I just wanted to make note of a few things. First of all, the photographers down in Fort Myers are doing a tremendous job. If you haven’t already, check out some of the slide shows that The Boston Globe has put together. They provide a new one for every day. For those of you who may not of heard, today was Photo Day so the Red Sox players dressed up and even worked out in their home uniforms. We got only the second view of Matsuzaka at work in a Red Sox uniform and boy did it look good. Matsuzaka threw his first official batting practice today. Here are some thoughts on how it went according to Tom Caron’s blog.
“Daisuke Matsuzaka threw 44 pitches, about the same as the other starters we watched, and dazzled onlookers with a variety of pitches. He seemed to have very good bite on his breaking stuff, and blew a couple of fastballs by hitters Luis Jiminez and Jacoby Ellsbury. Bobby Scales and Kevin Cash were the other hitters to face Matsuzaka.
“He threw a slider on his first pitch,” said Ellsbury. “I don’t swing and miss a lot, but I missed by about six inches. And I knew it was coming.”
Ellsbury said Matsuzaka’s mastery of six (or more) pitches will keep hitters off balance, and the long pause at the top of his wind-up will make the new Sox pitcher tough to hit.
“It’s a little bit slower,” said Ellsbury of the windup, “but at the same time it’s smooth.”
Matsuzaka is to make his first Spring Training start in just 6 days. It’s been announced that the Boston College game, not usually broadcast will be picked up by NESN. Congratulations for those of you who live in New England. Unfortunately, I am not among you. He will pitch 2 innings next Friday in a game that’s scheduled for 6:05. The Red Sox begin their Spring Training schedule in just 4 days against The Twins. That game is schedule for Wednesday at 7:05.
