Spring Training in July for Dice K

Dice K is in Ft. Myers to recondition himself and hopefully get back to his old pitching form. Dice K asked for permission to leave the team to work out in Ft Myers.

Speaking to Southwest Florida's News2 Dice K shed some light on the situation:

"I originally wanted to come down here so I could focus on working really hard. I appreciate the team agreed to it," he said.

"I'm approaching it as if it's spring training in February. It's a little bit strange to be doing it in the middle of the season - but maybe because of that I've been given about two times the work," Matsuzaka said.

"I've been given this time to workout down here, so I just want to keep smiling as I do it. But I think for me to show my real smile, that's a little bit further down the road," said Matsuzaka.

"I've been given some rough outlines of a schedule but I don't think even the ballclub really knows how much time I'm going to be spending down here. I want to stay here and work out until I feel ready," he said.