Why In Heaven Is Yu Darvish Avoiding The Angels?
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - I don't get a lot of things in baseball.
Endless "calling card" throws to first. A foul pole which is in fair play. Legally running over catchers at home plate. All those utensils on the back of the mound. Pitchers and catchers reporting ahead of their teammates. Chewing tobacco.
And, top of mind this week, teams avoiding showing starting pitchers to opponents in spring training.
This weekend the Texas Rangers' Yu Darvish is scheduled to pitch again. But instead of making his fourth spring start against the rival Anaheim Angels, he'll slink off to a back field in Surprise and throw to a gaggle of minor leaguers.
What the what?!
I know the old baseball adage is to not show everything in spring training and that there's some advantage to pitchers over hitters the first time out, but what kind of message does it send to the Angels? The Rangers have invested $111 million in Darvish and instead of now sending him out to dominate and defang the AL West in March they're going to hide him until May when the teams first meet in the regular season? Makes zero sense. Why?
Because of advanced scouting the Angels will know everything about Darvish. Probably already do. Video off of MLB Network. Scouts and radar guns at games. There are no secrets anymore.
Because doesn't it work both ways, that Darvish can learn how to get Angels' hitters out just as much as Angels' hitters will learn about his stuff?
And because, dangit, the Rangers are the two-time defending AL West and AL champs. They are the big boys on the blocks. They are the hunted, and it should be the hunter Angels who need smoke and mirrors and secrecy and tricks to make up the ground. If Darvish is so special and his electric stuff so nasty, why the need for a clock of spring anonymity?
You think the Washington Redskins will sit Robert Griffin III in the NFL preseason out of fear that his opponents will learn his skill set? You think Kevin Durant sat as an NBA rookie during exhibition games? And do you think for one minute the Angels will not play Albert Pujols in order to hide his weak spots from Rangers' pitchers?
Of course not. And the Rangers shouldn't avoid throwing Yu (or Neftali Feliz) against the Angels. It just smacks of the champs adjusting their schedule because of their inferior opponent.
I don't get it.
(Copyright 2012 CBS Local. All Rights Reserved.)
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