Sure, the Dodgers acquired Yu Darvish mostly to help them advance further in the postseason than they have since 1988. But they also get to use him during the regular season: The former Rangers ace will make his Dodgers debut on Friday against the Mets.
Yu Darvish makes his Dodgers debut Friday
Friday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at the start of Yu Darvish’s Dodgers career, the life and death of Hideki Irabu, and a homer that will make you feel old.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
That seems a little unfair considering Los Angeles is already trouncing opponents. But apparently when you trade for someone in July, you get to use him during the next two months of the season. More on this as it comes in.
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Darvish has had a down season by his standards, but also maybe not really. Before his previous start, in which he gave up 10 runs over 3 2/3 innings, Darvish had a 3.44 ERA (his career ERA is 3.42), was averaging 6 1/3 innings per start, and had held opponents to a .285 on-base percentage.
Since we already know why he allowed those 10 runs — Darvish was tipping his pitches and is aware of that now — you can expect more of that going forward. Maybe even a little better with the league change and move to a more pitcher-friendly environment.
So that version of Darvish is joining up with Rich Hill and an emerging Alex Wood and eventually, with a healthy Clayton Kershaw and whichever of the Dodgers, like, 17 other starting pitchers happen to be healthy at a given moment in time. And he’s doing so when the Dodgers are 41-7 in their last 48 — nearing the pace to set the all-time regular season wins record — and have an offensive core that should keep them at or near the top of the NL West for at least another three or four years.
See, I told you it was unfair.
- You’re seeing news about players being placed on waivers, as that’s the way they need to be traded if it’s going to happen in August. Here, Grant Brisbee explained the rules and history of August trades.
- Braves’ prospect Ozzie Albies is only 20 years old, and he was born in 1997. The home run he hit on Thursday was the first ever by a player born in ‘97, which means he also doesn’t understand any of your “only ‘90s kids remember” jokes.
- Here are some August trade possibilities for the Royals, who by the way still have Alcides Escobar starting at shortstop during a playoff chase.
- The Red Sox owners reportedly told Dave Dombrowski not to trade prospects at the deadline. Considering how Rafael Devers has hit since his call-up, that’s probably a good thing.
- Speaking of Devers dingers, this is a pretty good baseball photo.
- Matt Holliday is not hitting like he once was. What should the Yankees do about that?
- The Braves might not have made many deadline moves, but they were ranked first in Baseball America’s midseason prospect rankings.
- Yadier Molina is getting older, and the Cardinals will have to eventually figure that out.
- Jen Mac Ramos wrote for Hardball Times about the need for baseball to do more about sexual violence.
- Sports Illustrated published a feature on the complicated life and death of former Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu.
- A former Cubs outfielder is paying it forward for inner-city student-athletes.
- ”Numb fingers and pinched genitals might explain the Mets’ pitching woes against Colorado” is an accurate headline we ran on Thursday.
- A member of the Cubs’ grounds crew went on a tarp-riding adventure during a rain delay.
- Meanwhile, the Cubs and D-Backs got a little weird during the same delay.
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