Cubs Came To Yu Darvish's Defense And It Was Beautiful

I know, I know, of course Yu Darvish's teammates and Joe Maddon are going to publicly support him after Alex Rodriguez's comments on ESPN, but there have been several other situations where a team isn't so forthcoming in defending a player from criticism. Anyway, the Cubs coming to the defense of Darvish really was a thing of beauty. First, Maddon responded after Sunday's night's game with the following.

Maddon went on 670 The Score on Tuesday and expanded on his thoughts regarding Rodriguez's allegations, projecting what seemed like his personal agenda on the Cubs' clubhouse and Darvish.

"I was really shocked by the whole diatribe, in a sense a soliloquy," Maddon said on the Bernstein & McKnight Show on 670 The Score on Tuesday afternoon. "It really came off to me as plastic and probably rehearsed in advance. It was definitely a contrived situation. That part of it, I didn't really like either. Beyond the substance, it was definitely not extemporaneous. And that really is a concern too. Because if you walk into our locker trying to substantiate something, you've already made up your mind to do that. That's kind of bothersome. These (national broadcasters), they see us two or three times here. They're not in the presence of all of our guys. They really have no business making those kinds of comments. So having said all that, for me, it's not about empowering Alex. I do not want to do that whatsoever. "Because I think that's what he's looking for -- is empowerment. And the other part is from our perspective, nobody contaminates our space. You as an individual should not permit it, we as a group are not going to permit it. We have a very tightly knit group. These guys are wonderful. They interest so well together, not only among themselves but also coaches, front office, etc. It's a very tightly knit group. So when you attempt to come into our sanctum and say or make those kind of comments in a predetermined negative way, I don't take kindly to that." "What I just said to you illustrates exactly how I feel about this. It's one of those situations that a guy like him (Rodriguez) has to be careful, because now he can really sully his reputation in other clubhouses based on this irresponsible moment." (Joe Maddon)

Maddon said he talked with Darvish and reassured him that the comments were all crap. That also came after Darvish's agent went hard at Rodriguez on Monday. Anthony Rizzo was on ESPN 1000, and he was asked if anyone in the Cubs' clubhouse has an issue with Darvish.

“No. Not at all. Yu’s been great and he wants to get back and pitch. And we need him … He comes in everyday and does his work. It’s unfortunate, it’s tough: when you’re hurt, people question you a lot, but I think Yu’s doing the best he can to get back and be healthy.” (Anthony Rizzo)

One of the ridiculous things that Rodriguez claimed was an issue regarding Darvish is that the pitcher should be in Arizona, working on his rehab there instead of being with the team because his teammates would get angry or some shit like that? Anyway, Albert Almora Jr. was also on 670 The Score and he responded to the comments as well.

"As a teammate, I prefer guys being with us and us seeing what he's doing," Almora said in an interview with the McNeil & Parkins Show on 670 The Score on Tuesday afternoon. "That's just my personal opinion, going back to '16 when (Kyle) Schwarber got hurt. He asked to be (around) the team. That just shows what type of teammate he was, thinking about it like that. We want our team to stay close-knit. We're brothers at the end of the day. I'm glad that he's here with us." "There's going to be people that are unhappy, but no one's in our clubhouse. No one knows what we're actually going through. No one knows what we're dealing with. Yu's a brother of ours. If he says he can't go because something is hurting him or something is bothering and he's hurt, then we got to respect that. We know he wants to win just as much as we do. I don't think there's any problem with us and Yu."

"We want to get him back out there," Almora said of Darvish. "He's going to be a big part of us getting another World Series championship. We're not down on him. We're excited for when he comes back, and we're trusting that he knows his body best. There's no tension or hard feelings at all." (Albert Almora Jr.)

The best response may have come from Darvish himself, who despite being the one who was being dragged on national TV by A-Rod, said the following.

You can be frustrated as a fan and honestly who isn't right now, but there is no way you can look at Darvish and say you dislike him. Has he been a disappointment so far? Of course, he hasn't pitched since May 20, and has a 4.95 ERA, but how about you calm down with the "he's soft as baby shit" takes. It's year one with Darvish. If you actually feel that he should be pitching right now while he's hurt, then you really don't care about the long-term success of Darvish and the Cubs. But hey, if you want to be on A-Rod's side of this, go right ahead.