In the highlight package that Marquee put together from Cubs Intrasquad Game One, you can zip ahead to the 38-second mark and see Ian Happ flailing helplessly at a Yu Darvish offering.
Hey, it happens. Pitchers are ahead of hitters, and all that. Plus, Yu Darvish is awesome:
Highlights from yesterday's @Cubs intersquad game.
More: https://t.co/BLH6mzkVze pic.twitter.com/pWJ3deNqH7
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) July 5, 2020
Turns out, Happ knew all along facing Darvish might be ugly. He talked about it on the podcast he does with Zack Short and Dakota Mekkes, ‘The Compound,’ and it was hilarious:
Happ on facing Yu:
"I was trying to prepare for him and I was thinking about all the pitches he throws. And I was like Maybe I should look away. Ehh. Maybe I should look in. Ehh. Maybe I should look up. Ehh. And by the end of thinking about it, I was like, welp, I have no idea." https://t.co/C0Xw3JAYIs
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 7, 2020
Adding to the cruelty, Darvish just replied to Happ on Twitter to let him know that the unkind 1-0 pitch was not a slider, but was actually his cutter.
Darvish’s new pitch, The Supreme, comes in for some love, and was described as “unfair” because it starts at the belt, but then ends up in the dirt at 93 mph. That is, indeed, unfair.