Robert Benson-US PRESSWIRE
The Texas Rangers just spent $111.7 million on something that’s unproven, so this is essentially a nine-figure gamble by the two-time defending American League champs. This could backfire like a similar venture by the Boston Red Sox six years ago, but Texas accomplished what it had to in signing Yu Darvish to a six-year, $60 million deal; the Rangers added an ace after losing two in as many offseasons.
Following the departures of Cliff Lee and CJ Wilson the past two years, the Rangers simply could not afford to enter the 2012 without adding a starting pitcher with at least the potential to become the next big thing.
Japanese ace Yu Darvish is extremely tall for a pitcher of his nationality; at 6’5″ and 220 lbs., he’s the ideal size for an MLB starting pitcher. He has experience pitching on the big stage as he took the mound during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Darvish broke onto the scene at 19 in his second Japanese professional baseball season, finishing with a 12-5 record and a 2.89 ERA while striking out 115 batters. Since his career began in 2005, Darvish went 93-38 with a career ERA of 1.99.
While those numbers and his 95 mph fastball are impressive, he’s never pitched to an MLB batter before. The Red Sox bid $51.5 million to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2006 and have been sorely disappointed with his inconsistent performances ever since. Sure, Boston won the 2007 World Series in Matsuzaka’s first season, but it wasn’t because of him.
The Rangers are a team that was one pitch away from a title twice in the 2011 World Series. Texas doesn’t need Darvish to win the Cy Young in 2012; he just needs to win three-fourths of the games he starts and pitch on a consistent basis.
If Darvish’s 80 mph slurve is as deadly as advertised overseas, he should be the most popular Ranger this season. However, Dice-K was highly touted coming into America and we all know how that turned out.
The Rangers didn’t just guarantee Darvish $56 million in his six-year deal; Texas had to pay a record $51.7 million just to negotiate with the Japanese phenom. If he pans out, Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels will look like geniuses.
The best part about this situation is Rangers fans aren’t used to winning. In Texas, the atmosphere is almost as if the Rangers hadn’t lost in their past two World Series trips. If Darvish doesn’t pan out, this dedicated fan base will applaud Ryan and Daniels for taking a chance to try and make this team better.
Thus, the Darvish signing has produced a complex attitude around Arlington, Texas. Darvish is a Ranger, so we have to criticize and praise him just as we do Josh Hamilton, Mike Napoli, Derek Holland and all the others. This is a huge first step in making this team a perennial World Series contender. Texas now knows Ryan and Daniels are here to win and win now. Now it’s time to see if Darvish is here to do the same.
Follow Jeric Griffin on Twitter @JericGriffin
Buy Texas Rangers Tickets | Buy Texas Rangers Apparel
No comments:
Post a Comment