[維尼] Matsuzaka lives up to billing in debut victory
DAN SHAUGHNESSY
Dice-KKKKKKKKKK
Matsuzaka lives up to billing in debut victory
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist | April 6, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Dice-K was Ice K. He was also 10 K. And
Special K.
Maybe even a Japanese Pedro. Or a Pocket Rocket.
Given the hype and hysteria that have accompanied his every
move and word since the Red Sox spent $103.1 million to
acquire him, we figured it would be almost impossible for
rookie righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka to live up to
expectations in his first regular-season appearance before
major league hitters.
But he did. On a day better suited for the Winter Olympics
(36 degrees), Dice-K struck out 10 Kansas City Royals and
allowed only one run on six hits over seven innings of a 4-1
victory at Kauffman Stadium yesterday. The game was
witnessed by 23,170 real-life spectators (including Mrs.
Dice-K, who was seated behind home plate), plus
NESN-watching citizens of Red Sox Nation, and millions of
proud Japanese fans, who got up at 3 a.m. to watch on
television.
"It's great that I was able to record a victory in my first
start," the moonfaced pitcher said through his translator.
"Up until now, given all the expectations -- they were a
little bit extreme -- but I'm happy."
He's not the only one happy. Red Sox owner John W. Henry,
the man who approved the whopping $51.1 million posting fee
to acquire Matsuzaka from the Seibu Lions, was also happy.
Same for general manager Theo Epstein, who negotiated
Dice-K's $52 million, six-year pact.
"It was nice to see him get off to a good start," said
Epstein, who watched from the stands. "It was an
organization-wide effort to get this guy. We put a lot on
the line, but this is really just the beginning. It's always
great to watch a pitcher who has a lot of different
weapons."
Dice-K emptied his toolbox in the chilly climate. He threw
fastballs, sliders, changeups, curves, splitters, cut
fastballs, and two-seam fastballs in 108 pitches. Maybe even
a gyro or two. It was mildly reminiscent of Pedro Mart
ínez's first game with the Red Sox in 1998, when the
Dominican Diva fanned 11 Oakland A's in a 2-0 victory.
Cynics can cite the brutal hitting conditions and the
caliber of the traditionally last-place Royals lineup, but
in his first game Matsuzaka delivered on all the
expectations that accompanied his celebrated journey to
America's major leagues.
"Expectations, from what I've heard so far, are
unreachable," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "But he's
got this thing figured out better than anybody else. He
loves to pitch, he enjoys the game, and he's pretty good."
It was obvious early in the day that this was not just
another midweek game in early April. Two-and-a-half hours
before the first pitch, there were approximately 150 people,
many with cameras, hanging out and shivering in front of the
Red Sox dugout. On the other side of the field, there was
nothing in front of the Royals dugout other than a John
Deere tractor. The mass media clearly was not here to see
Ross Gload and Emil Brown.
Staked to a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a Manny
Ramírez RBI double, Dice-K bounded from the dugout just
after 2:20 p.m. EDT and made his warm-up tosses to Jason
Varitek. The first batter he faced was David DeJesus and he
cracked a clean single to left-center on a 1-and-1 pitch.
The Royals didn't get another hit until the fifth and didn't
cross home plate until DeJesus homered to right field in the
sixth.
The biggest play of the game came after DeJesus's homer,
when Mark Teahen took a called third strike while Esteban
German, who singled, was trying to steal second. Varitek
nailed German (the Sox might have gotten a break on the
call), squashing the rally in a 2-1 game.
"That was a backdoor slider," said Varitek. "[German] slid a
little bit short and we got the call. That ended up being a
big play for us."
Dice-K got stronger after the play. Starting with Teahen, he
fanned four of five batters, two looking. He regularly
cracked mid-90s on the radar gun. But it was the offspeed
stuff and the control that made his fastball effective.
Matsuzaka went to three-ball counts on only two hitters (one
walk) and went to 0-and-2 counts on eight hitters.
"He's got a wide variety of pitches," stated Varitek. "I
can't say one is better than another. He's not locked into
any one pitch on any one count. And throwing Strike 1 is a
very big part of what makes him successful."
Matsuzaka was at 96 pitches after six innings. Pitching
coach John Farrell asked if he could go one more frame. No
problem. Matsuzaka got the side in order in the seventh,
striking out two, both swinging.
"I consider myself the type of pitcher who gets stronger in
games, the more I pitch," said Matsuzaka, who sometimes
plays catch after he's done pitching.
"This is a day I've been waiting for for a really long time,
but given that fact, I felt very normal."
Granted, it was only the Royals. And certainly it was not a
day for hitting. But everything about Matsuzaka indicates
he's going to be the same guy with the same set of weapons
when he toes the rubber in Yankee Stadium, preparing to face
Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and countryman Hideki Matsui.
One game into Matsuzaka's Red Sox career, it's all good. So
go out and buy that No. 18 jersey and have a bowl of Dice
Kream and top it off with a Dice-K Tini at the Ritz-Carlton.
Dan Shaughnessy's e-mail address is dshaughnessy@globe.com.
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