Yu Darvish Thinks All Cubs Fan Hate Him So Here Are The 11 Things I Like About Yu Darvish

PITTSBURGH — Those aren’t “boos.” They’re “Yuuuus.”

At least, that’s what Cubs catcher Chris Gimenez assures beleaguered pitcher Yu Darvish the latter will hear from fans when it really counts.

But right now? According to Gimenez — who played with Darvish in Texas and knows him better than anyone else in the Cubs clubhouse — the pitcher is having a hard time dealing with the criticism he’s hearing and reading as he serves his second stint on the disabled list of the season.

It all boils down to one very strong word.

“I think he thinks that Chicago hates him for going on the DL a couple of times,” Gimenez said. “I’ve tried to portray to him, ‘Listen, they’re going to love you when we get to October and we’re doing the things that we all want to do here, you’re the main reason we’re doing it and we’re riding you all the way through it.

“So don’t worry about them getting mad at you on Twitter in May. Worry about when we get to September, October and they’re chanting your name.”

Darvish has been called soft, sensitive, aloof. His first trip to the 10-day DL — with the flu — has been roundly criticized, and in some cases mocked. This has happened among fans. It has been present on talk radio. The phrase “Yu flu” may roll off the tongue, but its derisive use has gotten under the skin of the 31-year-old All-Star, who signed a six-year, $126 million deal with the Cubs in the offseason.

“He reads Twitter. He reads all that stuff,” Gimenez said. “We all do. Honestly, I know it upsets him — and rightfully so.”

Darvish is back on the 10-day DL with inflammation in his right triceps. An MRI revealed no structural damage to his pitching arm, the team announced before Wednesday’s game against the Pirates. He’s expected to begin a throwing program late this weekend or early next week and likely will miss at least two more starts.

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So things haven’t started out all that great for Yu Darvish in Chicago. He’s been on the DL twice, he hasn’t been very good, and now it seems as though he thinks we all hate him, which isn’t the case. Frustrated, sure. Hate? Absolutely not. Just because I love Jake Arrieta doesn’t mean I can’t someday love Yu Darvish. Judging a long term deal 2 months into the deal is foolish, even my inner meatball knows that. So without further ado, I’m starting a #BeNiceToYu campaign. So here we go

11 things I like about Yu Darvish so that he will stop thinking we hate him and start pitching well.

1. His name is really cool.

2. His facial hair is looking clean as fuck this year. Nice line, Yu.

3. His 4.95 era is less than 3 runs away from Jake Arrieta’s 2.16 era. Less than 3 runs in an era is really good.

4. He strikes out a lot of batters but he also walks a lot of batters so as not to embarrass anyone, very nice.

5. This Gif is cool.

6. Whenever I hit the translate button on Yu’s tweets I feel like a genius because I’m sort of reading a different language.

7. I just asked Feitelberg to say what he likes about Yu Darvish and he said “nothing really”

8. Watch this GIF again, like I said, really cool.

9. This was actually more of a chuckle not a laugh.

10. Yu have a very nice smile, Yu (please see reason 1 and notice how much fun his name can truly be)

11. Theo and Jed like Yu and I like Theo and Jed therefore I like Yu

And there you have it. 11 things I like about Yu Darvish. Now let’s get back out there and start winning some baseball games, Yu. The Haters are nothing more than that, Haters. Positive Vibes Only.