Dice-K Placed on DL; Future Clear for Red Sox Rotation, Murky for Matsuzaka

by Andrew JohnsonFiled under: Red Sox, MLB InjuriesTurns out it's a good thing the Red Sox cultivated and collected pitchers like a squirrel hording acorns this past winter. Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-5, 8.23 ERA), who has never really seemed right all season, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with what the team is calling "weakness in his shoulder."The move takes a potentially awkward decision out of Boston's hands, clearing the way for John Smoltz to enter the rotation next week in Washington without the club having to either demote a healthy pitcher to the bullpen or convert to a potentially unwieldy six-man rotation.It doesn't fully answer the question of what the club will do with Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden -- both of whom are dominating in the minors right now and have little left to prove there -- but it does clear up the immediate future and officially pull Brad Penny off the trading block.Starkly in contrast to that is Matsuzaka whose futur...