The Machine begins to swallow Dice-K

In case there's anyone left who's desperate to see Daisuke Matsuzaka back in Red Sox uniform again, I have a bad omen for you: the telltale smear campaign seems to have begun. This new mudslinging emerged yesterday, in the form of a column by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, "Red Sox in no-win situation with Dice-K," which has gotten quite a reaction in the less-than-24-hours since it was published. I'm no Matsuzaka fan, given his maddening tenure in Boston, but some of the comments from "sources inside the organization" reported there have left an even worse taste in my mouth than Daisuke's career. "Daisuke sits on the disabled list for the fifth time in two seasons," wrote Passan. Among his shoulder, elbow and forearm, he’s faced problems with every part of his arm. The only thing left is his hand, and as many times as he’s raised a figurative middle finger at the organization, it’s a shock he hasn’t hurt that, too. Matsuzaka’s tack ...