Hes being compared to many greats, and yet we have only seen one game here in the states. Daisuke Matsuzaka is the biggest craze in MLB these days. He allegedly has a 6 pitch arsenal including the elusive "gyro-ball." First game of his major league career he had 10 strikeouts over 7 innings with 1 run allowed.
Before the season started, I recall being able to pick him up in Fantasy Baseball (competative league not casual) round 3 or 4. I just joined 2 more leagues today, and he went first and second round respectively, and his overall draft numbers have skyrocketed too from all of these 1st and 2nd picks.
What are your thoughts on him? I was a bit puzzled by his Japanese stats, I mean while they are very very good-I still am weary since they are not exactly Koufaxian-plenty have done better in history. Then again, when we consider the mound and how its height was changed, should we dismiss these older numbers because it made such a great difference in ERA's?
I guess the biggest thing bothering me about Dice-K (keep in mind I am a Red Sox fan) is just how disappointing the Japanese pitchers coming over into MLB have been. Hideo Nomo had what..one good year? Kei Igawa was considered a Japanese All-star yet got totally lit up in his first MLB game. Am I just speaking too soon about him since we all get the jitters? Is my conclusion about Japanese pitching incorrect? What do you guys think?
I sure hope so. He'll at least be a persistent starter because of his elusive pitch. People underrate him at times, because he was so overrated when the Sox payed 100 million for him.
Okay, he's definitely good and he pitched a great game against the Royals(hell, even if it was the Royals ). But the next Koufax? We've only seen him pitch once. I mean, he COULD be the next Koufax, but there's no way to tell if he is right now. Lets wait for him to pitch a couple more games before we start comparing him to the greatest pitcher of all time.
No I know its not really realistic to compare him, but I just wanted to get some opinions, however early they may be. I was also not sure if maybe someone here saw him pitch in Japan or anything like that. You just hear stories, like about how Ichiro batted like .200 against him in his career..yet Ichiro bats like .999 against everyone else LoL Just meant to spark conversation, trust me I idolize Koufax but it certainly sparked conversation putting him in the title
I mean, the conclusion I have drawn to far by watching him pitch, and by reading articles about him, etc, I think he is probably best compared to someone like Santana, mainly because of his pitch style. He can throw the heat, and turn it wayyy down for his breaking balls. The success of Santana has come from that factor alone, he keeps you on your heels not knowing what is comming.
It sort of reminds me of when the Padres won the series a few years back, when they had Schilling, Sterling Hitchcock and Trevor Hoffman, the whole series basically revolved around the split-finger.
Either way, baseball has to love the attention its getting-not just by sports enthusiasts, but from the plain ole folk who hear about the hype and want to join in. I really sense baseball making a comback with people like Matsuzaka, whether or not they live up to expectations, they create an atmosphere of excitement, which is greatly needed in the wake of the whole steroid scandal.
). But the next Koufax? We've only seen him pitch once. I mean, he COULD be the next Koufax, but there's no way to tell if he is right now. Lets wait for him to pitch a couple more games before we start comparing him to the greatest pitcher of all time.