3 straight NLCS isn't failing, being unlucky............
Lots of folks seem to forget that, even some who are old enough to remember the 50's thru the 70's....
Some Cub players have under performed based on their past accomplishments. Rizzo, Chatwood, Quintana, and Hendricks fall into that category. Others have not progressed as much as some might have hoped. Others have had health problems that have slowed them down. My view is that the under performers are likely to improve, in some cases markedly, in the second half. The inconsistency of the young players is likely to continue, but Happ, Russell, Almora, and Schwarber have all performed well overall and I doubt any of them has reached his peak. Injuries are impossible to project, but it seems likely that Bryant will come back strong, and CJ should be ready soon. No doubt, this Cub team should be in better position in the standings than it is, but somewhat underperforming in the first half is not that big a deal. They simply will need to perform closer to their talent level (and avoid bad luck) and they will win the Central, probably with ease.
This is the reason for the rebuilding strategy I explained (repeatedly) from the middle of 2006 thru 2007 -- because you can't be certain what you are going to get from any one player, or even two or three, you create a large pool of talent which will give you a large window of opportunity over an extended time. And that is exactly what the Theocracy has done.
If the news is bad on Darvish (I sure hope not) keep an eye on Cole Hamels as a potential name linked with the Cubs.
And it appears you nailed it.
I’m guessing you’re showing your true colors.
As shown so many times before.... the only question is why you would think there was any reason to "guess."
Not everyone said that (and he was at South Bend, not Des Moines). I saw some reports that he was sitting around 90 mph. For example:
Sahadev Sharma @sahadevsharma
He said it'd be up to front office and staff as to when he returns. Was throwing some 90-mph pitches we assumed were cutters but he said he didn't throw any and those were FBs.
In any case, the reason you've gotten criticized for your takes around here is because what you've said mostly amounts to "Asian pitchers get hurt more often" with no nuance. And now you're acting like Darvish has some kind of personality flaw that makes him lazy even though you have absolutely zero evidence for that. It's no wonder people think your motivations are based on something other than just performance on the field.
If your take had been "Darvish has thrown a lot of innings, has had injury problems already, and he's missed time almost every year since coming to MLB, so we shouldn't offer him a lot of money" instead of "Every Japanese player but Ichiro has flat out stole money and the pitchers usually don't come over here until their arm is about to fall off. Let somebody else get analized," maybe people would take you more seriously on this topic.
I think everyone realizes Dusty is serious. It is just that when offering opinions on non-Anglo players his opinions are, well, sometimes a bit tainted....
In my own viewing of the video posted here of Darvish in one of his South Bend games (his only SB game?), it appeared he was somewhat short-arming his pitches. I'm not familiar enough with him to know if that was normal for him even when healthy, and the camera angle was not the best, but that video made me wonder if there might be some elbow or forearm problem on the immediate horizon.
As far as the rich athlete concept goes I just think that's human nature.
You're gonna bust ass until you get paid and then you'd lose that fire because you did.
I'd do the same.
If anyone wanted an example of the psychological concept of projection, that post might serve as a prime example.
Maybe you would. Lots of guys, however, mess themselves up trying to hard to earn the contract that they don't (and I hate to use this) play within themselves. Lester and Heyward are a couple of examples, but there are plenty of others. I'm guessing Darvish is in that camp as well.
I suspect what you describe -- athletes trying their best to play thru injuries and injuring themselves even worse in the process -- is far more common than what Dusty described.
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