Daisuke Matsuzaka had a tough go of it in Double-A yesterday (Sunday), throwing two innings and giving up five runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out one. In other words, the same old Dice-K.
It would be nice to have Dice back for the stretch run -- this is no question -- but if the Sox can get into October, they may not need him. A three- and four-man rotation is usually all that is needed in October. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Tim Wakefield and Paul Byrd, at this point, can help the Sox far more.
Update: Here's a link to photo's Tim took at the game in Manchester yesterday. From his view, Dice-K wasn't throwing his A stuff, almost as if he wasn't even trying the first time through the lineup.
While the Sox fight for their playoff lives, Daisuke Matsuzaka progresses further along in his rehab. With a side session scheduled for Friday, Dice could be back in early September.
Which begs the question, what pitcher will be returning to the mound? The Daisuke of 2008 or the Daisuke of 2009...
Luck hasn't been on his side, I will give him that. Penny has had to deal with a .326 BABIP, while surrendering line drives on only 18 percent of batted balls against. And his LOB percentage is at 66, which is far too low. Eventually, he should strand a few more base-runners.
But it is his love with the fastball, and the home run that is killing him. Do you know how often Penny throws the fastball? 73 percent of the time! This is the American League East, Brad. There has to be somewhat of a reliance on the breaking stuff too. Maybe he doesn't feel comfortable throwing it. And he doesn't always seem to have command of it. But his curveball has a "Pitch Type Value" of -15.4. That is horrendous.
Point is, he has no viable pitch outside of the fastball, and at times he even struggles with that. That is why he is so reliant on it. he simply cannot do anything positive with the breaking ball.
When the 2009 season began, there was very little doubt in anyone's mind that the Red Sox had both the depth and talent in the starting rotation for it to be considered, not only the teams' primary strength, but what made them favorites to advance to the World Series from the American League.
With dueling aces at the top in Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, depth in the middle with Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, and Brad Penny, and a plethora of options at the end ranging from top prospect Clay Buchholz to perennial All-Star and future Hall of Fame pitcher, John Smoltz, the front office had covered the rotation in spades. And that doesn't even look more deeply into the farm system or bullpen where the likes of Justin Masterson (since dealt away), Michael Bowden, and Junichi Tazawa lurked.
Daisuke Matsuzaka may be gone...and to many in 2009 forgotten, but the Red Sox have continued to hold out hope that he'll be "in the mix" come September and potentially the playoffs should the team make it into October ball.
This week, the old cliche gone but not forgotten has reared it's ugly head. In an interview with a Japanese media outlet, Daisuke Matsuzaka took some dirty laundry public all but blaming the Red Sox strength and conditioning program for his injury and his struggles this season.
The 2009 Boston Red Sox are halfway through their season, 49-32 through their first 81 games. The Red Sox not only hold a 1.5 game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East, but also the best record in the American League, trailing over the Dodgers and their .634 winning percentage for the best record in baseball.
The halfway point marks an interesting time to not only take stock of the season that has come to pass, but also to look out at the road ahead and evaluate the terrain that lies between here and the ultimate destination.