Since Daisuke Matsuzaka arrived on the scene in 2007, I have been nothing but positive about his ability and potential added value to this team. He had an okay 2007 and a great 2008 campaign, followed by two massive stink-bomb seasons filled with mysterious injuries and insults to the Red Sox training staff. Still, in my own stupidity, I felt Dice-K could have a great 2011 campaign and turn his career around in Boston. Now, 2 starts into the season, I have officially given up on the $100 million man. His performance yesterday was absolute crap, leaving every single pitch down the middle of the plate. It is finally time for Boston to cut their losses and end their connection to Dice-K.
What transpired last night was just the tip of the iceberg in the Dice-K legacy in Boston. His inability to attack the zone has always been a problem, walking 283 men in 100 games pitched with the Red Sox, but last night, when he finally decided to be aggressive, he just threw batting practice down the middle of the plate, allowing 7 earned runs on 8 hits in just 2+ innings to the awful Rays offense. Before last night’s 16-run outburst, the Rays had scored a total of 20 runs on the season in 9 games, making Dice-K’s performance even more hard to swallow. The Rays lineup is hardly one to be afraid of, especially without Evan Longoria thanks to an injury and Manny Ramirez thanks to steroids and retirement.
In 5 seasons with Boston, Dice-K has a 46-29 record and a 4.28 ERA, which certainly isn’t horrible. Now, let’s remove his 1st 2 years and just look at the last 2+ seasons. He has a 13-14 record with a 5.24 ERA in 39 starts over the past 2+ seasons. That’s a rough mark for any pitcher, let alone someone making a ridiculous $10 million this season (not including the extra $50 million the Red Sox paid to negotiate with him in 2006). Looking even further into Dice-K’s stats since 2009, he has allowed 232 hits in 220 innings and has 128 earned runs over that span, including 26 home runs. He is averaging 4.5 walks per 9 innings, which is just plain atrocious. When will this nightmare end?
All optimism and positive thinking with the Japanese starter is out the window for good. The Red Sox have tried everything, including a new pitching coach this season and a modified routine in-between starts. They are grasping at anything with a slight chance of helping Dice-K, but are fighting a losing battle with a pitcher that has been overrated and has underperformed to a huge degree. Trade Dice-K if you can, for nothing in return even, because the Red Sox need to cut ties and not wait another day. Another start for Dice-K will just mean another loss, and although Tim Wakefield wasn’t great in relief in last night’s ball-game either, he at least has a chance at winning when on the mound every 5 days.
For those of you that think Dice-K’s issue is Salty behind the plate, just drop it now. It doesn’t matter. Was Salty the one throwing every pitch down the middle of the plate? No. Was Salty calling pitches down the middle of the plate? No. The issues aren’t coming with pitch calling and sequence, they are with execution, so drop the catcher chat, let’s put the blame where it belongs, square on Dice-K’s back. He received every benefit of the doubt since arriving in Boston. This is it for Dice-K, his tenure in Boston needs to end. Now.
Now that you have heard my thoughts, what do you think?
For all the latest news and analysis from BoSox Injection, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or with our RSS feed.
Add us as a preferred source on Google