Who is Yu? He's Yu Darvish, the 23-year-old pitching sensation who went 16-4 with a 1.88 ERA last season for the Nippon Ham Fighters. Darvish threw four no-hit innings against China in the first game of the World Baseball Classic in the wee hours Thursday morning, as Japan won 4-0, a far cry from the 18-2 drubbing it gave China in the first WBC in 2006. While buzz over Darvish has been building for some time, the fact is that he's not coming to the majors any time soon. Sure he could probably fetch a hefty posting fee, a la the $51 million the Red Sox paid for the right to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka after the last WBC, but with the current state of the economy, it is unlikely that many teams would be able to afford the asking price. So don't get too excited. It may be a few years before Darvish becomes eligible for your fantasy roster.

But it's hard to get excited by any pitching performance in the Classic, not only because the level of competition in some of these early games leaves a lot to be desired, but also because players are simply not yet able to play at their peak performance levels. How else can you explain Ichiro Suzuki, Kosuke Fukudome, Kenji Johjima and Akinori Iwamura going a combined 0-for-11 against the likes of -- not Cliff Lee -- but Chenhau Li. The point is that while you should enjoy the games for what they are. Don't go changing your draft lists as a result of anything that happens in this tournament, short of a major injury, because it doesn't tell you anything.

• Speaking of injury, Shin-Soo Choo may not be sticking around for South Korea's opening game Friday against Taiwan, at least not if the Indians have their way. According to a report in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Choo is suffering some soreness in his surgically repaired left elbow, and Cleveland would prefer the outfielder get checked out by team doctors. Choo started last season on the disabled list, and the Indians are hopeful that their planned starting right fielder doesn't have a similar start to 2009.

"At this point the Indians' wishes are to get him back here so we can examine him," general manager Mark Shapiro told the paper, "just because we're not comfortable with him being somewhere else and experiencing an injury." If Choo's injury does force him to miss action, Dave Dellucci would probably be the initial beneficiary, but any significant absence might eventually see the Indians decide to press Matt LaPorta into service sooner than expected.

• In Mariners camp, Ken Griffey Jr. saw his first action with his old team, walking and flying out in two plate appearances as a designated hitter against the Australian WBC squad. Seattle has said it will take things very slowly with Griffey, who had arthroscopic knee surgery only four months ago. But for the first time out at least, the knee held up fine and all is well, at least as far as Griffey is concerned.

• For Miguel Batista, the game did not go nearly as well. Batista, one of the candidates to claim the Mariners' closer job, allowed four runs in only two-thirds of an inning. Roy Corcoran and Mark Lowe also got roughed up in the contest, so Batista probably remains in the lead in the competition that may well last the entire spring.

• Brandon Webb got roughed up by a Team Mexico that includes Jorge Cantu, Alfredo Amezaga, Scott Hairston and Adrian Gonzalez ... and he couldn't be happier. Despite allowing six runs in 1 1/3 innings, Webb, who had been bothered by forearm tightness, said he felt fine, and that's far more important than results at this time of year.

"No issues with the forearm. The arm felt really good," Webb said on the Diamondbacks Web site. "Just to go out there and get your emotions, your adrenaline and all that stuff to calm down is kind of tough in the first outing. I had that going through me."

Besides, with so many major league hitters on Mexico's roster, giving up a few runs is nothing to be embarrassed about. That wouldn't be the case if you were a pitcher facing Team Netherlands, which has no current big leaguers in the lineup. That's the no-win situation Cincinnati's Bronson Arroyo faced in his Wednesday outing, so take from his four scoreless innings of work what you will.

• Aaron Poreda, the young White Sox pitching prospect with a fastball that regularly flirts with 100 mph, had another solid relief outing, picking up a win again the Cubs on Wednesday. Poreda projects to be a big league starter in the long term, but with the team hoping to have Bartolo Colon and Jose Contreras healthy by the middle of April, there's likely to be no room in the rotation for Poreda. It's possible that a few more solid bullpen outings could earn Poreda a spot on the roster, as insurance in case either Colon or Contreras suffers a setback. The Chicago Tribune reports that both veterans increased their bullpen sessions Wednesday to 45 pitches, with more intensity than previous sessions. The pair will throw another bullpen session Saturday, and if all goes well, they'll move on to throwing live batting practice.

• Another team with a pair of pitchers on the mend is the Angels. Mike Scioscia tells the Los Angeles Times that Jered Weaver should be able to make his first Cactus League start in seven to 10 days, and should have enough time to be ready for his first scheduled start of the regular season. Kelvim Escobar is also ahead of his recovery schedule from shoulder surgery. He should be able to make at least one appearance on the hill before the end of the spring, though Scioscia expects Escobar to start a 30-day minor league rehab assignment once camp breaks. "He's making some great strides," Scioscia said on the Angels' official Web site. "He won't be ready for Opening Day, but if he keeps making strides, he's going to surprise everybody with how quickly he recovers from this."

• J.D. Drew tells the Boston Globe that he's ready to return to the Red Sox lineup Friday. Drew flew back to Boston on Sunday to receive a cortisone shot in his lower back. Drew explained what the problem was, "More than anything, it's just -- we were talking about some of the residual stiffness I had throughout the offseason, and really wished I could get rid of it. So I worked with a chiropractor … He thought that may be the main cause of that residual stiffness, when I'm sitting around, riding on airplanes, sitting around the house." Drew says he's fine, but this bears watching. It may be a case where you pre-emptively bench Drew occasionally, especially for the first game of road trips after a long plane ride.

One last follow-up to the Manny Ramirez signing: My colleague Tristan Cockcroft wrote Wednesday that the odd man out in the Dodgers outfield surely will be Juan Pierre. After going 0-for-3 Wednesday in a game against the Giants, Pierre continues to be oh-fer the spring. If there's any fight left in Pierre, we've yet to see it, and it's even more unlikely that a trade will be forthcoming unless he does something to show he still has a little bit left in the tank, especially with the ridiculous $28.5 million price tag that comes with his services.