Yu Gotta Be Kidding Me, And Other Tidbits

Another thing in Yu Darvish's favor: great hair.

• Darvish gem spawns fresh round of bad 'Yu' puns: Conventional wisdom said that the Yankees' lineup would cause the Rangers' pricey Japanese import Yu Darvish all sorts of problems. In his first three starts, Darvish was criticized for spotty fastball command and a failure to attack hitters--both trends that could be exploited by New York's lineup of patient hitters.
  
  This, however, was not so on Tuesday night. The Yankees had no answer for Darvish, who located his mid-90's fastball to both sides of the plate and threw his diverse assembly of breaking pitches for strikes. He shut out the Yankees into the ninth inning, striking out ten while outdueling fellow countryman Hiroki Kuroda. Granted, there are still concerns about the right-hander's long-term ability to adjust from the Japanese style of pitching once a week. But a Texas rotation that includes this dominant version of Darvish, as well as Derek Holland, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, and Colby Lewis, could be incredible.

• National treasures: The surprising Washington Nationals own the best record in the NL, probably because they just don't allow other teams to score. The pitching staff has the lowest ERA in baseball and allows opponents to hit just .200. Their five starters so far:
  
  Stephen Strasburg: 1.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP
  Jordan Zimmermann: 1.33 ERA, 0.70 WHIP
  Gio Gonzalez: 1.52 ERA, 0.85 WHIP
  Ross Detwiler: 0.56 ERA, 0.94 WHIP
  Edwin Jackson: 4.26 ERA, 0.84 WHIP
  
  The Nats are 14-4 despite injuries to their two best offensive players, Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse. And the Nats are more likely to maintain their winning ways than the NL's other surprise team, the Dodgers, mostly because Strasburg (23), Zimmermann (25), and Gonzalez (26) are not Ted Lilly (36), Chris Capuano (33), and Aaron Harang (33).

Ozzie not likin' what he's seein'.

• Meet Miami's crack relief squad: With the Marlins winning 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh against the Mets on Tuesday, Miami starter Josh Johnson got the first two outs of the inning, then walked Lucas Duda. Johnson was removed from the game and replaced by reliever Randy Choate, who walked Justin Turner. Choate was removed and replaced by Steve Cishek, who walked Scott Hairston to load the bases. Cishek was removed and replaced by Mike Dunn...who, in the most predictable plot twist ever, walked Josh Thole to force in the tying run. The baseball gods showed their displeasure by allowing the Mets to win in the following inning on Lucas Duda's two-out RBI single that literally hit and caromed off of yet another Marlins reliever, Edward Mujica.

That one time when Cliff Lee was a Mariner.

• Sleepless in...New York: Rest assured that Yankees GM Brian Cashman won't be trading with Seattle again anytime soon. He's been burned by Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik each of the last two times they've talked. In July of 2010, Cashman thought he had a deal in place to acquire Cliff Lee from Seattle for prospects Jesus Montero, Adam Warren, and David Adams. But Seattle balked at Adams' physical at the last second and asked for both Eduardo Nunez and Ivan Nova instead, while continuing to shop Lee. The ace ended up with Texas and helped beat Cashman's Yankees in the ALCS that year. Cashman went back to Zduriencik this offseason and swapped Montero and Hector Noesi for Michael Pineda and Jose Campos, but Pineda will require labrum surgery before he throws a pitch for New York. Since the Mariners' front office is now associated with the two biggest 'what ifs' of his career, Cashman won't be asking Zduriencik out for drinks in the near future. At least the decision to hang onto Nova and Nunez seems to be working out.

• And in the Long-Term Department: There are a lot of exciting young pitchers entering baseball right now, from Yu Darvish and Matt Moore to 2011 draftees like Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen, and Trevor Bauer. But perhaps the most exciting arm of all is the one who's furthest removed from the majors: Dylan Bundy. The Orioles were lucky to grab Bundy out of high school with the fourth overall pick as he could have been the top overall selection in another draft class. He's incredibly polished for a 19-year-old out of high school, already boasting impressive command of an upper-90's fastball and solid offspeed pitches. He's faced 40 batters so far with Low-A Delmarva and the results have been eye-poppingly good: 21 strikeouts, one measly walk, and zero hits. Dylan Bundy: a name to keep in mind.