Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
Daisuke Matsuzaka has been incredibly consistent so far this season. Consistently bad really, and last night was no different versus the Atlanta Braves. You'd think facing off against a fellow Japanese player would get his blood pumping, right. No. He threw 4 + IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2K and 106 pitches. Not good at all. In fact, it's down right awful. Daisuke is now 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA. He's allowed 53 hits in 35 innings pitched. He's allowed a .378 batting average against.
On the flip side, Kenshin Kawakami was clearly ready for this game. He pitched 6 innings and allowed only 2 hits, 2 runs and struck out 5. Kawakami is not nearly as heralded in his home country as Matsuzaka. This is a game that was still anticipated in Japan, but not nearly as much as the first time Ichiro faced Daisuke three years ago. The Braves dominated last night in the 8-2 trouncing of the Red Sox. Garret Anderson, a long time Sox killer, went 3 for 3 and drove in 4 of the 8 runs.
Now back to Daisuke. In my opinion, there are three things you can do with him. Either come up with a phantom injury so he can spend some time on the DL, send him down to Pawtucket and let him pitch every 5 days and work through his problems down there, or send him back to Florida for extended Spring Training. I think this is the best option. Let him get away from game action for a little while and try to work with a pitching instructor to break down what he's doing wrong. He has a full no trade clause, so there's virtually no way you can deal him. After winning 18 games last season, I doubt the Sox will want to get rid of him. Especially since his problems really stem from the World Baseball Classic he pitched so well in prior to the season. He'll be back to his usual self next season after he's allowed his dead arm to rest. I've heard people mention putting him in the bullpen. That will certainly not work because he walks to many people. That would be a disaster.
It shouldn't be too long before we find out the Sox's plans for Dice-K. John Smoltz is scheduled to pitch on June 25th. Brad Penny has pitched well enough to stay in the rotation and Tim Wakefield should be going to the All Star game for the first time. The only real option is removing Dice-K from the rotation. I guess we'll just have to see what Boston decides.
Stay tuned....
