The Japanese pitchers always seem to do well at first... their fall offs however are monumental... this guy doesn't scare me in the least
What exactly have you two seen either in ST games or today that suggests that Daisuke Matsuzaka will struggle? Not Japanese pitchers in general, but specifically Daisuke Matsuzaka. Is it the fact that when he didn't have his best control he didn't allow a hit for 5 innings? Or that he'll be too predictable with only 6 pitches? Or is it just wishful thinking from Yankee fans? Seriously, I'd like to know what your reasoning is.
I'd agree with Ecko's projection, I don't see anyway he doesn't wear down at the end of the year with the increased workload and what not. As long as he's feeling his stuff when he goes out there, he'll be good, because it's filthy. Even being able to consistently spot 3 or 4 of those 6 pitches is going to mean he'll succeed.
Of course, as a Yankee fan, I hate to say it, but Matsuzaka looks like the real deal to me. Granted, I didn't watch the game live, but they showed a lot on ESPN yesterday, and what I saw looked sick. He's got a bunch of pitches, and he's not afraid to throw any of them. Another pitcher like that has rings, El Duque. There's not much I'm jealous of the Sox for, but Shilling and Matsuzaka, I'll admit I am. Dice-K is going to win a lot of games for you.
nothing other than the history of other Japanese pitchers... maybe he'll be the first to be a Japanese pitcher superstar... but until he does.........
I'm not saying he will but history is against him. All Japanese pitchers start off well and then struggle. It may be because of the shorter season in Japan or the fact that they use a 6 man rotation there. Whatever, until he shows he can be as dominant as he was yesterday for a full season and after teams have seen him at least twice the book will still be open on him.
The same could be said of Phil Hughes, and he's one of best prospects in the sport right now. The guy looks good. Any pitcher has a chance of failure, but using past history as a meter for current success is a flawed argument. Comparing Matsuzaka to someone like Irabu is a big injustice to Dice-K. Besides, it's not like there isn't a precedent for success on Japanese imports. Ichiro and Matsui have both had great success here. I can't see Matsuzaka failing. I'd like him to, since he plays for Boston, but I just can't see it.
Hideo Nomo was one of the 5 best pitchers in baseball his first two seasons, and he is the closest comp to Matsuzaka. No other japanese pitchers have come over at 26/27 who were big stars in Japan. Nomo also wasn't the pitcher Matsuzaka is, he didn't throw as hard or have as many pitches. so really your argument is pretty spurious, it would be like arguing that because ichiro was so great So taguchi was going to win a batting title
Of course it could. He hasn't proved a thing either. Of course the yankees aren't paying 20 million a year for what he hasn't proved. Oh, and Irabu was very good for the yankees too his first half season. I would have to go back and check but I think he was 8-1 or 8-2. The best example I could give is if you were to imagine for a minute that Japanese hitting was as good as MLB hitting, which we know it isn't. And Koufax or Ryan went over there to pitch at the height of their careers. What do you think their record would be the first half season? How many no-hitters or perfect games would they pitch until people learned something about them?
Home debut today, facing Ichiro as his first Fenway batter. I'm glad it's on NESN too, so I don't have to watch it on ESPN.
Let's see how he pitches in the cold. At least at night in the cold and on shorter then normal rest to what he is use to in Japan.
:rofl: Look, I understand a lot of people want to see him fail, so just relax and watch him pitch before making your failure posts.
I'm going with: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. Ichiro will get a leadoff double, then be shut down in his next 2 at-bats.
