Yu Darvish dominates D-backs, and that’s OK

Thursday night was exactly why I go nuts on the D-backs during other games.

I completely get what happened. A great pitcher had a great night. A team just off of a two-game series flew in for a quick one-nighter and got shelled before going to Boston. Giving a young player his first start with a rookie catcher against a playoff-caliber team is not a recipe for success. The D-backs didn’t wave the white flag last night but it was pretty close.

And I’m OK with that.

Yes, I’m the guy who thinks every day is Game 7. I’m the guy who tries to strategize Candy Land. Now, I’m the guy who accepts losing to Yu Darvish.

I accept it because that’s baseball. I accept the loss because that’s a tough scenario for any team to succeed. Almost every team in the big leagues would lose a one-game Texas road series in 100 degrees plus humidity against Darvish sandwiched on a scheduled off-day between two road games in other cities.

I go nuts when the D-backs lose to Chris Rusin in his first start. There’s nothing to be ashamed of in losing to Darvish. He’s an excellent pitcher. Sure, it’s hard to justify “grinders” striking out 14 times, but good pitching has always stopped good hitting (it’s also a stretch to include the D-backs in the “good hitting” category). It’s the losses to “Groping Chad” Gaudin in his first start or laying an egg against Tyson Ross that are the problem.

Games like Thursday are not going to be the reason the D-backs miss the postseason. Playoff teams lose to the “Darvishes” of the world. Playoff teams don’t lose to Rusin and Ross.

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