Daisuke Matsuzaka News

Daisuke Matsuzaka down in dumps
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October 17
Boston Herald
 
"Daisuke Matsuzaka was understandably despondent after the Red Sox’ miraculous 8-7 comeback victory last night in Game 5 of the ALCS. He was solely responsible for putting them in a 5-0 hole, giving up a two-run home run to B.J. Upton with no outs in the first inning, then a two-run shot to Carlos Pena in the third, which was immediately followed by Evan Longoria’s solo homer. He lasted only four-plus innings. “I allowed a few home runs today and I’ve said throughout the season that home runs are something that are preventable, so I’m very disappointed that I made those mistakes today,” Matsuzaka said. “I just have to say a word of thanks to the relievers that pitched behind me and the guys ..."
Matsuzaka in right spot?
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October 16
Boston Globe
 
"Daisuke Matsuzaka smiled as his translator repeated a reporter's observation, that the Red Sox brought him from the Seibu Lions to Boston so he could pitch games like tonight's. It is a must-win playoff game, the type of night the Sox would once have preferred to be handled by Josh Beckett, currently a husk of himself, or Jon Lester, proved mortal earlier this week. Now Matsuzaka may be Boston's best hope. He considered the notion, bobbing his head back and forth as if he enjoyed the idea, and answered. "I'm not Beckett," Matsuzaka said. "But if I can pitch like he did last year and hand the ball off to the guys behind me, that would be great." If anybody knows how to operate down, 3-1, ..."
Red Sox’ 2008 rally starts with Daisuke Matsuzaka
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October 16
Boston Herald
 
"Daisuke Matsuzaka needs a Josh Beckett moment. Matsuzaka gets the ball tonight for Game 5 of the ALCS with the Red Sox on the brink of elimination against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Sox were in a similar situation a year ago, down 3-1 to the Cleveland Indians. Beckett snapped the team’s three-game slide by scattering five hits with 11 strikeouts and one walk in a 7-1 victory. The Sox rode that momentum all the way to a World Series championship. “I’m not Beckett,” Matsuzaka said yesterday through interpreter Masa Hoshino. “But if I can pitch like he did last year and hand the ball off to the guys behind me, that would be great.” Matsuzaka is the lone Sox pitcher to produce a quality start ..."
Righty picks perfect time to come up aces
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October 11
Boston Herald
 
"All season long, as Daisuke Matsuzaka was winning game after game, it was understood he was not an ace. He put up ace-like numbers, but, no, sorry, Josh Beckett remained the incumbent top dog and that’s just the way it was going to be. Even when Beckett experienced all kinds of aches and pains, even when he faltered, even when he went on the disabled list, it only meant young left-hander Jon Lester was brought in as a sort of fill-in ace. The Dice Man, meanwhile, kept winning. He was the best five-inning starter in the business, a backhanded compliment delivered to a right-handed pitcher. But the Red Sox handed Matsuzaka the ball for Game 1 of the American League Championship Series ..."
No telling what Red Sox will get with Daisuke Matsuzaka
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October 10
Boston Herald
 
"Dustin Pedroia said the noise at Tropicana Field will make it almost impossible for Red Sox players to communicate with one another, a familiar feeling for at least one of his teammates. Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Sox’ starting pitcher for tonight’s American League Championship Series opener, has been playing the game this way for two years now. Welcome to my world, El Caballito. Just nod and smile if you can understand me. Somehow it is only fitting that Dice-K gets the ball tonight as the Sox take the carpet in the Trop. The Tampa faithful have been passionately supporting their Rays for, oh, nearly three weeks now, and they are promising to blow the catwalks off their venerable old dome. ..."
Dice-K gets first turn
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October 9
Boston Herald
 
"The Red Sox will go with a starting rotation of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield in the American League Championship Series. The theories behind the order are plentiful, but the Red Sox are hoping to get the most out of Beckett, rusty in Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the Angels on Sunday, and save their best, Lester, for last (a Game 7 if necessary). “Before Beckett’s last start, he was the best postseason pitcher maybe in the history of the game,” Sox manager Terry Francona said before yesterday’s workout at Fenway Park. “He had the audacity to be a little rusty after two weeks. We don’t need to run away from Beckett, we need to get him on a run.” ..."
Daisuke Matsuzaka gets Game 1 nod
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October 8
Boston Herald
 
"Eliminating the Angels in four games did more than save the Red Sox a cross-country trip and a nerve-racking Game 5 AL Division Series showdown. It also allowed the club to enter its American League Championship Series matchup against Tampa Bay with a fully rested pitching staff. Manager Terry Francona announced today that Daisuke Matsuzaka will get the ball in Game 1 (Friday at 8:37 p.m. at Tropicana Field), followed by Josh Beckett in Game 2. Jon Lester (Game 3) and Tim Wakefield (Game 4) will pitch at Fenway Park. No starter will have less than five days’ rest when they take the mound for their first start. “The reasoning is actually pretty simple,” manager Terry Francona said of his ..."
Daisuke Matsuzaka disappoints
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October 4
Boston Herald
 
"You knew, from the very beginning, that Game 2 of the Division Series last night at Angel Stadium was going to come down to the bullpens. The Red Sox, after all, lit up Angels starter Ervin Santana for four first-inning runs, three coming across on a home run to center field by the other left fielder who is lighting up October, Jason Bay. And the Angels were facing Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, and, well, let’s stop right here and ask: Did anyone, anywhere, think the Dice Man was going to grunt and groan his way into the late innings last night? ’Nuf said. So it came down to Jonathan Papelbon vs. Francisco Rodriguez. Pap vs. K-Rod. K-Rod lost. Man, did he ever. For when, surprise, ..."
Feeling his way
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September 30
Boston Globe
 
"The baseball rolled across his fingertips, around his palm, and over his skin. He touched it, judging by weight and by feel, smooth hide and raised seams. Daisuke Matsuzaka knew the differences, had felt them every time he pulled his right arm back to throw. The baseball in Japan was smaller, lighter, fit in the hand in ways these new baseballs, these American baseballs, didn't. He had felt it every time he touched the ball in his first season in the United States, jarring and uncomfortable each time, the dusty ash left over from the way the balls are prepared not fitting with the tacky feel he was used to, from sand used in Japan. He had learned to accept the feel by the end of last ..."
Dice-K gets coveted win No. 18
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September 22
Boston Herald
 
"Daisuke Matsuzaka reached a personal milestone yesterday that has been 10 years in the making. In one of his more dominant performances of the season, Matsuzaka picked up win No. 18 against just two losses, allowing just two leadoff doubles to the Blue Jays over seven shutout innings in the Sox’ 3-0 win. “Since the moment I turned pro, I wanted to match the win total to the number on my jersey,” Matsuzaka said through his interpreter Masa Hoshino. “It took me 10 years but I finally got there. Now that I got there, it just feels like any other win.” In eight seasons with Seibu of the Nippon Professional Baseball League, Matsuzaka had never surpassed 17 wins, a career high he reached in his ..."
No-decision OK with Daisuke Matsuzaka
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September 4
Boston Herald
 
"If anyone ever deserved to buy his team multiple rounds of drinks in appreciation for the no-decision in the Red Sox’ 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles yesterday, it is Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Sox starter kept his sterling record of 16-2 intact, with the right-hander at his baffling best. He threw 50 pitches in the first two innings yet only allowed one run in his first three frames. He surrendered three runs in the fourth before holding the Orioles hitless in his last two innings. After turning a 4-0 deficit over to the bullpen, Matsuzaka watched the offense score five times for the victory. “My pitching was one thing but right now we need to win games, so to pull it off the way we ..."
Another solid Dice roll by Daisuke Matsuzaka
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August 30
Boston Herald
 
"The be-all and end-all for the Red Sox’ chances to repeat as world champions depends upon the quality of their pitching. So all in all, yesterday was a good day. It began with the news that Josh Beckett’s elbow is fine. During last night’s game, top prospect Michael Bowden was announced as tonight’s starting pitcher. And the good news night was completed by Daisuke Matsuzaka, who moved to 16-2 with a sterling performance. Matsuzaka held the White Sox to just two hits in the Red Sox’ 8-0 homestand-opening victory. Not only is Matsuzaka pitching far above his 15-win 2007 self, he is getting better later in the season, going 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA this month compared to 1-3, 4.45 ERA last ..."
Daisuke Matsuzaka walks on tightrope
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August 15
Boston Herald
 
"Daisuke Matsuzaka is challenging for the best pitching record in Red Sox history, but nothing is coming easy for the right-hander. He pitched seven shutout innings in last night’s 10-0 win over the Texas Rangers but allowed 11 baserunners on six hits and five walks, only to step up when the pressure was on and complete the Sox’ league-leading 12th shutout. Matsuzaka held the Rangers hitless in four at-bats with runners in scoring position and permitted only two to advance past second base. “There are some technical adjustments that I need to make but I think I can prepare as I usually do for my next start,” he said. Matsuzaka, whose 14-2 record trails only Bob Stanley’s 15-2 mark in 1978 ..."
Matsuzaka calls the shots
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August 10
Boston Globe
 
"Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched a gem last night, allowing one run on four hits over eight innings in the Red Sox' 6-2 win over the White Sox. "I didn't want to be responsible for our second loss in the row. I made some mistakes but I hung in there and battled through," Matsuzaka said through an interpreter. Matsuzaka improved to 13-2, and his ERA dropped to 2.90. He had the White Sox' batters off-balance and sometimes overmatched on a night when he also walked three, hit a batter, struck out four, and had a very good slider and fastball. Matsuzaka threw four double-play grounders (three off the bat of A.J. Pierzynski). "He continues not to give up hits," said manager Terry Francona. "He made ..."
Fuzzy picture on pitcher
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August 4
Boston Globe
 
"Bill Parcells was fond of the statement "You are what your record says you are." So how can anyone explain Daisuke Matsuzaka? Matsuzaka is 12-2 with a 3.04 ERA after yesterday's 5-2 win over the A's. Yet once again he wasn't able to get to the seventh inning. He's only reached the seventh seven times in his 19 starts. Yesterday was not unlike some of his other sub-seven-inning starts. He pitched perfectly well, held the opposition down, and allowed just four hits. Is it time to stop complaining about how good Matsuzaka should be and just accept what he is? Matsuzaka struck out eight A's, who lead the majors with 841 strikeouts. And he also pitched very well when it counted. The A's went ..."
Daisuke Matsuzaka continues strong run on mound
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August 4
Boston Herald
 
"Daisuke Matsuzaka’s impressive win-loss record may have been somewhat deceptive during the first three months of the season. However, the Red Sox right-hander has been putting some substance behind the numbers during the past five weeks, including his performance yesterday in a 5-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park. Matsuzaka (1