Yu Darvish is the Texas Rangers' ace, and this season, he's one of the few bright spots left on a roster full of guys who should be playing in Round Rock or even Frisco.
On Wednesday night in his second career start at Yankee Stadium, he gave up two early runs and had settled into beast mode against the Yankees when a sudden storm hit The Bronx and forced a day in the bottom of the fourth with the Yankees leading 2-1.
What happened next was one of the most embarrassing performances by a grounds crew you'll ever see. It took the Yankees' crew 13 minutes to get the tarp over the infield, which, by that point, was a soggy mess that looked more like the Red River than an infield.
It was obvious at that point that the game wouldn't be continued, although they did come back after a near two-hour delay to test the conditions while Darvish warmed back up to pitch again — a rarity for a pitcher who is delayed for that long — but it was quickly ruled an official game and a 2-1 Yankees win.
"It doesn't seem right," Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters after the decision was made.
It was obvious they couldn't play, but the ineptitude of the grounds crew was unlike anything we've ever seen. Worst of all, the Rangers lost another Darvish start and burned him in a game that lasted less than five full innings until his next turn through the rotation.
"We certainly didn't feel like one run was going to hold us," Ron Washington said. "We felt like we were going to be able to get something going. To lose Yu Darvish is particularly tough."
