If you were hoping to hear Yu Darvish talk about his session of throwing to live hitters for the first time since a Cactus League game last year with glowing terms like "I'm ready now" or "forget rehab" you're going to be sorely disappointed.
If you're more realistic, Darvish's comments on Thursday about his Wednesday throwing session will come as no surprise, or concern.
Darvish said the rehab process has been "fun" and said he's "not quite there yet" and will be ready in "maybe a month" along the same line as his projected late-May return.
The Rangers' plan is to have him throw two more sessions to live hitters before embarking on a rehab assignment in Frisco and/or Round Rock for a handful of outings.
One funny thing to come out the media session with Darvish, as reported by the Associated Press, was the fact Darvish offered $1,000 to any minor leaguer who could take him deep in the throwing session.
When asked if he had to pay up, his response was simple.
"I didn't give them a strike," he said with a smirk.
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Darvish didn't give much insight to how he's been throwing and said it's hard for him to know without a radar gun on him.
"It's been a long time," Darvish said. "We didn't have guns on the field or anything like that. So it's hard for me to say how hard I'm throwing right now."
The most important thing, so far, is that he feels good, and that's good news for the Rangers, who hope to have a Cy Young caliber pitcher join another one atop their rotation sooner rather than later.
