Five years in
We have seen Daisuke Matsuzaka as a solid, if not spectacular, member of a World Series-winning rotation, a candidate — albeit a long shot — to win a Cy Young Award the following season and a guy who cannot stay healthy, all the while showcasing an incredibly enigmatic and inconsistent game.
At times, words like "electric" and "dominant" have been tied to the 30-year-old right-hander, as have terms such as "maddening" and "stubborn."
Even Matsuzaka, ever guarded, has admitted to the volatility of his Red Sox career.
"In the past four years it's been good and bad," he said through interpreter Kento Yamada earlier in camp. "I've had a good time and a bad experience as well. I will use that four years experience into a better year."
That's about all Matsuzaka, and the Red Sox, can hope for at this point. At the very least, contrary to a year ago at this point, all parties involved have plenty of reasons for optimism.
Not only does Matsuzaka look to be in tremendous shape, he is primed to go through a spring training healthy for the first time in three years. After the World Baseball Classic and an offseason spent doing his own thing, and not that of the organization, he limped into 2009 and was 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA through his first eight starts, which came sporadically due to stints on the disabled list. Last year, a neck strain suffered in Fort Myers kept him shelved until May.
The result, all on the heels of his 18-3, 2.90 ERA line in 2008, has been a total of 37 starts over two seasons, during which Matsuzaka has gone 13-12 with a 4.99 mark. An investment of more than $100 million that once looked like a steal is now a mixed bag.
The thought is that, after the incredible highs and frustrating lows, Matsuzaka's final two years of a landmark six-year deal will see more of a leveling off process.
"Every time he takes the ball right now it's not quite as big of a moment, so he can be a more normal baseball player," manager Terry Francona said, while acknowledging that Matsuzaka's career has been "all over the spectrum."
"Now he's developing into more of a pitcher, which I think should be easy," Francona added.
For the first time in his five seasons with Boston, Matsuzaka will enter a campaign as the definitive No. 5 starter. If he places any emphasis on that, it could serve to alleviate any of the pressure he still places on himself to perform. He can also draw from one stretch last season in which he seemed to rediscover the form that saw him win 32 games in his first two years in town.
In 12 starts from late-May all the way into August, Matsuzaka was 6-2 with a 2.84 ERA, giving up only 59 hits in 76 innings. Couple such runs of dominance with word from general manager Theo Epstein that Matsuzaka's stuff in 2010 was better than his final numbers would indicate and one can get a sense of what last year was all about — it was a recovery from 2009, which was essentially a waste.
Now, Matsuzaka appears fully recovered, in perhaps the best shape of his Red Sox career and primed to have more of those "good" times.
Other options
Tim Wakefield made 19 starts in 2010, the bulk of them in place of the injured Josh Beckett, but a handful in place of Matsuzaka. If Dice-K is going to have any more physical issues, the Red Sox are used to calling on Wakefield to pick up the slack.
If all else fails
Boston would have to eat some money, but if it can find a taker for Matsuzaka at some point and get something intriguing in return, do not be surprised if the organization bites. Of course, Matsuzaka has a full no-trade clause, so he would need to OK any move. Given the up-and-down nature of his Red Sox tenure, perhaps he would welcome a change of scenery. Rumors have linked Matsuzaka to the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs and some West Coast teams that would move him closer to Japan, although none of the rumors have amounted to much.
