Kuzul

The Red Sox have one of the most solid rotations in baseball, both in terms of on-field quality and stability.  They have six major league-ready starters and, barring injury, not many of their prospects will see a start. Jon Lester is one of my favorite pitchers in baseball.  I’ve loved him since 2008, when I stupidly refused to trade Shawn Marcum for him, and made sure I drafted him in 2009 and 2010.  I mean, what’s not to like? He’s improved every year, he strikes out a ton of hitters (more than a strikeout per inning in both 2009 and 2010), he wins (16, 15 and 19 wins over the past three years, he doesn’t get hurt (33, 32 and 32 starts the past three years) and he keeps his ERA and WHIP manageable and his BAA even better.  He’s one of the first pitchers I’m taking this year—right in the same class as Halladay, Lee, Sabathia, ...

There were rumors all offseason long that the Red Sox could look to move Daisuke Matsuzaka, though at this point it does not appear likely.  Instead, Dice-K will again open the season as part of a deep Red Sox rotation with an awful lot to prove. After a tremendous 2008 campaign (18 W, 2.90 ERA, 1.32 WHIP), he has struggled tremendously.  Granted, one could easily argue that his success was buoyed by significant luck, like a .267 BABIP and 80.6% strand rate, but the whiplash has been severe.  He posted a 5.76 ERA over 59.1 innings in 2009 then put up the following line last season: 9 Wins153.2 Innings4.69 ERA1.37 WHIP133 Strikeouts (7.79 K/9)74 Walks (4.33 BB/9).292 BABIP He was actually a bit better than the numbers show, thanks to a 67.2% strand rate, but is that really enough?  Yes, he always has the allure of potential strikeouts, but they have been regressing since he ...

Recently, The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo entertained the idea that Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka could generate some serious trade interest if the Sox chose to put him on the block.He cited an informal poll of baseball execs as the basis of his claims that moving Daisuke could generate a lot of interest among the baseball communityThis is certainly not a new idea, as his inconsistency on the mound and unwillingness to adapt to a more aggressive style of pitching has frustrated many Red Sox fans.Yet the talent is definitely there, and a change of scenery could be all it takes for Daisuke to finally figure it out on the major league level.If the Red Sox really were going to seriously consider trading the Dice-Man, which teams would be lining up for him, and what could the Red Sox expect to get in return?One thing's for certain: The Red Sox would likely have to eat ...

Though it appears that the Mariners will go into the 2011 season with a static or decreased payroll compared to 2010, there has been a widely-accepted theory that their budgetary constraints are less strict when it comes to signing Japanese players. Some of this may have changed when Hiroshi Yamauchi sold his shares of the Mariners in 2004, as the team hasn’t gone to extravagant lengths to sign a Japanese player since signing Ichiro in 2001, and hasn’t signed a Japanese player at all since signing Kenji Johjima in 2006. However, Yu Darvish is a different kind of talent, and ultimately a different kind of opportunity than signing Johjima was. It’s not often that Major League clubs have a crack at signing top-level talent from Japan in their early-20s. Last year we saw Junichi Tazawa pitch with the Red Sox, but he was eligible for free agency after asking for, and ultimately receiving ...

For Daisuke Matsuzaka, the hype was unavoidable. If it wasn't the $51 million posting bid that the Red Sox gave to the Seibu Lions, Matsuzaka's Japanese team until 2006, just to have the opportunity to negotiate a contract, it was the rumors of the dynamic stuff that Daisuke possessed. Reports even surfaced regarding his ability to throw a legendary pitch known as the gyroball. Fast forward almost three and a half years, and the general perception of Matsuzaka is very different.  Matsuzaka's time in Boston has been anything but consistent. Matsuzaka followed a somewhat lackluster 2007 "rookie" campaign with a much better 2008 season, in which he finished 18-3 (fifth overall in wins) with a 2.90 ERA (third), and finished in fourth place in AL cy young voting. Yet critics accused Matsuzaka of being too complacent on the mound. They pointed to the fact that he loaded the bases too often, and walked too many batters. Indeed, ...

The Red Sox activated Daisuke Matsuzaka in last night’s series-finale against the Colorado Rockies. In order to make room for him on the roster, Boston placed third baseman Mike Lowell on the 15-day DL. Lowell reported that he felt a twinge in his right hip during pregame drills on Tuesday night. He said he will consult with his hip surgeon, Brian Kelly, to determine his next course of action. It is uncertain as to whether he will need another cortisone shot or a Synvisc injection, but he seemed to be leaning in the direction of a cortisone shot. Lowell says the cortisone shots tend to help for a longer period than the Synvisc, but that he’s hesitant to have too many because of the cartilage deterioration they cause. The Synvisc injection provides substantial improvement for just a few days after which, the effects quickly wear off. Lowell reportedly informed manager Terry Francona, via text message, of ...

  A pair of starting pitchers found their way onto the disabled list this afternoon: According to Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Rangers have placed Rich Harden on the DL due to "a strained left gluteus muscle." There is currently no word as to who will replace him in the rotation as Alexi Ogando has been recalled to fill his spot on the roster. Ogando has been impressive, posting a 2.05 ERA with 42 Ks over 30.2 innings between Double and Triple-A. Still, with the back end of their bullpen in place, he’ll likely hold little value in most fantasy formats. As for Harden, he’s been struggling all year with a 5.68 ERA and 1.68 WHIP.  Just last night he allowed a home run to the Brewers. He has also had control issues, walking 43 over 65.0 innings.  He should have value at some point this season, so if you have room ...

Red Sox pitching, of course, refers to just two men: Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield. Remember how both those guys dominated the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park three weeks ago over a span of 18 hours? Well, both righthanders will be out to repeat their wizardry of the Phillies this weekend, while the Phillies will be given a shot at redemption, a chance for revenge. Daisuke pitches this Saturday against Joe Blanton (4 p.m., FOX), Wakefield will be opposed by Cole Hamels on Sunday (1:30 p.m., TBS).   Dice-K and Wake Did it Once… If the Phillies were actually capable of beating the Red Sox in a three-game series since the days of Veterans Stadium astroturf, then their meeting in Philly last month was the absolute perfect time. Everything was lined up just right from for them, especially when considering the pitching matchups. The Phils wouldn’t be facing Boston’s two best starters (Jon Lester and Clay Buccholz) while ...

Daisuke Matsuzaka is the proverbial box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get. Last Saturday night, against the defending NL champion Phillies, Dice-K threw a one-hitter over eight innings, allowing no runs, walking four, and striking out five. Then in his next start, Thursday night versus the Royals, this was his line: 4.2 innings, eight walks, one hit batsman, one strikeout, three earned runs, and just two hits. Plus, he threw a wild pitch that scored a run.  The eight walks matched his career high, and five of them came in the fifth, when he allowed all three runs. The guy is both maddening and tantalizing. You never know what you're going to get from him on any given outing. At times he looks like an All Star, while at others he looks like a Double A pitcher.  If Matsuzaka is defined as the Sox' No. 5 starter, then he's as good, ...

Earlier this month, I said Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was “trade bait for 20 cents on the dollar.” In my opinion, he was dead weight, clogging up a roster spot on a terribly underachieving team. But the team has picked up steam since that declaration, and he has been a big reason why. He baffled the Toronto Blue Jays two starts ago , and today improved upon that brilliant performance. In doing so, he had a tremendous chance to make history. He was crushed against the Yankees in his last start, so though he was certainly capable of bouncing back against the Philadelphia Phillies in the season’s first batch of interleague play, I remained somewhat unconfident in his ability. Did he ever make me regret my doubts. He worked around walks in the first, second and fourth innings, and hadn’t allowed a hit to one ...