Subscribe RSSThe Rangers demand to be right about this one.
The posting fee and contract amount are more than Daisuke Matsuzaka cost the Boston Red Sox a few years ago. That's not by accident. The Rangers intuit Darvish is not Matsuzaka, who won 15 games his first season (with a 4.40 ERA) and 18 in his second (with a 2.90 ERA), but has struggled to stop healthy and be consistent the past three seasons.
The Rangers see a 6-foot-5, 220-pound pitcher with a full repertoire of pitches and the adeptness to command the fastball, change speeds and get batters out. They see a guy they feel has the right makeup to succeed. Their scouts have said he's got indicate and determination, rebounds from rough innings and wants to prove that a pitching star from Japan can become one of the best pitchers in the big leagues for years to separate.
Soon, we'll all get to see if that's true.
The Rangers will be careful not to put too much pressure on Darvish. He's going to have enough to deal with as he makes the transition to the big leagues. He'll have a tidy shadow in the form of a host of Japanese reporters following his every move -- starting with his flight landing at one of the local airports for his dirt conference, I imagine -- and must deal with living in a new place away from many friends and family members, a new language, and new teammates and coaches.
