I’m a Red Sox fan, so don’t get me wrong. I like Daisuke Matsuzaka – even think that he’s a good pitcher. But as I recall, the Sox paid him big bucks in the hope that he’d be better than just a “good’ pitcher.
As far as I can tell, he just hasn’t improved much over the last few years that he’s been with the Red Sox. He still has periods of inconsistency, problems with pitch selection and placement and generally throws way too many pitches.
Take his losing effort last night: During the five innings he pitched, he threw 4 wild pitches and allowed three runs on nine hits and three walks. And although he struck out six, he also threw a 102 pitches.
When I was watching the game last night, he was up in the 50+ pitches I think in the second inning. That’s just too many pitches. It’s how he began with the Sox and I don’t see any improvement.
Nobody can sustain that high a pitch count. Either he’s going to wear out over the season (as has already happened), or burn out his arm for good in another few short years.
The Boston Globe notes that Dice K has only started 4 games this year, all of which the Sox lost. His longest game went 5 1/3 innings.
I don’t know if Matsuzaka lacks command or it has more to do with the pitching staff working more closely with him.
But so far this year, I’m not impressed.
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