life

Yu Darvish says he currently has the 'best stuff in my life'

Yu Darvish says he currently has the 'best stuff in my life' originally appeared on nbcsportschicago.com

To say Yu Darvish's Cubs career did not get off to a good start would be putting it mildly.

Darvish made just eight starts and struggled with his command before being shut down after dealing with arm injuries. This coming season represents another chance for Darvish to live up to his $126 million contract.

So far in spring training Darvish sounds confident that he is healthy and that his stuff is back, and maybe better than ever. After pitching two scoreless frames against the White Sox on Sunday, Darvish told reporters he is throwing the "best stuff in my life."

He struck out three and surrendered one walk and no hits. His fastball topped out at 97 mph, which is similar to what he showed in his first spring appearance.

Before Cubs fans get too excited with one good early March outing, Darvish did walk four of the eight batters he faced in his first Cactus League outing on Feb. 26.

After struggling through 2018, Darvish said at the beginning of spring training that he is in store for a different year in 2019.

"At this time last year, I didn't say anything, but I was thinking about how I have to do something for the Cubs - I should win 20 games or something," Darvish said then. "This year, I want to be myself now."

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02

Celebrate Luke Perry's life with this quiz

For those who don't remember or who didn't live in the early '90s, it's easy to forget what a teen idol Luke Perry was.

He was as popular an actor as there was, mainly for his role as Dylan McKay on "Beverly Hills 90210," and the world was obviously saddened by the news of his passing from a stroke at age 52 on Monday. 

But while grieving, also celebrate the memories he provided, and his legacy, by trying your hand at this quiz on the life of Luke Perry. 

Graham Media Group 2019

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Yu Darvish says he has ‘the best stuff of his life’ at Cubs’ Spring Training

× Yu Darvish says he has ‘the best stuff of his life’ at Cubs’ Spring Training

MESA, Ariz — Of the many questions that remain for the 2019 Cubs the biggest continues to be the effectiveness of the biggest free agent signing of last off-season.

That’s natural considering that Yu Darvish lost nearly the entire season to an elbow injury in 2018. With the heavy financial investment by the club (six years, $126 million), his success could go a long way to helping the Cubs reach their lofty goals this season.

So for that desire, Sunday was a great day at Sloan Park.

In his second outing of the spring against the White Sox, Darvish shook off some wildness from his first outing against the Diamondbacks on February 26 (four walks in 1 1/3 innings) to strike out three batters in two scoreless innings and hit less innings, allowing just one walk. Certainly that was encouraging, but nothing to make any wide-ranging assumptions about future success.

Yet Darvish was more self-assured in his discussion with the media after, especially when asked how close he was to being at his best as a pitcher.

He didn’t mince words.

“I’m at my the best right now in my career,” Darvish said in a video posted on MLB.com and the Chicago Tribune.

“You feel the best right now that you have in your career?” was an immediate follow-up to the pitcher from a reporter.

“Yes, I feel the best,” Darvish said.

It’s a bold statement for a pitcher in his second spring training game after missing most of last season with an elbow injury. As expected, another follow-up asked him why he feels that way.

“Yes, because I’m throwing 97 and (my) slider was very good. My split was good, too,” Darvish said. “So it’s the best stuff of my life.”

That’s good news for the Cubs, who got just eight starts out of Darvish in April and May before the elbow issues knocked him out for the season. Before that, the pitcher struggled with consistency, winning just one of his starts with three losses and a 4.95 ERA.

For the moment, it looks like Darvish is starting off well in his road back to being the pitcher the Cubs signed a year ago. Certainly the pitcher is confident that is the case.