(670 The Score) There are two schools of thought regarding what Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish is now, at almost 33 years old and returning from an offseason that included a surgical cleanup of his pitching elbow.
Some believe that his inconsistency is the new normal, that it's now a matter of determining what he is or has on a given night and making the most of it against that given opponent. It's the belief that one start doesn't necessarily portend anything more than what's right in front of us, and performance for better or worse isn't predictive in a useful way.
Others cling to the insistence that this is all heading somewhere better, a place where Darvish returns to being the four-WAR pitcher he was in Texas, once again harnessing his formidable arsenal of plus pitches as was envisioned when he was lured to Chicago by $126 million over six years. Not surprisingly, one of those on the latter side of the discussion is Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer, who expressed such views in no uncertain terms on the Bernstein & McKnight Show on 670 The Score on Thursday.
Darvish posted a game score of 66 in Cincinnati on Wednesday, notching his fourth-best start as a Cub and allowing Hoyer to let himself be tantalized by possibility of what could be to come.
"That was a really good example of the kind of pitcher he can be," Hoyer said. "His delivery was really in control, he was around the strike zone all night, he didn't walk anybody, got strikeouts with four-seamers, two-seamers, splits, cutters, sliders, really the whole bag of pitches. Dominating at times, really didn't pitch in much trouble."
Which is why a team hands somebody that kind of contract, in other words.
A reclaimed Darvish would still seem like a luxury at this point, however, particularly added to what's being supplied of late by Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks. Those two have combined for a 0.20 ERA in 44 2/3 innings in May, allowing one earned run and three walks while striking out 37, as noted by Christopher Kamka of NBC Sports Chicago,
Hoyer is ready for this version of Darvish to joint them soon.
"There's no question that as an organization you see a path to these kind of starts on a regular basis," Hoyer said. "He's done a really good job all year, his work has been very good in the bullpen and the weight room. I feel like he's getting stronger as the year has gone on, and hopefully he can string a couple starts like that together and really get on a roll."
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's Bernstein & McKnight Show in middays. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein.
