What to Do With Daisuke, The Transformation of Lester

What to Do With Daisuke? As the Boston Red Sox get set for their weekend series against Tampa Bay, embattled starter Daisuke Matsuzaka gets prepared for a return to the Red Sox rotation. Under any normal circumstances, the answer would be simple: bench him. But these are not normal circumstances. The dream of sending Daisuke to the pine, alive and kickin' since his horrifying yet successful 2008, is D.O.A. due to the size of his contract. Players who earn as much as Dice does will always get their playing time. That's just the way it is. The team has invested so much in him that they have to give him every opportunity to succeed. 2009 could have been the season where Walksuzaka stopped giving Boston fans coronaries - the additional rotation options could have pushed the free pass machine out the door. It was not in the cards, however, as both Brad Penny and John Smoltz flared out. Had either one been successful, a ...