"Amazing"
"Dazzling"
"Incredible"
All are words that Dennis Eckersley used to describe Daisuke Matsuzaka's major league performance. And each one is 100% accurate.
His final line was 7 innings, 108 pitches, 6 hits, 1 walk, 1 earned run, and 10 strikeouts. But that doesn't even tell the whole story.
He had control of at least 6 pitches, and with variations of almost all of them. He topped the radar gun at 95 mph, but his fastball wasn't his go to pitch in a jam. He can throw any of his pitches for a strike, and his pitching is an art form that more closely resembles calligraphy than what we see in the majors from most pitchers.
He got into a bit of a jam early in the first inning, giving up a lead off hit and his one and only walk, only to get a little help by a double play.
He struck out the side on 14 pitches and he sat down 10 batters in a row during one stretch.
From the looks of it, Dice-K could have gone the distance and pitched the rest of the game, but there is no point in that. Francona brought in J.C. Romero for the 8th, and Jonathan Papelbon to close the game in the 9th. Both looked fantastic, and it saves the rest of the bullpen at the same time.
After yesterday's sparkling major league debut by Daisuke Matsuzaka, there will still be doubters. But does it matter? As long as he can perform at such a high level, what does it matter what anyone really thinks? He doesn't strike me as someone that will be unable to handle the spotlight. He's been basking in it in Japan for the last 10 years.
(Boston Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis)
Dice-K will be more than fine, and who knows, he may even wind up with 20 wins and the Cy Young along the way.
If Eck is thinking about it already, why shouldn't we?
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