Yu Darvish traffics in dry humor. It was one of the qualities that endeared him to the Dodgers clubhouse upon his arrival last summer, and it is part of the reason he remains well liked after the ugliness of his final outing in Los Angeles.
Darvish leaned upon his wryness Tuesday afternoon, minutes after striking out four Dodgers in a two-inning outing at Sloan Park. He stood in the shadow of the Chicago Cubs complex and explained why he lost 15 pounds this offseason.
"Because of the World Series," Darvish said through his interpreter, Daichi Sekizaki. "Because of what happened in the World Series.