Paul Sullivan: Everything fell into place perfectly in Cubs' pursuit of Yu Darvish

MESA, Ariz. - Yu Darvish showed off his sense of humor during his introductory news conference Tuesday on the opening day of Cubs camp.

Asked about the sluggish pace of offseason free-agent signings, Darvish said he was constantly in touch with his agent, Joel Wolfe.

"I said if there is no team that meets our requirement, I'm ready to retire," Darvish said.

There was no chance of that happening, of course. Darvish knew he eventually would get his mega-deal if he was patient enough, so he waited until the end of the offseason before agreeing to a six-year, $126 million deal, which includes an opt-out clause and opportunities to boost that