Forget Nomo, Dice-K's Gunning to be a Second Beckett

When making cultural comparisons, it's far too easy to lock a pitcher in to someone from the same country. Or of the same physique. Or, what the hell, someone who likes the same beer. Just because it's easy doesn't make it correct.



That's certainly the case with Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is coming what should be considered one of the more impressive rookie seasons of all-time. Of course, we say SHOULD because it's not being looked at that way at all. Popular culture and the mass media (ugghh, ok, us) have created a mass perception that Matsuzaka's rookie campaign was a disappointment because, after a blistering start before the All-Star break, he faded down the stretch, finishing with a strong 15-12 final record after jumping out to a pace that would have earned him a good 18, 20 wins.

Of course, that overlooks the magnificent starts that Dice-K put up early in the season, when his breaking balls moved the way they did against international batters at the World Baseball Classic, which was, of course, why the Red Sox wrote out a massive $51.111111 (yes, the 1's just kept going) check to buy him from the Seibu Lions. And perhaps that was part of the problem: Matsuzaka's first start was absolutely astounding. Pitching in Kansas City, Matsuzaka gave up one run on only six hits and one walk through seven innings. The amazing thing is that, watching the game, it felt like he wasn't EVER going to give up any hits. He baffled the Royals throughout, setting such a high plateau of expectations that even a pitcher like Josh Beckett or Curt Schilling would have struggled to reach them.

The amazing thing is that, if he didn't find himself matched up against so many opposing aces, Matsuzaka might have even hit those expectations. Three of his early losses came against true aces for opponents, including his Fenway debut when he was matched up against Seattle's Felix Hernandez, whose one-hit performance might have been the best start of the season before Mark Buehrle, Justin Verlander and, later, Clay Buchholz got in on the act. Chalk up those three losses to wins, which they certainly would have been against traditional pitchers in the 3-hole, and suddenly Dice-K is 18-9, with a top-5 strikeout number in the league and a World Series ring. If that's not one of the best rookie starting campaigns in history, we're not sure what is.

The best part for Sox fans, of course, is that Boston won the World Series anyway. Matsuzaka went 2-1 in the postseason (he had a no-decision in the Manny homer win in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Angels) and won the pivotal Game 7 of the ALCS. In fact, it was during his lone setback, the Game 3 loss of the ALCS at Cleveland's Jacobs Field, where Matsuzaka may have quietly delivered a signature  moment for his first season and, Red Sox fans can hope, his career.

In the locker room after the loss, which gave the Indians a commanding 2-1 lead in the series, Matsuzaka was nearly inconsolable. When finally approached by reporters, he said he was devastated and vowed "revenge" if his teammates gave him the chance by earning a Game 7.

As history shows, they did, and he got it. Then he got an impressive win in Game 3 of the World Series at Coors Field, and the series was practically over.

In truth, THAT is why the Sox shelled out the $51+ million for the Gun from the Rising Sun. International scout and Director of Development Craig Shipley was always one of Matsuzaka's biggest pushers, and Shipley long claimed that his fighting instincts were his best asset. Gyroball or no, Shipley said, the guy HATES to lose. It's what was driving him as he dominated the Koshien tournament as a high school star in 1998. As is all too well documented, he pitched a whopping 150-pitch, 17-inning game to win a semifinal, then came back and closed out a comeback victory to win the tournament the next day. The same grit and determination was on display in spring 2006, when Matsuzaka positively dominated the World Baseball Classic. When his back is against the wall, the man is a stud.

That's precisely why last year's meltdown could be the catalyst for a moster year from the Japanese ace. Like Josh Beckett's resurgent second season, Matsuzaka was disappointed with his own performance during his rookie year. And, like Beckett, he has a reservoir of confidence that borders on outright cockiness, a trait which forces him to view anything short of perfection as an outright failure.

By those standards, last year was a failure for Dice-K, which is why he's already back at work.

That's right folks, well before the designated arrival date for pitchers and catchers, Matsuzaka was back at work in Ft. Myers, Fla. on Sunday, putting himself through a quick, hour-long workout. While that's impressive in its own right, his comments about the pending injury to Schilling's shoulder are even more stirring. As Gordon Edes reported on the Extra Bases blog, when Dice-K was asked about a potential enduring injury to the staff's No. 3 starter, "Daisuke, with one of the reporters translating, said the rest of the staff is just going to have to pick up the slack."

That response, without any hesitation, has to provide a lot of comfort for Sox fans, regardless of whether Schilling can return. Or when. And, in truth, if things progress the way Theo Epstein and Shipley have anticipated, that may be a much more important indicator than anything Schilling can put up, anyway.

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