Daisuke Matsuzaka - Monitor his success

[thefootballmaniac]

Okay - I admit.. I'm a fan of the new pitcher the Japanese call "The Monstor".

Let's use this thread to discuss his performance throughout the season.

What were his stats for the first game?

[Chubz]

i believe it was 7ip 6 hits, 1ER and 10ks

[Chubz]

it's going to be interesting to see how he fares against the tougher lineups like the yanks/white sox and pretyt much every team outside of oakland and KC. Also how teams adjust to him the second time around

[Crono139]

We were talking about Dice-K at work today.

One thing mentioned was that Brian Roberts said that Chien-Ming Wang was much harder to hit, however, Wang isn't a strikeout monster. Not even close.

[Jerome]

Originally Posted by Crono139

We were talking about Dice-K at work today.

One thing mentioned was that Brian Roberts said that Chien-Ming Wang was much harder to hit, however, Wang isn't a strikeout monster. Not even close.

to tell you guys the truth, i watched every pitch from the game against kc (thank you mlb extra innings free preview) and wasn't impressed. many of the k's resulted from called third strikes and "gimme swings" from players simply having their timing thrown off by his release. dejesus had no trouble picking up his pitches, absolutely drilling him that day. alex gordon on the other hand, was visibly shaken. was an entertaining game nonetheless, but anybody expecting matsuzaka to make an impact similar to nomo's will be disappointed. once players get used to the delivery, matsuzaka will be a solid third starter at best. his stuff is extremely overrated, although his fastball is a very sweet pitch.

as for the wang quote, i believe roberts when he says wang is much more difficult to hit. wang is the only pitcher in the major leagues where batters change their swings during their at bats. batters routinely lower their arms to undercut their swings in an effort to combat wang's sinkerball repertoire. the last pitcher to command such respect was nolan ryan. in ryan's case, batters tucked their elbows and drew their hands back, and also preloaded prior to ryan's delivery to shorten their swings to keep up with ryan's heat. remember, strikeouts aren't the goal of the major league pitcher anymore; it's all about pitch counts, and getting quick outs, which is where wang and pitchers like roy halladay and roy oswalt excel (notice what all these pitchers have in common--- they all get "w"'s).

[Crono139]

In the end, an out is an out, and a win is a win. No matter how it comes about.


Is it true that Dice-K has five different breaking ball pitches? If so, why? :p

I'll agree with you that his fastball is pretty nice. Imagine if he can increase the speed on that a bit more. If I'm in not mistaken, he's barely touching 90 MPH with that selection.

[Jerome]

Originally Posted by Crono139

In the end, an out is an out, and a win is a win. No matter how it comes about.


Is it true that Dice-K has five different breaking ball pitches? If so, why? :p

I'll agree with you that his fastball is pretty nice. Imagine if he can increase the speed on that a bit more. If I'm in not mistaken, he's barely touching 90 MPH with that selection.

five different breaking pitches? hardly. i heard that too during the game.

matsuzaka throws a four-seam fastball (ehh), a two-seamer (which i absolutely love), a decent change up (again, useful due to batters timing being thrown off by delivery), and a sub-par curveball and slider.

the two-seamer is generally slower, due to the release (flipping it with the wrist and index and middle fingers, rather than releasing over the top) and the fact is spins downward. this action however, is what makes it such a nasty pitch. this paired with the change up, is what made matsuzaka effective against the royals

[Crono139]

Matsuzaka is said to have command of five pitches, including two breaking balls, a high-rising fastball, a slider, and a devastating changeup.


That's the media for you. Hype up his "gyroball."

His fastest pitch in his debut was 94 MPH. Not too shabby.

[Chubz]

he reminds me of David Cone

[thefootballmaniac]

I think his next start is Wednesday the 11th against Seattle

ESPN.com - MLB - Pitching Probables

[bub838]

Yup. the big matchup between him and Ichiro!!!

...

I just like him because he always has that sterotypical asian grin on his face.

[thefootballmaniac]

I can't wait.. I have yet to see him pitch besides highlights

[thefootballmaniac]

Home debut on right now...

It's crazy how much revenue this kid is bringing in.