Daisuke Matsuzaka could be the most frustrating pitcher that I’ve ever seen pitch for the Boston Red Sox.
There’s been times this season (almost no-hitter against Philadelphia Phillies) where he’s completely baffled the hitters. There’s been times where he’s had one bad inning but then looked dominating. And then there’s been times like last night where he’s completely looked lost.
Sure he might be out of his comfort zone a little without Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek behind the plate, but that’s no excuse.
In last night’s 6-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, Matsuzaka was staked to a 5-1 lead behind two home runs by Eric Patterson. But he came unglued in the 5th and 6th innings where he allowed two runs per inning.
His big mistake though came in the 6th when he botched a bunt play.
The Rays had runners on first and second with no outs and were willing to give up an out with a bunt by Jason Bartlett. The Red Sox had Adrian Beltre charging from third, Kevin Youkilis from first with Marco Scutaro covering short and Bill Hall covering first. Bartlett’s bunt went to Dice-K who initially looked at third to find no one covering and he didn’t even attempt a throw to first.
It’s obvious he forgot which bunt play was on because it ended up costing him on the next batter as John Jaso singled in the tying runs.
The Red Sox have a $103.1 million investment in Matsuzaka. The returns have not been consistently good. As I said above, he’s shown flashes of brilliance and he’s shown flashes of all out suckiness. But the one thing he’s lacking is consistency in being good. You have to wonder how much longer the Red Sox brass will tolerate this.
Remember we’re talking about a pitcher who dominated hitters in Japan and one who’s led Japan to two World Baseball Classic title and two WBC MVP’s. The question is will we ever see that in Boston from him.
We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, news and links from the day, but for now enjoy the overnight links after the jump.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Sox stung by this loss [Boston Globe]
You wonder when it’ll start to pay off [Boston Globe]
Catcher Martinez hasn’t received call from team [Boston Globe]
As expected, Buchholz on DL [Boston Globe]
Recap: Rays 6, Red Sox 5 [Boston Herald]
No more of this, Daisuke Matsuzaka [Boston Herald]
Kevin Cash earns credit for owning Randy Johnson [Boston Herald]
David Ortiz hopeful for Home Run Derby shot [Boston Herald]
Okajima was unavailable [Clubhouse Insider]
Dice-K, Sox lose opener in Tampa [CSN New England]
Okajima bothered by back issues [ESPN Boston]
Closing Time: Rays 6, Red Sox 5 [Full Count]
Ortiz sees his fears slide away [Full Count]
Youkilis has unlikely ally in All-Star push [Full Count]
Red Sox Can Rely on Kevin Cash Behind the Plate [NESN.com]
Daisuke Matsuzaka ‘Just Didn’t Have the Pitches When He Needed to Have Them’ [NESN.com]
David Ortiz Ready to Participate in Home Run Derby [NESN.com]
Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox Run Out of Magic in Tampa Bay [NESN.com]
Kevin Youkilis Featured With Likes of Barack Obama, Jerry Springer [NESN.com]
Kevin Youkilis’ Impressive Slugging Not Enough For An All-Star Roster Spot [NESN.com]
Matsuzaka, Red Sox blow 5-1 lead, fall to third place in A.L. East [Providence Journal]
Botched bunt play looms large for Matsuzaka [Providence Journal]
Scott Atchison rediscovers his curveball, and secures his spot in Red Sox’ bullpen [Providence Journal]
Beckett getting stronger; Lowell’s future an open question [Providence Journal]
Buchholz goes on DL; Doubront ready to pitch for Red Sox on Tuesday [Providence Journal]
Papi would participate in Derby if asked [RedSox.com]
Beckett will pitch rain or shine on Tuesday [RedSox.com]
Lowell won’t be activated this week [RedSox.com]
Patterson’s long balls not enough vs. Rays [RedSox.com]
Red Sox going all-out to promote Youk [RedSox.com]
Bard’s message for Sox fans: ‘I feel good’ [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]
Just wondering: At what point do odds catch up with Red Sox? [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.
And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying, head over to the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times websites.
Photo credit: Reuters Pictures
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It’s quite simple actually. Why in the world are you going to pitch to David Ortiz (who hits before Youk) when you can take your chances with Niuman Romero, who had just two hits in 14 career at-bats before last night. And that’s exactly what Rays skipper Joe Maddon did last night.
