Darvish reports to camp a day early

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Starter Yu Darvish arrived in camp on Monday and went through an informal workout, one day before pitchers and catchers officially report. Manager Ron Washington said he chatted with Darvish briefly and said his pitcher's English is improving.

"Much better," Washington said. "You know with Darvish, he's going to try. He's going to try hard."

Washington said he expects a much easier spring for Darvish than what he experienced a year ago as a rookie just signed out of Japan.

"I expect it to be a total turnaround," Washington said. "He knows what we do and how we do it. There won't be any surprises, and we have a better idea of what he likes. It will be a much smoother transition than last spring. He understands what he needs to do to be successful."