bunch of complimentary quotes from Kinsler's agent on how the deal got finished.
Now, Yu's debut. Sullivan's game story focuses on Darvish's "mind and body not being on the same page" which led to an uncomfortable four-run first inning for the Seattle Mariners. Darvish settled down and allowed only one run over the next 4 2/3 innings which gave the Rangers' offense the chance to propel Darvish to his first Major League win.
Durrett has his reactions to the Rangers' 11-5 victory. I wonder if when Ian Kinsler visited Darvish on the mound in the first inning if he told Darvish that the offense was going to score as many runs as the number on his back for him.
Behind the DMN paywall, Evan Grant writes about the offense coming alive to bail out Darvish.
MLB.com's Todd Wills writes about the Japanese hitters on the Mariners and their thoughts on facing Darvish in his first start. Ichiro likes Yu's pride and mentality, not his pitching.
Jon Machota has some quotes from Mike Napoli on catching Darvish last night.
Kevin Sherrington writes that Yu Darvish evoked memories of Bobby Witt last night.
Richard Justice writes about Darvish's resiliency after a nightmarish first inning.
Randy Galloway likes Yu Darvish now because he's a battler who survived when he wasn't at his best.
Doug Miller reminds us that we still have Neftali Feliz's debut as a starting pitcher to look forward to tonight.
Sullivan and Will's Notebook contains notes on the peculiarities of the Rangers' first week, slow starts on offense, bullpen usage, and other things.
Finally, in case you missed it, Ben of the Flying Morris Bros. handled The 10 Best Things About Being a Texas Rangers Fan for the Yahoo! Big League Stew blog.