Disappointing Darvish and Ellsbury injury main talking point in AL Week 2

I’ve been an avid baseball fan for more than a decade, and while that may not be as long as some of the readers, I can categorically say that I fail to remember a starting pitcher that won the first two games of his career in such an unconvincing manner as Japanese rookie Yu Darvish. While a couple of games is hardly a decent enough sample size to judge whether or not the Rangers grossly overspent when signing the young starlet, who was such a dominant force in Japan, it would have to be said that his opening verses in the book of his MLB career have been massively disappointing. On Monday, he made his Texas debut and promptly gave up four runs in the first inning, before being saved by the offence and claimed a debut victory. While Darvish gave up five runs in his 5.2 innings, that was better than his opponent Hector Noesi of the Mariners, who went for seven runs while recording just nine outs.

Surely, they were mere debut jitters. He would improve against a poor Twins offence on Saturday. Well, not really. While one earned run in 5.2 innings is clearly a record that will see you on the right side of the win/loss column, the truth is Darvish was poor. One three occasions Minnesota had the bases loaded against the new star of Japanese baseball. On all three occasions they failed to score a runner. In 5.2 innings, Darvish gave up nine hits and four walks. Had the Twins scored half a dozen, or even more, runs against Yu, nobody would have felt it was undeserved. Yet, just like five days prior against Seattle, he was able to pick up the win. Proof, if it were needed, that wins and losses are the worst way of judging the ability of a pitcher.

His side had a great week. In a four game set against the Mariners and a three game series in Minnesota, the Rangers went 6-1, finishing off with a sweep of the Twins on Sunday thanks to a three run, come from behind 8^th inning, highlighted by a Josh Hamilton upper deck blast. One must confess, they look the team to beat in the early going in the American League yet again. While it would be harsh to judge Darvish on two appearances, it would be equally unjustified to praise Neftali Feliz on his first two starts, but he appears to have settled into the rotation well, recording a seven inning shutout against Seattle, followed by a dominant performance against Minnesota.

Elsewhere in the West, the Angels have been inconsistent. Unlike their rivals, Texas, the Angels were only able to win one in a three game series in Minnesota, having lost the final two games by a single run on the back of two poor pitching performances. While C.J. Wilson was dominant on debut, Peter Bourjous’ inside the park homer proved for nought the next day, while in the rubber match, the bullpen gave up eleven hits and seven runs in 3.0 innings to blow a five run lead against the Twins, who had Mauer and Morneau home run for the first time in the same game at Target Field. They then proceeded to lose their third series in a row to open the year, taking just one of three from the Bronx Bombers in New York. Again, C.J. Wilson was the only starter to cover themselves in glory, while Albert Pujols is hitting .243 and has yet to homer in a Halo uniform.

Both the A’s and Mariners have shown inconsistency in all forms of the games thus far, something that one must assume will keep them from challenging Texas and the Angels for the top of the West come July. Oakland took two of three against the Royals, with lefty Tommy Milone going eight scoreless in the first game on Monday, before a momentum sapping series loss against Seattle.

In the Central, the Tigers are clearly the early season top dogs, with the Twins as the cellar dwellers after an exciting seven days baseball. Detroit started the week off with a great all-round performance at home against the Rays on Tuesday, in a 5-2 victory that saw the Tigers remain undefeated. The next day, however, that unbeaten record came uncharacteristically crashing down falling a ninth inning meltdown from the otherwise majestic Justin Verlander. Although a 7-2 win in the rubber match was proof that they dusted themselves off rather quickly. Brennan Boesch the hero on that particular day with 4 RBIs. Their series victory against a tough Rays side was followed, however, by their first series defeat of the 2012 campaign in Chicago. The Tigers offensive bite that had previously been so vicious met its match in the Windy City as they managed just three runs in the opening two games (two of those on Delmon Young’s first homer of the season), before somewhat remedying the situation with a 5-2 victory on Sunday in which Rick Porcello was nothing short of outstanding.

Elsewhere in the Central, the Twins bats suddenly came alive in the final two games against the Angels, notching 20 runs in a come-from-behind 10-9 victory on Thursday, before being swept at home against the Rangers. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire must be ruing his boys failure to hit with runners in scoring position, as they went 4-for-28 in that particular three game series. There are some positives, however, amongst their 2-7 start. Josh Willingham has already notched up four homers and is hitting over .400, while Liam Hendricks was solid on his season debut on Sunday, only for him to be denied a win by the bullpen. Clete Thomas hit a two run homer on his first appearance in a Twins uniform, having been claimed off waivers from Detroit. They are, however, mere specks of positive news in an otherwise desperately disappointing start to the season, disappointment that was exacerbated with the news that their most consistent starting pitcher, Scott Baker, is done for the year.

Chicago and Cleveland met one another in the early part of the week, with the White Sox taking both games on the back of three and four runs in the first innings of the two games, pulling their record up to 3-2, while condemning their division rivals to a 1-4 record. Cleveland then were rather rude guests to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, notching up seven runs in the first inning of the series that they ultimately swept, scoring 32 runs in the three game set. The Royals have now lost four in a row and have gone 1-5 since taking two of three against the Angels in their first series of the season.

Going into the week in the Central, the big storylines were the 0-3 starts of the Yankees and Red Sox, along with the 3-0 starts of the Orioles and Rays. It didn’t take long for New York to get into winning ways, thanks to a series sweep of those very same Baltimore Orioles. In the series opener, the veteran Derek Jeter went 4-for-4 with an RBI in a 6-2 victory, while the bullpen was ultimately the star of the show in a game two that went 12 innings, thanks to a 7.1 innings, two hit, zero run display from a slew of relief arms. Mariano Rivera notched his first save. Following a series victory over the somewhat disappointing Angels, the Yankees now stand very much with a winning record and atop the division at 5-4. alongside Baltimore and Toronto.

While the Yankees quickly bounced back following their poor start, the same can hardly be said about the Red Sox, who were made to look like Minor League rookies by Romero of the Blue Jays on Wednesday, when he recorded all but the final two outs, giving up just three hits and one run in the series rubber match. While they may have recorded a 25 runs and hit .556 with runners in scoring position in the first two games of their series against their division rivals Tampa Bay, the excitement was diminished due to a shoulder injury to lead-off man Jacoby Ellsbury, with early estimates suggesting a six to eight week lay-off. Jason Repko, a bit part player with the Twins the last couple of seasons has been called up to play centre field as replacement, while manager Bobby Valentine very publicly questioned the professionalism and attitude of all-star infielder Kevin Youkilis. All is not lost in Beantwon, however, as David Ortiz is tearing it up right now, hitting .444 with ten RBIs in his first nine games, while Josh Beckett rebounded fantastically from his poor first outing, giving up just one earned run in 8.0 innings in what was expected to be a pitching duel against David Price that the Sox won by double digits.

As for the ‘lesser’ teams in the AL East, Baltimore were swept by the Yankees, but showed that they were more than a match for the big boys, taking the final two games of the series into extra innings before ultimately falling short on both occasions. The bullpen, despite technically costing the O’s two games, was actually pretty good, giving up five runs in 13.2 innings over the three games. Toronto claimed a series victory over the Red Sox prior to their meeting with Baltimore on Friday, where the Orioles emerged with a 7-5 win in a game that featured seven home runs. The boys in orange would ultimately claim the series, although the Blue Jays managed a victory in the last game of the set, thanks mainly to a seven run sixth inning feast off Brain Matusz and Kevin Gregg.

Tampa Bay, however, had a horrific week, going 1-5 following a three game sweep of the Yankees to open up their season. The Tampa Bay pitching staff, so widely recognised as a stable and impressive bunch, imploded in a four game stretch against the Tigers and Red Sox in which they gave up 38 runs. With James Shields on the mound for the matinee game at Fenway on Monday, I wouldn’t bet on that streak running too much further.

It may only be a couple of weeks into the season, but it’s a case of déjà vu all over again as the Rangers are looking the team to beat in the American League.