Bikkuri pt. 2

I admit, I've always had a soft spot for Daisuke Matsuzaka.

I loved the acquisition in 2007, and while he could be frustrating to watch as he tried to nibble the corners when he lost confidence in attacking the batters, I liked his stutter-step delivery.

Naturally I was as frustrated as all other Red Sox fans when he blew the 2009 season due to overuse in the WBC and his subsequent lying about his injury. However, having a decent idea about the Japanese mentality of pride and performing through pain, I never thought of him as selfish, quite the opposite.

Many a times have I gotten very riled up by so-called Red Sox "fans" posting one mindless comment about him after another;

"$100m? Waste of money"

"Trade him, he's useless"

or my personal favourite;

"Release him, we can do better"

Ok, let's take a look at Dice-K in a Red Sox uniform:

1. Myth no. 1 - "He's paid $100m". Actually, no. Red Sox paid Seibu Lions $51.11m for the posting rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka and the son of Satan...eh, Scott Boras. As much as Boras wanted to keep the posting cost and the contract separate, Epstein and co played hard ball and ended up with a contract paying Dice-K $52m over 6 years, an average of 8.6m per year. Compare that to Jeff Suppan, who was signed 3 months prior to Dice-K, and would also be considered a no.3 pitcher, who is on $10.5m per year (and has performed much, much worse.
   
   
2. Myth 2 - "He's useless, trade him." - In the two year span of 2007-2008, Matsuzaka went 33-15 with a 3.72 ERA, second best in wins in the AL after Roy Halladay (and one more win than Josh Beckett over those two years). Clearly Dice-K is not a no.1 starter, he simply does not pitch enough innings for that, averaging 186 innings over those two years, but to make a fair comparison 2009 has to be removed from the equation - obviously partly because of Dice-K's own actions, but many pitchers have lost seasons and effectiveness due to injury. After his DL stint in 2009, he went 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA in four starts in September and October.
   
   
3. Myth 3 - "Release him". See, this is the one that irks me the most. Why would the Red Sox release an at least serviceable pitcher? For those "fans" who make such statements, releasing a player does not mean the team stops paying him. If Dice-K was released, any other team with the best waiver position could pick him up and only pay him the league minimum. The Sox would still have to pay more than $8m per year until 2012. Despite John Henry's obvious wealth, even the Sox wouldn't do something as stupid. And remember, his salary would still count against the luxury tax, even if he was released. (See Kei Igawa being stuck in AAA for the Yankees).

Dice-K started well for 5 innings in his season opener against the O's until he unravelled in the 6th inning. Another poor one inning, this time the first inning, against the Halos in his second start put a black stain on his record, but he buckled down and managed to pitch 5.1 innings for the win.

Yesterday he showed signs that his mechanics and perhaps more importantly his mental approach is getting close to top form as he allowed 1 run, 3 hits and no walks in one of his best starts ever against the Blue Jays.

Whilst he still has to prove through consistent performances that he's back in good form, I predict he'll win 15 games for the Sox with a 4 ERA. A hell of a lot better than you'd get for pretty much any pitcher on the market for that money.