Wbc

[200tang]

And *there* it is.

Tie game. I'm pulling for Korea. Love their style.

I'm rooting for Korea as well and I'm a Mariners Fan!!! Go Once Failed Mariners Prospect Choo!

[actionjackson]

Um, is the Japanese manager related to Grady Little? Of course, he can't completely immolate himself and his country's pride due to the pitch count but still...Oh, there you go got him out. Let's see if it was too late.

[OregonDuck1989]

Great game.

[KowboyKoop]

Man, that slider was the balls..........that particular one was 100% unhittable.

[OregonDuck1989]

Come on Korea

[Arctic Blast]

Um, is the Japanese manager related to Grady Little? Of course, he can't completely immolate himself and his country's pride due to the pitch count but still...Oh, there you go got him out. Let's see if it was too late.

I don't think Japan is aware of pitch counts.

[bucher34]

Extras baby!

[OregonDuck1989]

Damn Japs are too good.

[Joe12Pack]

Man, that slider was the balls..........that particular one was 100% unhittable.

I think I know exactly which pitch you're talking about. The third strike on the first batter Darvish faced, right? That was one of the absolute greatest pitches I've seen a guy not named Johnson or Martinez throw, probably *the* greatest. That was some kind of insane video game pitch, the way that thing moved. Not even fair.

Granted, he doesn't always locate that pitch that perfectly, but as hard as he can throw the slider while getting that kind of movement (Johnsonesque), and being able to throw it as hard as his fastball... this guy is absolutely sick.

[RedsoxRockies]

Japan won 5-3! So they have won both WBC's, that is impressive.

[actionjackson]

I think I know exactly which pitch you're talking about. The third strike on the first batter Darvish faced, right? That was one of the absolute greatest pitches I've seen a guy not named Johnson or Martinez throw, probably *the* greatest. That was some kind of insane video game pitch, the way that thing moved. Not even fair.

Granted, he doesn't always locate that pitch that perfectly, but as hard as he can throw the slider while getting that kind of movement (Johnsonesque), and being able to throw it as hard as his fastball... this guy is absolutely sick.

I was thinking more along the lines of Dave Stieb when I saw the Darvish slider in terms of movement. I don't think Stieb had that kind of velocity, but he did make a lot of hitters look like little leaguers with that slider. Definitely Stieb had the best slider I ever saw until yesterday.

[HoustonGM]

I was thinking more along the lines of Dave Stieb when I saw the Darvish slider in terms of movement. I don't think Stieb had that kind of velocity, but he did make a lot of hitters look like little leaguers with that slider. Definitely Stieb had the best slider I ever saw until yesterday.

Randy Johnson?

[filihok]

Let’s focus in on that slider. Darvish tossed it 18 times an had the following results: ball, ball, ball, ball, called strike, called strike, called strike, ball, ball, hit, swinging strike, called strike, in play out, ball, called strike, swinging strike, swinging strike, and finally swinging strike. That’s 4/18 swinging strikes, or 22% total, and of those who actually dared to swing, Darvish recorded 4/6 whiffs, or nearly 70%.

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/200...yu-darvish-f-x

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index...ing-yu-darvish

[actionjackson]

Randy Johnson?

Not if we're talking about the type of "video game" movement like Darvish has. I'm talking as if I'm watching from the CF angle, not standing in the batter's box (I bat left so there's no way I'd do that against Johnson ), and I see the pitch almost defy physics and break ridiculously not only side to side, but simultaneously on a downward plane. It was a pitch that time and again you'd look at and say: a) did I really just see that? and b) he sure made (fill in great hitter's name) look feeble on that one. Johnson's definitely had more mustard on it and therefore was probably the better pitch from the the hitter's perspective, but I have never seen the kind of movement on a slider that Dave Stieb had until I saw Darvish last night and he has a lot more zing on his. Is my bias or foggy memory (I was 11-20 during the '80's when he was Dave Stieb) getting in the way? Maybe, but I don't think so because every article I read (can't find no stinking videos) talks about his knee-buckling slider. I don't know if him throwing from three-quarters put extra movement on it, but I do know that it was filthy, sick and nasty and not because of the velocity.

[KowboyKoop]

I think I know exactly which pitch you're talking about. The third strike on the first batter Darvish faced, right? That was one of the absolute greatest pitches I've seen a guy not named Johnson or Martinez throw, probably *the* greatest. That was some kind of insane video game pitch, the way that thing moved. Not even fair.

Granted, he doesn't always locate that pitch that perfectly, but as hard as he can throw the slider while getting that kind of movement (Johnsonesque), and being able to throw it as hard as his fastball... this guy is absolutely sick.

I believe so, yes. It was just ridiculous.

His fastball, however, didn't impress me that much, seemed straight and lacked command with it. That is just based off of one time seeing him and he is 22 (right?) so I won't draw any conclusions. When he's pitching for the Red Sox in 5-6 years, then we'll see.