2012 Hiroki Kuroda performance thread

[OhioYankee]

I also wished we had signed Darvish but now I gotta live with not getting him. Kuroda was good last night. I am not convinced that Darvish with dominate us for years. We almost always have problems hitting a pitcher we have never seen before. I am confident that the more times we hit against Darvish we could see better results.

[jnewmark]

I am sorry but my sarcasm detector is not functioning tonight.

So you thought passing up Darvish was a smart move after tonight's performance by him?

So far, old Yu is definitely living up to that posting fee. Time will tell, but, man, could the Yanks use him now with Pineda looking like damaged goods.

[teknetic]

The Yankees could have used him even with Pineda pitching like Pineda. Three guys in their early-mid 20's* and Sabathia + a stopgap would have been a crazy rotation.


*they'll have that when Pineda comes back, but one of them is Phil Hughes so it doesn't really count.

[b-ball-lunachick]

Kuroda deserved a better fate as he pitched a solid game against a very good offensive team.

completely agree.... most days he'll get the offensive support so good to see another solid outing.

[DrNick]

Pitched really well against an excellent offensive team. Perhaps he is another one who pitches well in warmer weather.

[35Knucklecurve]

I also wished we had signed Darvish but now I gotta live with not getting him. Kuroda was good last night. I am not convinced that Darvish with dominate us for years. We almost always have problems hitting a pitcher we have never seen before. I am confident that the more times we hit against Darvish we could see better results.

Swish agrees - hope he's right.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/25/sp...it_th_20120425

“It was the first time we’ve seen him,” Swisher said with a huge smile. “We’ll be ready for him next time.”

The real test for Darvish will if he can continue to shutdown teams after they've seen him a few times. It's usually a bad sign for the opposition if they can't get to a pitcher by the 3rd time through the line-up on any given night. Just our crappy luck he put it all together last night. They've got a history of doing poorly against guys they've never faced, but from all accounts, it wouldn't have mattered in this game.

[pleasepassthesoup]

I was very happy with Hiroki last night. He just happened to be unfortunate enough to be going up against Darvish.

[mbn007]

That walk in the 3rd bugged me the most. He had him down 0-2. Otherwise, a very solid performance against possibly the best lineup in Baseball.

[EvanJ]

He lowered his ERA to 3.69. Tonight's game took only 2:22 and our three shortest games of the season were all started by Kuroda. Last year we played only three games shorter than 2:22 and one of them was only 7 innings.

[bomber999]

Great job by Kuroda tonight. The Orioles are not a slouch offensive team. I am fully confident he will be a consistent and effective starter for us this year.

[ieddyi]

CC's rounding into form- Nova has been pretty consistent- with Kuroda we have a solid first 3 in the rotation

If Phelps and Andy click we just might be able to go on a run

[hellonewman]

He lowered his ERA to 3.69.

If that's where he ends the season I'll be happy.

[flymick24]

a lot of hard outs tonight, but his BABIP was due for a correction, i suppose

[grizy]

Kuroda's tagging Markakis at home could be my favorite play of the year so far. Guy's a soldier.

[BobLoblaw]

I loved watching him tag Markakis, that was awesome

[steveo_88]

Great play by Kuroda and Martin! It's always great to see a pitcher willing to bust a gut to get to home or 1st and make a play.

[BRNXBMRS]

Saved the game with that play at the plate, excellent block too!

[sweet_lou_14]

Kuroda's tagging Markakis at home could be my favorite play of the year so far. Guy's a soldier.

Very true. There's no better way to overcome the language barrier with the fans than to just show what you're made of on the field. I became a fan last night.

[35Knucklecurve]

I always hold my breath whenever a pitcher has to make the tag at the plate, but Kuroda anticipated it and got off the mound in a hurry. He made sure Markakis couldn't reach home in time. Nice job by Martin also with the toss.

The O's so far don't look like the AL East doormat, so Kuroda more than held his own against their top starter. I like the way he doesn't waste much time out there. He seems to know what he wants to do and was on the same page as Martin last night. Great job.

Suitable for framing:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...ticleLarge.jpg

[False1]

I always hold my breath whenever a pitcher has to make the tag at the plate, but Kuroda anticipated it and got off the mound in a hurry. He made sure Markakis couldn't reach home in time. Nice job by Martin also with the toss.

The O's so far don't look like the AL East doormat, so Kuroda more than held his own against their top starter. I like the way he doesn't waste much time out there. He seems to know what he wants to do and was on the same page as Martin last night. Great job.

Suitable for framing:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...ticleLarge.jpg

Cool photo, thanks for linking it.

[awy]

shining beacon in an otherwise forgettable offseason

[a-RobinsonCano-Fan]

He seems to be pitching like the #2 we though we got right now. Hoping he keeps it up

[grizy]

We need our No. 2 to do better.

I still think he will.

[ymike673]

2 earned runs in 6 innings. Decent performance by Kuroda on the road but once again no run support. In his last 3 starts Yankees have scored a total of 2 runs while he was on the mound.

[justtxyank]

2 earned runs in 6 innings. Decent performance by Kuroda on the road but once again no run support. In his last 3 starts Yankees have scored a total of 2 runs while he was on the mound.

4.1 innings to be exact.