[新聞] Matsuzaka admits to leg injury
Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff January 9, 2010 05:42 PM
The disconnect between the Red Sox and Daisuke Matsuzaka goes deeper than
first realized.
The righthander told the Japanese magazine Friday that he suffered a leg
injury while training for the WBC that he kept hidden from the team. The
injury altered his mechanics and led to the shoulder injury that put him on
the disabled list.
Some excerpts from the story, as translated by friend of the blog Daigo
Fujiwara, a Globe staff graphic designer.
"Early on in January 2009, I hurt my right inner thigh. I consider movement
around my hip joint a crucial part of my pitching motion. It happened during
my exercise to strengthen my hip joint that I incorporated into training
since 2008. I may have pushed myself just a little too hard. It wasn't the
pain that killed me, but it was the regrets and guilt that filled my mind. It
was the time to start building up for the season, but I hurt myself because
of my own doing.
"I had to make a decision whether this injury was serious enough to withdraw
from the World Baseball Classic. But my body was functioning well, and by
taking anti-inflammatory medicine I can tolerate the pain. So I continued
training, but actually it was even hard just to jog. .
Didn't trainers and coaches notice?
"I didn't let them. I didn't want to be the center of concern for people. I
didn't tell the trainers. Fortunately, I was in charge of my own training, so
if it started to hurt, I could adjust to not hurt myself. But pitching while
hiding the injury was very difficult. Even when I didn't feel the pain, my
body was holding back because it sensed the danger. So, my pitching motion
was more of standing straight up and throwing with my upper body, relying on
my shoulder strength more than usual.
"(The WBC) was hard. I relied on my wits and my shoulder strength. I had to
be creative. I varied the paces between the pitches, I used the different
kind of slider that I usually don't throw.
"My plan after the WBC was to heal myself while keeping my turn in rotation.
But the condition didn't get better as the season went on. After my first
stint on the DL in May, I was very hard on myself. Because I got plenty of
rest, my shoulder was much stronger, so I could still get up there in
velocity. But I couldn't use my lower body well, and I could not use my full
body to generate the power. My fastball was not effective, therefore I lost
effectiveness of my other pitches. In hindsight, it was impossible to
continue faking the whole season, it was too much mental stress. But the Red
Sox struggled a little bit in the beginning of the season so I wanted to help
the team as much as I could.
"I didn't want to show my weaknesses. I didn't want them to think I was
making excuses. I would rather be criticized than ridiculed for making
excuses. I repeat, I really didn't want to be the center of concern for
people. I believe when you say you are sick, you become sick. Sure I
appreciate that you are concerned about me, but I don't even like to be
wished good luck about my health.
Matsuzaka also talked about his being critical of the Red Sox, which led to a
series of meetings.
"(That) was a very important event for me. I think I got through to (the
team) that shoulder strength and pitching stamina are two different things.
They have generously agreed that I can have long bullpen sessions as long as
I can pass the measurement for shoulder strength. The reason I was able to
come back strong after my second DL stint was because my thigh was healed and
I was able train with the long bullpen session. It was not because I lost
weight. If by losing weight you become a better pitcher, I'd lose much more.
It is not that simple. I have re-started the exercise to strengthen my hip
joint again.
"I am very sorry for making you worry. I assure you that the (2010) season
will be a great season. I am going to redeem what I lost in 2009. With my
health back, I am confident and determined to produce this year. I will (try
my best to) become world champion once again."
--------------------
Interesting comments by Matsuzaka. Signing John Lackey may be a smarter move
than first realized.
http://is.gd/5YX8T
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
※ 編輯: mohicans 來自: 122.116.47.94 (01/10 08:43)
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