While I was celebrating Dice-K’s birthday a couple days ago, I was wondering how often I saw he play live. So, I looked it up. As it turns out, I saw him pitch in person five times. Looking it over, I noticed something. I now understand why I never had much of a problem with him. Take a look at the results.
Those are pretty darn good numbers.
No wonder I don’t remember myself being insanely frustrated by his long starts. I probably didn’t see many of them. Sure, he gave up three or four walks a couple times. And he gave up seven hits in one appearance. But he didn’t give up any runs. Typical Matsuzaka.
And look at those numbers projected over a season. 19-6? That’s insane. A 2.16 ERA while striking out 237 guys? That’s a monster season. That’s the guy the Red Sox thought they were getting. That’s the performance that they were expecting. Maybe even the numbers they were hoping for.
It’s just that he only did it while I was watching. That may have skewed my judgement of his time with the Sox. Or, maybe, it simply allowed my to be more objective about him. I wasn’t tainted with horrible performances. I had a solid base to work from. How about you?
How did Daisuke perform when you were in the park?
I saw him pitch when he was rehabbing in Pawtucket. I think part of his problem was that the Sox did not let him train what he was used to when he was in Japan. They tried to change him. He is not doing that well in Japan either. He had shoulder surgery last year and has had numerous injuries. He is still in the minors trying to work his way back. He is still my favorite player and I wish him well. Enjoy your articles.
ReplyDeleteFun that you got to see him in the rehab start. I also think that not allowing him to follow his usual routine was an issue. Seems weird, but it had obviously been working before. All of a sudden he has arm trouble after adjusting to the change.
Delete