http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/21459 Recent articles about Daisuke Matsuzaka en-us Sunday, August 3rd Xavier Nady went 4 for 5 with a Run, a Double, a HR, and 6 RBI. Manny Ramirez went 4 for 5 with 2 Runs, a Double, a HR, and 3 RBI. Gerald Laird hit a pair of HRs and had 4 RBI. Mike Aviles went 4 for 4 with 3 RBIs. Chone Figgins went 4 for 5 with 3 Runs. Mark Teixeira hit a Grand Slam. Bobby Abreu (3 Runs), Joey Votto, Austin Kearns, Placido Polanco, Carlos Delgado, Billy Butler, Mitch Maier, Alfonso Soriano, Matt Kemp (3 Runs), Stephen Drew, each had 3 Hits. Erick Aybar, Raul Ibanez, and Miguel Olivo each had 3 RBI. A-Rod, Alex Gordon, and Jose Guillen each scored 3 Runs. Jorge Campillo tossed 7 scoreless Innings with 6 Ks to improve to 6-4 with a 2.58 ERA. Francisco Liriano tossed 6 scoreless Innings giving up 3 Hits while striking out 5 for his first Win of the year. Dice-K gave up 2 Runs on 4 Hits in 6 Innings with 8 Ks to improve to 12-2 with a 3.04 ERA. Randy Wolf tossed 5 scoreless Innings with 7 Ks to improve to 7-10. Zack Greinke gave up 2 Runs in 6-1/3 Innings with 6 Ksd to improve to 9-7 with a 3.93 ERA. Greg Maddux gave up 1 Run on 2 Hits in 6 Innings to improve to 5-8. Scott Olsen (1 Hit in 6 scoreless Inning), Armando Galarraga (7 Innings, 1 Run, 4 Hits), James Shields (6-1/3 Innings, 2 Runs), Brett Myers (6 Innings, 2 Runs, 4 Hits), and Todd Wellemeyer (6 Innings, 1 Run, 4 Hits) but got no-decisions. Kevin Correia gave up 2 Runs on 3 Hits in 6-1/3 Innings, but lost. Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:42:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300492 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300492 Angels 7, Sox 5 WP: Weaver (9-8) LP: Matsuzaka (11-2) SV: Rodriguez (44) HRs: BOS-Ramirez (20); LAA-Hunter (16), Kotchman (12) Summary: The Red Sox lost to the other team from L.A. for the sixth straight time when Casey Kotchman and Torii Hunter both hit home runs off Daisuke Matsuzaka in a six-run sixth. Boston gave Dice-K a 2-1 lead [...] Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:35:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297567 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297567 I want to preface this blog by saying I think John Farrell is a great pitching coach, and could easily be a successful manager, but….. Sunday night, Sox are winning big. Lester seems to be struggling through the 5th inning, especially after giving up a soft chopper down the third base line to Derek Jeter. Bases now loaded with Bobby Abreau coming up. But wait, John Farrell steps out of the dugout to talk to his left hander. It must have been a great pep talk, because Lester went ahead and walked in a run with 5 pitches. What could he have possibly said to mess up his control that bad? Hold that thought… Monday night, Sox are down one, looking to escape a big inning. The Halos have men on first and third, I believe, and Dice-K is starting to get rocked. The righty Justin Masterson is warming in the pen, but instead of Tito making his way out to replace the Dice Man, its Farrell again. Pacing towards the mound to 'settle his pitcher down'… Three pitches later, Torii Hunter cracks a back breaking three run bomb that landed somewhere near the Boulevard in Lowell. 2 nights. 2 failed mound visits. Luckily, Lester was able to calm himself down and get out of the inning, securing the win for the Lansdowne 9. Dice K, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He picked up the loss after getting pulled in favor of Masterson once Torii Hunter did his trademark bat flip and crossed home. Here's my question to you… What could Farrell possibly be saying to make matters worse on the mound for an already struggling pitcher?!! Please leave your comments below…. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:11:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297387 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297387 Matsuzaka imploded in the 6th, giving up 2 homers and 5 runs... the Sox never recovered and lost their 4th game in a row to the Angels. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:12:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297366 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297366 Manny Ramirez has been a bit of a distraction as of late, but the Sox have bigger fish th fry with the Angels in town... Matsuzaka faces Weaver tonight... get the preview at The Bottom Line. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:26:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/296940 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/296940 Sox 4, Mariners 2 WP: Matsuzaka (11-1) LP: Dickey (2-5) SV: Papelbon (30) HRs: BOS-Drew (18); SEA-None Summary: Daisule Matsuzaka won his 11th game with another solid start, and J.D. Drew got the offense going early with a first inning home run as Boston crept back to within a 1/2 game of first place, thanks to another Rays loss. #1 Stunner:Matsuzaka 7.1IP, [...] Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:39:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294420 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294420 Hey, boy, where you been so long? Don't you know me? I'm your ace in the hole. -Paul Simon Public Service Announcement: Ok, here we go! Matsuzaka, Matsuzaka, Matuzaka! The new king of old Fenway Pahka! Dice-K. D-Nice. He's delightful, he's delicious, he's delectable, he's delirious, he's de limit, he's deluxe, he's de-lovely, he's D-Nice although he hates to admit it, he's taking out you suckers and you don't know how he did it. Took out some suckers late last night. Took out the Seattle Mariners late last night. Late last night, Daisuke Matsuzaka earned his eleventh win in twelve decisions. Eleven out of twelve. Yowza! That puts D-Nice in some pretty good company. Three's company. Actually seven's company. Eight if you include the Rocket. Eight is enough to fill our lives with love. The Rocket is the only Red Sox pitcher who started a season at 12-0. The guys who have started 11-1 are Boom Boom Beckett, Pedro, Tim Wakefield, Stanley Steamer, Monster Dick Radatz, Lefty Grove and Cy Young himself. And when I say Cy Young, you know what I'm talking about, boyeeeee! Not too shabby. Late last night, Matsuzaka made a pathetic Mariner offense look even more pitiful. He did it with the slider. A knee buckling, mind bending, world beating pitch sure to amaze and mystify. Amazed and mystified Seattle late last night. He's been amazing and mystifying all year. Purists may be infuriated with D-Nice's tendency to nibble and walk batters. Purists may frown upon the fact that he does not pound the strike zone. I say turn that frown upside down. Upside down. Boy, you turn me. Inside out. And round and round. Turning folks round and round putting up strong numbers across the board. Turning folks round and round while cutting way down on bombs allowed. Among starting pitchers who have at least eighty innings pitched this season, Matsuzaka is tied with Cubs RHP Rich Harden with only five home runs allowed this season. Holy Cow! Even holier when you consider Matsuzaka allowed twenty-five bombs last season. Where are the naysayers now? The not today sayers. The just walk away sayers. Last I heard, D-Nice will never make it. Last I heard, being a star in Japan meant nothing. Last I heard, the WBC was a joke. Last I heard, the Red Sox took all that money, took all that money, and threw it down the sewer. Thing is, no one told Daisuke. Nobody told me there'd be days like these. Nobody told me there'd be days like these. Strange days indeed. Cy Young days. And when I say Cy young, you know what I'm talking about boyeeeeeee! Public Acknowledgements: Cole Porter, Jack Tripper, Dick Van Patten and Diana Ross and John Lennon Peace out homies. Six two and Even! Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:48:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294327 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294327 The brooms are being prepped, the smell of dominance is in the air, and the Boston Red Sox are one win away from their first sweep against a road opponent since a brief two-game series with the Cleveland Indians, April 14-15. Everybody knows the story about the Red Sox' road woes this year. The good guys currently stand at 23-32 on the road. The only reason they've been so competitive in the AL East is the sheer supremacy at home. With a record of 36-11, the Red Sox easily have been the best team in the Majors at home. Yawkey Way certainly treats them well. [...] Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:20:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294253 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294253 Matsuzaka has walked 57 batter in just 88 innings, will Seattle finally be the team that make him pay? And what does the "R.A." stand for Mr. Dickey ??? Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:31:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293905 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293905 Terry Francona: You a right, Joe (Maddon)…I don't…have…spades. (flips cards over) Terry Francona: Aces…Full. As of today, the team with the most momentum heading into this week's All Star break is none other than the Boston Red Sox. After a dreaded road trip in which the Sox dropped 7 of 10 games, the team was 5 and a half games from the then first place Tampa Bay Rays. However, with a sweep of Minnesota, taking two of three games against the woeful Orioles, and with a little help from the Cleveland Indians, the Red Sox have managed to climb back atop the standings in the AL East. [...] Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:12:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290162 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290162 It's been a long, long time since the Red Sox began their season in Japan and finally, the Nation finds itself at the midway point of the season with the All-Star break finally here. A few recent points of interest before we get into the Report Card portion of things: -I heard that Peter Gammons reported Sunday that the Sox turned down an offer from the Atlanta Braves which would send impending free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira to Boston for first baseman Kevin Youkilis and reliever Craig Hansen. The deal was turned down, but notable for a few reasons. Sox GM Theo Epstein must be pretty confident that David Ortiz is going to return sooner than later and that they wouldn't need Tex's .271/17/69 RBI. Either that or they think they can get a better deal somewhere else without giving up Youk's All-Star numbers of .314/15/63. Interesting, nonetheless, but I certainly think Theo made the right call here. Youk is still young and can be re-signed for good money, while Tex is going to be a free agent and probably will command about $15 million per season. -Never has an injury been celebrated so much as Julio Lugo's quad injury Friday which the shortstop suffered running out an infield single. In his second season of his four-year deal with the Sox, Lugo is still cementing his status as worst free agent signing during the Epstein era. Mr. Error is hitting .261 with 1 homer and 22 RBI, matched up with 16 errors (tied for MLB lead) and a ML-worst .945 fielding percentage among shortstops. Lugo will be out for 4-6 weeks and the Jed Lowrie era can now begin. This will be Lowrie's third visit to Boston and hopefully, he can pick up where he left off. He started his career with an eight-game hit streak and went 3-4 in his final game. In total, Lowrie hit .310 with 1 homer and seven RBI. By comparison, Lugo hit one homer with 22 RBI in 261 at-bats. -David Ortiz will begin a six-game rehabilitation stint in the minor leagues Thursday, starting with three games in Triple-A Pawtucket, followed by three games in Double-A Portland. His first series back if everything works well? Against the New York Yankees in Fenway Park on Friday, July 25th. -The fact that the Sox are now in first place and lead the Rays by .5 game is pretty incredible when you take the following into account: they've played 97 games already, had three 10-game road trips and had just nine days off since April 1st. With more than half of their remaining 65 games left at home, things continue to look up for the prospect of taking home their second straight AL East title. First Half Grading Hitting: B It's amazing that the group has still remained offensively powerful without one of their biggest guns - Ortiz - for much of the past six weeks. Thankfully, J.D. Drew (.302/17/55/.412 OBP) flourished in his time at the 3rd spot in the batting order, Dustin Pedroia (.314/9/47 RBI) has been on an unreal tear lately and Youkilis is enjoying his first All-Star season. Mike Lowell (.297/13/57) continues to be overlooked offensively at his position while Jacoby Ellsbury has struggled at times in his first full season. And of course, Manny is Manny, returning to form with a .293/18/60 so far this year and a penchant for going into really long power droughts. The biggest disappointments have to be Lugo for all of the reasons mentioned earlier and catcher Jason Varitek, whose .218/7/28 numbers could be a sad indication of where his career could finally be at. Unfortunately, Coco Crisp has also taken a turn for the offensive worse, meaning that when all three of these guys make up the 7-9 spots in your batting order, it's as near automatic outs as you'll get. This team overall needs Ortiz back as soon as possible to help the club avoid the streaks where they score a total of five runs in three games. Bench: C Sean Casey and Brandon Moss have been effective when getting the call, while Crisp has just his defense going for him right now. Alex Cora has been pretty insignificant thus far and the club will probably have to add a bit of depth before the trading deadline to give the infielders a break. Maybe a guy like Texas' Ramon Vasquez might have some value? Starting Pitching: A When you have Curt Schilling announced as out for the season and it's not really a big deal, that is saying something. Jon Lester's awesome first half (7-3, 3.38, no-hitter) and Justin Masterson's emergence (4-3, 3.67) have made up for Josh Beckett's regression back to old form (9-5, 3.94). I still would put the ball in Beckett's hands when it matters, but there has definitely been a drop-off in Beckett's dominance from 2007. Tim Wakefield is still plugging away (6-6, 3.60) as usual. Despite being out for extended time with a hip injury, Daisuke Matsuzaka is as quiet a 10-1 Cy Young candidate as you'll ever get. With a 2.65 era, Dice-K has given up just one run in his last 23 1/3 innings and only twice in 16 starts, he's allowed more than three runs. Awful quiet out there right now regarding the Dice Man, but we'll see what happens come award-time. Bullpen: D Even with closer Jonathan Papelbon's 28 saves, this bullpen is quite awful because of its inconsistency. David Aardsma throws hard but lacks control. Hideki Okajima is searching for the element of surprise that made him so good last season. Mike Timlin is wondering whether this will be it for him. Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen (aka the Brothers of Lead Destruction) need to step up for considerable lengths of time to be considered reliable. Even Papelbon can't seem to pitch a clean inning anymore, allowing earned runs in three of his five July appearances. With Ortiz returning in the next few weeks, perhaps Masterson's return to the bullpen will help but Epstein needs to add another arm to this pen from the outside to really nail things down. In a year or so, maybe Aardsma/Delcarmen/Okajima will be enough to get to Papelbon, but with a potential third title in five years looming in the distance, it's time to really go for it one more time. First-Half Hitting MVP: JD Drew First-Half Pitching MVP: Daisuke Matsuzaka Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:20:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289976 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289976 Sox 2, Orioles 1 WP: Matsuzaka (10-1) LP: Cabrera (6-5) SV: Papelbon (28) HRs: None Summary: Daisuke Matsuzaka escaped a few self-produced jams and Jonathan Papelbon wriggled out of a tough ninth inning spot as well as Boston won the rubber game of this series. The win, combined with Tampa Bay's loss, catapulted the Sox into first place at the [...] Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:18:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289954 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289954 Sox 2, Orioles 1 WP: Matsuzaka (10-1) LP: Cabrera (6-5) SV: Papelbon (28) HRs: None Summary: Daisuke Matsuzaka escaped a few self-produced jams and Jonathan Papelbon wriggled out of a tough ninth inning spot as well as Boston won the rubber game of this series. The win, combined with Tampa Bay's loss, catapulted the Sox into first place at the [...] Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:18:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289954 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289954 These are the MVPs of the day in no particular order -SP Mike Pelfrey: pitched 8 innings of shutout ball that led the Mets to there 9th straight wins -SP CC Sabathia: pithed a complete game and hit a homer in a Brewers 3-2 win in the 9th -OF Che-Hsuan Lin: minor league prospect went 2 for 2 with a homerun and was named MVP of the Futures Game -IF Craig Counsell: walkoff sac fly in the 9th to get Sabathias second win as a Brewer -SP Daisuke Matsuzaka: had 6 shutout innings and 10k against the Orioles to get the Redsoxs the division lead Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:06:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289952 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289952 Terry Francona has announced the new starting rotation for the Red Sox, set to begin after the All-Star break. The scheduling is in order to get Lester and Beckett a bit of extra rest. Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:19:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289794 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289794