Tazawa - Boston Wolverine (flickr)
Are there three more dreaded words in baseball than “Dr. James Andrews,” the world-renowned orthopedic surgeon in Birmingham, Alabama?
A visit to Dr. Andrews isn’t a mere social call but, rather, for an examination of a potentially serious injury.
That was the case in the spring of 2010 for Boston’s prized, young right-hander Junichi Tazawa, who eventually underwent Tommy John surgery on April 6 to replace a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
The Red Sox, understandably, had reason to be concerned, considering that in his first season in the United States (2009), he jumped from Portland to Pawtucket and then to Boston.
Tazawa excelled with the Sea Dogs (9-5, 2.57 ERA) and the PawSox (0-2 in two starts but with a 2.38 ERA) before making his major league debut with Boston. In six games (four starts), he was 2-3 with a 7.46 ERA. But considering he only was 24 years old at the time and was getting his first taste of major league hitters, his future was considered to be as bright as a comet soaring through the skies.
Then came spring training of 2010 when Tazawa experienced tightness in his elbow after Tampa Bay torched him for four runs on four hits in one inning on March 22.
His next stop was Birmingham and a year-long stint on the disabled list plus the arduous rehab that comes after an operation of this nature.
Tazawa, of course, made waves in 2008 when he asked Japan’s professional teams not to draft him because he wanted to play major league ball in the United States. As a result, Boston outbid other teams and signed him to a three-year, $3.3 million contract in December of that year.
Despite being sidelined for so long, Tazawa refused to play the “what if game?” as in “What if I hadn’t been injured, where would I have been pitching in 2011?”
“I didn’t think too much about what if I didn’t have the surgery because, even if I had a tiny chance of not having the surgery and going through all the rehab and pitch again, I completely trusted my trainer, the team doctors and all the team staff,” Tazawa said through interpreter Kazuto Sakita.
Tazawa was given clearance to resume pitching on May 20, first at High-A Salem where in six starts he was 0-1 with a 6.05 ERA over 19 1/3 innings.
Boston bumped him to Portland on June 27 where he continued to improve.
In eight games (two starts), he was 3-2 with a 4.70 ERA with seven walks and 27 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched.
Tazawa has continued to progress since he was promoted to Pawtucket on August 8. During his first seven relief appearances, he was 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA encompassing 13 1/3 innings replete with two walks and 17 strikeouts.
Not surprisingly, both Tazawa and PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler (who had Tazawa at Portland in 2009) feel he’s yet to regain the form he showed prior to his operation.
“I’m not there yet,” said Tazawa. “I think I’m at 85 percent as compared with two years ago.
“The most difficult thing I’ve had is I haven’t been able to let go of the ball as strongly as before. At first, I was really worried about where the ball would go. That was the most difficult thing for me to overcome. But I’d have to say I had mental issues more than physical issues.”
Beyeler was more precise when analyzing Tazawa’s progress.
“The velocity is pretty close,” he said. “It’s not quite there, consistency-wise, but it is pretty close. He’s not a whole lot more than he was in Portland. It was just that he was more consistent … 91, 92 consistently. He works down in the zone and his ball has a little better plane on it.
“The biggest thing I’ve noticed is, when he went to the big leagues, he learned how to pitch a little bit. He learned how to work off his fastball instead of just throwing it. He moves it in and out. His slider is effective. His split-finger is a lot better than we used to see it. It rained a lot when he was with us so he didn’t like to throw it when he couldn’t feel it so I didn’t see it a lot.
“Seeing it here now,” continued Beyeler, “it’s a very effective pitch for him. And the little rolling breaking ball he throws he’s starting to command a little better. The command seems to get better every time out. But the command of his fastball is the major difference between now and when I saw him a couple of years ago.”
What Boston has seen since the organization signed him is a pitcher who refuses to nibble.
That’s manifested in his minor league career stats. In 165 innings through September 2, Tazawa’s struck out 166 batters and walked only 43.
“He’s never been that way,” Beyeler said adamantly. “When we first got him, he was compared with Daisuke Matsuzaka a little bit. He’s never been a guy who’s shied away from contact. He’s gone right after hitters.
“What we’ve seen a lot is he has another gear he goes to when guys get on base and in scoring position. That’s fun to watch. This guy is a competitor. He goes right after guys. He likes to strike out guys. He isn’t about nibbling and messing around.
“He trusts his stuff and has pretty good stuff. He has a pretty good repertoire with which to work. He’s a four-to-five pitch guy … cutter, sinker, split, changeup and fastball. He’s aggressive and he commands the baseball. When he commands the ball and mixes in that other stuff, he’ll slow you down, slow you down and then he can bang you away with the fastball.”
Even though Tazawa’s been a starter throughout his career, Boston assigned him to the bullpen when he was moved to Portland.
That begs the question “What plans do Boston have for him?”
“I don’t know about next year,” said Tazawa. “I have an assignment to be a reliever this year and I’m going to do whatever they’ve told me. I’m just going to take it step by step.”
Regardless of what role he fills, Beyeler is confident Tazawa post-surgery still has the ability to force Boston to make a decision.
“If he keeps throwing up numbers like this, he’s definitely going to get looked at depending on what they think of his durability and of his comeback here,” said Beyeler. “But I definitely think he’s going to put himself in a very favorable position going into next year to see what they want to do with him.”