Sox-Yanks Series A Good Indicator

Beckett Game a Terrific Start

How the Red Sox fare in this home series against the Yanks seems a good measure of their strength right now.

Last night, I attended the first game - watching Josh Beckett have one of his best outings ever (as a Red Sox player) against the Yankees. I was truly amazed at how effective Beckett was - given that I've watched him struggle in many games against the Bombers. Because Beckett relies so heavily on his fastball, I think it's always a challenge for him to get through the Yankee lineup of the past few years. Most of the Yanks are fantastic fastball hitters who blast any "mistake" pitches down the middle. Well, last night, Beckett obviously had excellent command of his fastball and he used his curve and changeup a lot, keeping the Yankees off balance.

I do not recall other Beckett outings vs. the Yankees when so few Yankees even hit the ball hard during the entire time Beckett was in there. They had only one hit - the groundball that Pedroia stopped, but, couldn't get a throw to first on.

Perhaps the rainy night affected the Yankees. Whatever it was, I was astonished that the All-Star lineup couldn't make better contact for six innings against Beckett. Delcarmen did OK and then Daniel Bard came in and just blew the ball by Texeira, A-Rod and Cano. Bard was throwing 98 - 99 - one pitch at 100 mph, and, I was sitting right down near home plate, and I'm telling you those great hitters could not get the bat around on Bard.

Of course, Ortiz' home run to center was a joy to watch -- Is he - maybe - really on his way back now? That home run -- unlike the others -- looked more like an old Papi home run. It was blasted, and, he knew it was gone.

What's Up with Matsuzaka?

It's very hard to understand where Dice-K is at this year. Is his arm still tired - partly due to his playing in the World Baseball Classic, or, is it perhaps cumulative fatigue from his whole career - including many long games he pitched for years in Japan? What's his attitude toward how he gets treated by John Farrell, the pitching coach, and Terry Francona?
Why does he show so little sign of changing the habits that cause him problems on the mound?
I ask these questions after Dice-K struggled in his last outing and lasted only five innings - again.
He didn't walk any hitters, raising questions as to whether he did so to "comply" with a more stern request from Francona and Farrell. He just doesn't seem as sharp this year and no sportswriters seem able to get interviews with him - or to get the truth through other sources.

It's time the Red Sox got a better handle on Matsuzaka and shared the insights with the fans.

It's Dice-K's THIRD season here and the only way I found out he has difficulty gripping the American baseball compared to the ball used in Japan was by catching a Peter Gammons column within the past year that revealed that. Matsuzaka does better gripping the smaller ball used in Japan. To me, Dice-K's problems gripping the ball seem likely related to his chronic problems with control. Gammons reported that Dice-K stopped using his changeup as much due to the
issues gripping the ball - and, apparently, he dropped one or two other pitches in order to focus on his remaining pitches.

Matsuzaka has stubbornly clung to his habit of "nibbling" on the corners when good hitters face him - and, often, walking them rather than challenging them with pitches over or close to the plate. He does this despite having two or more terrific "breaking" pitches - his cutter, his slider or even his curve, which he doesn't use often. Dice-K does not seem interested in changing his approach -and that must be driving Farrell and Francona crazy.

Last year, I defended Dice-K when people criticized him. He had a great year, but fans got on him for pitching so many five-inning games due to control problems. Well, he was great.
Now, that he's in his third year hear, I've been more impacted by the cumulative effect of watching him walk opposing batters needlessly in every game he pitches.
If Matsuzaka does not improve this year, it will put Theo Epstein in a difficult position. He invested so much in this pitcher, but, he's got a lot of good young pitchers waiting to get a turn now. The Red Sox should treat Matsuzaka like all the other pitchers.