Red Sox hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka, currently on the 15-day disabled list with a mild shoulder strain, has told a Japanese newspaper that he blames the Red Sox' shoulder training regimen for his arm troubles this season.
“If I’m forced to continue to train in this environment, I may no longer be able to pitch like I did in Japan,” Matsuzaka said, as translated in an article from WEEI.com's Alex Speier. “The only reason why I managed to win games during the first and second years [in the U.S.] was because I used the savings of the shoulder I built up in Japan. Since I came to the Major Leagues, I couldn't train in my own way, so now I've lost all those savings."
Dice-K, an 18-game winner a year ago, has gone 1-5 with a 8.43 ERA in 2009. The righty led Team Japan to a gold medal in the World Baseball Classic prior to the regular season and the Red Sox blame that tournament as the reason for his arm problems.
“Until now, many Japanese players have joined the majors, but they usually only lasted for two or three years. I realized from my own experience that this was not due to their individual abilities but because of the difference in training methods,” Matsuzaka told Yoshii according to Speier. “If someone doesn’t act, the way people think in the Majors would never be changed. I want them to understand this, not only for my sake, but for the sake of future Japanese players in the Major Leagues.
"They come armed with data and logic," he added. "To counter that, I have to respond with my own logic and that takes a lot of thinking and energy, but I can’t back down on this one.”
