Don't be alarmed if you're walking around DFW and see a 6-foot-5-inch Japanese fella doing the same.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels confirmed Tuesday morning that Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish is in town with his father to scope out the scene and presumably see if it's a place he'd want to spend the next 5-7 years of his life.
Bummer for him, bonus for the Rangers? It's not 108 degrees in August.
The Rangers, of course, are in the midst of an exclusive negotiation period with Darvish after winning the posting process with an insanely high bid of $51.7 million, but then again, it's all relative.
Numerous local media reports say Daniels has said to not read too much into this visit and that Darvish's signing is not a foregone conclusion, but everything Daniels and the Rangers do is behind about five smokescreens, so don't be shocked if he's a Ranger tomorrow.
The Rangers have until 4 p.m. on Jan. 18 to reach an agreement with Darvish before the Rangers get their $51.7 million back and Darvish returns to Japan for at least another year, but don't expect that to happen.
Conventional wisdom would say the Rangers will have to pay at least the 5 years, $75 million-ish that the Angels paid former Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson even though Darvish has yet to do a thing in MLB.
