Yu Darvish recovers after shaky start for Rangers

The first inning of Yu Darvish's big league debut with the Texas Rangers on Monday night was something a few people at Rangers Ballpark would  like to have back.

Chief among them, Darvish himself. Though he later settled down and got in line for a win, the big Japanese righthander surrendered four runs in the first after giving up three walks and four hits to the Seattle Mariners. It wasn't exactly the best way for Darvish to introduce himself to the league, no matter how nicely he acquitted himself after.

Then again, Darvish can take solace in the fact that his first inning wasn't fully televised in front of his home fans. Despite being the most anticipated pitching debut in the Metroplex since David Clyde, Fox Sports Southwest missed his first two pitches because the umpires started the game early. When the broadcast finally began, Darvish was trailing leadoff hitter Chone Figgins 2-0 in the count.

Then there was Rangers analyst Tom Grieve, who made the type of innocent slip of the tongue that was a bit more noticeable after ESPN's Jeremy Lin headline controversy.  Here's how Grieve described the Mariners' hits in the first inning after Miguel Olivo blooped a single to right to give Seattle a 3-0 lead.

"They've hit a couple of balls hard. Smoak hit his line drive hard, Seager hit his ball pretty good and then there's been a couple of chinkers. Ichiro's little blooper and this slider, Olivo just hits right off the end of the bat and just dumps it over Kinsler's head."

Ooof. While it's hard to believe that's any more than an unfortunate choice of words for Grieve, it's also easy to wonder where the heck that word came from. I've heard bloop hits described as "dinkers" and "dunkers," but "chinkers?" Well, apparently someone does call them that, according to this glossary of baseball terms.

Grieve's turn of phrase attracted a few critics on Twitter but, again, it's impossible to believe there was anything intentional or malicious about the description.

It certainly couldn't have been more culturally ignorant than the "Yu Dog" that Fox Sports Southwest spotlighted (comes with seaweed, wontons and a fortune cookie!) or the sign that these two fans held up before the game.

Make sure you're ready for the season ahead ...
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