Dice-K Comes Up Huge

Admit it, you thought Dice-K would last about 4 innings and would give up 5 runs tonight. Matsuzaka proved everybody wrong and pitched a great game at the Fens tonight.  In 6 scoreless innings he gave up just 3 hits and struck out 5.  RR, Wagner, Bard, and Paps went the rest of the way.  Papelbon looked a little shaky and gave up one run but in the end he shut down the Angels.

The game was tied at 0-0 until the 6th when the Red Sox took the lead on a throwing error by John Lackey.  Ells and Big Papi each had 2 hits in the game.

With the dominating performance by Dice-K tonight, the Red Sox suddenly have the best rotation in baseball.  Going into the playoffs with Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, and Dice-K all pitching well could spell trouble for any team standing in their way.

After the game Matsuzaka talked about how he was feeling:

"On the road back I've been a burden on my teammates more than anything, and I feel that I owe them."

 The Rangers lost again so the Red Sox now lead the wild-card race by 5.5 games.

Red Sox Win 4-1 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
LA Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	6	1
Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	4	9	0

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A Little Added Pressure for Dice-K

When Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound tonight for the Salem Red Sox he will be pitching in game 1 of a best of 5 playoff series against Winston-Salem. This is the inaugural season for the Salem Red Sox so Dice-K will have the added pressure of starting thier first ever playoff game. Even though it is a single A game, the added pressure should give us some indication as to Dice-K's ability to rejoin the rotation as a dependable pitcher for the remainder of the season.

"This is a great way to kick off the 2009 post season for the Salem Sox," said Salem General Manager John Katz. "It's always exciting to have a major-leaguer on the field, and to have a pitcher the caliber of Daisuke Matsuzaka on the bump in game one is really something special."

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Wake and Dice-K

As reported on redsox.com, Tim Wakefield will make a start in Pawtucket on Wednesday, while Dice-K will throw a side session on Friday. Wakefield's return is imminent, provided he has a good outing. Dice-K will pitch in the Gulf Coast League and then return to Boston next week. After the medical staff clears him, he will make 2 starts for Portland before moving on to Pawtucket.

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Statement from Dice-K

From WEEI.com:


BOSTON, MA—Red Sox right-handed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka issued the following statement today:

“I spoke to Tito on the phone yesterday, and I’m very glad that we had a productive conversation.

As for the reports from the past several days, I want to correct some misunderstandings. I did not go public with any complaints and I regret that some of my private conversations were made public without my knowledge or consent.

Also, I never said in public or in private conversation that: ‘If I’m forced to continue to train in this environment, I may no longer be able to pitch like I did in Japan.’

I had no intention of criticizing the team and we are, in fact, working together to communicate, to exchange ideas, and to try to understand one another’s baseball culture as we move forward.

The team and I have had many meetings and conversations, and after shaking hands with the general manager, manager, and coaches on the 24th, I was able to resume my training in a good state of mind.

My goal is to put myself into a position where I can contribute to this team.

I look forward to rejoining my teammates and playing in front of the fans at Fenway Park.”

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Dice-K Blames Struggles on Red Sox

In a move that is not going to get him much love from Red Sox Nation, Dice-K blamed the Red Sox training and throwing program for his struggles this season in an article in the Japanese media.

“If I’m forced to continue to train in this environment, I may no longer be able to pitch like I did in Japan. The only reason why I managed to win games during the first and second years [in the United States] was because I used the savings of the shoulder I built up in Japan. Since I came to the Major Leagues, I couldn't train in my own way, so now I've lost all those savings.”

He also goes on to say that MLB does not understand the training and conditioning methods of Japanese pitchers, causing their careers to flame out.

Even if his point is valid it is not going to sit well with fans who are frustrated with his recent performance.

UPDATE: Red Sox pitching coach John Farell calls out Dice-K's offseason work:

"In hindsight, there might not have been the work that he needed to put in on his own time during the offseason to build the foundation that every pitcher requires to withstand the workloads that a major league starting pitcher is going to go through here in the States."

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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.

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Dice-K Removed From the Rotation

Terry Francona said that Dice-K would not make his next start and the team would take it slow and try to find out what was wrong. John Farrell and Tito need to talk some more before deciding if they should send Matsuzaka to the DL. Francona was not happy with the situation and said, "having other rotation options doesn't make Daisuke's struggles any easier for me."

UPDATE: Dice-K had an MRI tonight that showed no structural damage but it did show weakness in his shoulder. In other words the Red Sox found something that "could" be an injury so they can send him to the DL without breaking any rules. With the abundance of starters the Sox will take it very slow and make sure he is ready to go before he comes back up the next time. In reality it could work out very well having a rested Dice-K ready to go down the stretch.

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Dice-K Emerges From the Shadow of Big Papi

Only this time, it’s not a shadow that one would want to emerge from. Big Papi’s ‘slump’ appears to have been a thing of the past, leaving Dice-K bare-ass naked right now. Yes, I know he’s won 36 games including the post-season in the past 2 years; and yes, I know the Sox have invested over $100m in the guy. But right now, ya can’t trade him, ya can’t send him to Pawtucket, and ya can’t send him to the bullpen. DL? That certainly won’t go over well with DK. About the only thing you can do is cross your fingers, send him out to the mound, and hope to hell he finally breaks out of it.

Tonight, he didn’t. His line is once more ugly as sin: 4 IP, 8 H’s, 6 ER’s, 4 BB’s, 2 K’s, 1 HR allowed, leaving him 1-5, with a Wang-like 8.23 ERA. All this on only 67 pitches. Usually Sox give him plenty of run support, (usually not enough), but their bats were unusually quiet tonight- 2 hits, that was it. Jason Bay clubbed his 18^th HR of the year, but outside of that, they pretty much e-mailed in their AB’s. The left side of the diamond coughed up another E, this time it was Mike Lowell. (OUCH! It hurts to just even write that!)

Theo and Tito gave Papi over 2 months to get past his slump and their patience has paid off. He’s swinging the bat much better these days. Dice-K did spend some time on the DL, so he still has just a little bit of time left before the FO pulls the trigger on some sort of action regarding him. What that action is remains to be seen, but I’m sure glad I don’t have to decide what to do with all those arms.

Sox Lose 8-2 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Braves	2	0	0	2	2	0	1	0	1	8	11	1
Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	2	1

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Tek Talks About Dice-K's Outing - Video

Fans are running out of patience for Dice-K and since Lugo had 4 hits yesterday their focus will go elsewhere. If Dice-K is not 100% then why is he in the rotation right now? Tek gives Matsuzaka a pass because of the rain delay:

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Red Sox Win Slugfest in Philly

The Red Sox quickly put 5 on the board out of the gate but the rain then started to fall and the tarp was on the field before the 2nd inning. After the delay Dice-K took the mound and unfortunately the 2009 post WBC Dice-K showed up and got knocked around. Matsuzaka gave up 4 runs on 7 hits including 2 home runs in 4 innings so the tired bullpen had to step up. Delcarmen and Oki each gave up runs in relief but RR and Paps kept the Phils at bay.

The Red Sox offense provided plenty of fireworks let by Julio Lugo's 4 hits. Bay and Ells each had homers and Mike Lowell went 3-4 in the game. With the Yankees loss to the Mets today the Sox now have a 3 game lead in the A.L. East and have a 5 game winning streak going.

Red Sox Win 11-6 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Red Sox	5	0	0	0	3	0	2	0	1	11	13	0
Phillies	0	0	1	3	1	0	1	0	0	6	13	3

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Red Sox Need a Long Outing From Dice-K

Last night's game used up most of the Red Sox bullpen; Oki, RR, Masterson, Saito and Bard all pitched. That leaves just MDC and Paps with fresh arms. Dice-K has the well known problem of throwing a ton of pitches early and not going very deep into games. The Sox really need him to step up big tonight. With the Brad Penny trade rumors, Dice-K has flown under the radar with his 1 win and 7.33 ERA. If Matsuzaka struggles again tonight the Sox are going to find themselves in a difficult situation; trading Penny might be more risky and fans will be vocal about bringing up Buchholz for Dice-K's spot in the rotation. In the end if Dice-K can get into the 7th tonight with a solid outing all of the other speculation will not matter and Red Sox fans will sleep easy.

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Tito Gets 500th Win

Dice-K pitched well enough to get his first win of the season tonight and Terry Francona had his 500th win.

J-Bay homed in the game and Drew, Tek, and Ells each had multiple hits.

Paps loaded the bases in the 9th but then struck out the side to end the game.

Red Sox Win 5-1 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Red Sox	1	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	5	9	0
Tigers	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	9	2

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Dice-K Needs to Get it Going

Dice-K will have to pitch very well to get the win in tonight's game because the Red Sox are facing a red hot pitcher in Rick Porcello:

1.50 ERA during his current five-game winning streak. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that makes Porcello -- at 20 years, 151 days old -- the second-youngest pitcher in Major League history to go 5-0 with an ERA of 1.50 or better in any five-start span (the Mets' Dwight Gooden went 5-0 with a 1.43 ERA in five starts at age 19 in 1984)

Matsuzaka is still looking for his first win of the season and has an ERA over 8. If he can't get it going tonight there are likely to be rumblings about bringing up Buchholz or allowing Smoltz to take his place in the rotation. If Dice-K and Big Papi can get it going the Red Sox will be in the drivers seat but if they both continue their epic struggles Theo is going to have to make some tough choices.

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Dice-K, Big Papi, and Larry the Cable Guy

Dice-K pitched a rehab game tonight with the PawSox. He had the loss in the game but put up pretty good numbers going 5 innings giving up 3 hits and 2 earned runs. He had good control in the outing and only walked 1 batter while striking out 9. He is set to rejoin the Red Sox when they return to Fenway on Tuesday.

Terry Francona has decided to give David Ortiz the entire series off against the Mariners. He will play again on Tuesday back in Boston. There is still no word if he will remain as the number three hitter when he plays again.



Larry the Cable Guy took BP with the Mariners before tonight's game:

Dressed in a Mariners' jersey with the sleeves cut off -- courtesy of some quick scissors work in the clubhouse by Ken Griffey Jr. -- Cable Guy took some serious hacks and hit a few decent fly balls to the outfield during four rounds of BP.

If he did that in Boston there would be about 20 callers to WEEI saying the Sox should pick him up to replace Big Papi.

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Dice-K Gets the Win for Team Japan

Defending World Baseball Classic Team Japan earned a win last night by beating South Korea 14-2. Dice-K went four innings giving up 4 hits and two runs. Not a great outing for Matsuzaka as he had two walks and gave up a homer, but he did get the win.

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Dice-K Has A Bad Outing For Team Japan

Dice-K did not perform a Houdini act for Team Japan in a tuneup game against Australia. He only lasted 1 2/3 innings and gave up 5 hits and 2 runs.

"There were good points and bad points," the Boston Red Sox right-hander said. "I'll work hard to get ready for the actual games."

Not much to be overly concerned with here, but it was Team Australia he was facing.

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Red Sox Don't Like Losing Dice-K to WBC

While the rest of the rotation gets ready in Ft. Myers Dice-K will be training with the Japanese National team. The Red Sox are taking some precautions according to Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell. From the Herald:

“I know a lot of national pride will be at stake in this setting and we want to respect any individual’s desire to pitch for his country...We have to do what’s consistent with our approach to getting a pitcher ready for the start of our season and mesh that with their approach....Technically speaking, do we have jurisdiction over that? No, but we can make our preferences known....He’s had two years with us now, he’s lived with the challenges of adapting to our approach and he’s more understanding of it. For him to have spring training over there rather than in Fort Myers under our watch, are the mega-bullpen sessions more likely to take place than otherwise?"

The Red Sox have struggled to get a handle on Dice-K's approach. He throws far too many pitches in the early innings and shows fatigue latter in the game. Maybe the Japanese team can help him get past this, but more fatigue from pitching in the World Baseball Classic is not what the team needs.

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Dice-K Will Try To Defend WBC Title

Matsuzaka is going to play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic this spring and will try to win another championship for his home country. Dice-K was the MVP of the WBC in 2006. He told reporters the following yesterday:

"I'll accept the offer if I'm asked to play," Matsuzaka said. "I'll pick up the pace of my training in December so that I won't have to scramble at the last minute."

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Dice-K Talks About Game 1 - Video

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Which Dice-K Will We See Tonight?

How do you feel about having Dice-K on the mound tonight? If you are like most Sox fans you probably think he could do well but are not betting your paycheck on the outcome. Matsuzaka has been terrific on the road this year: 9-0 with a 2.37 ERA. However, in his only start against the Angels he only lasted 5 innings and gave up 6 earned runs. You would think this matchup would heavily favor Dice-K since the Angels do not take many pitches and walks have always been a problem when he starts. He has the uncanny abilty to pitch out of jams but he also has trouble going deep into the game.

It is very likely that this game will go down to the bullpen. Masterson did his job in game one but did not look great. Will Oki have the confidence after being passed over by Tito? Delcarmen and Lopez may make their first appearences of the series and there is always the chance we see Byrd coming in for long relief if Dice-K doesn't have it.

My guess is that Dice-K will pitch well but will get a no decision.

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