Daisuke Matsuzaka

He was on the TV news the other night. I only caught the tail end of the story, so I'm not sure what the whole gist of it was. Anyway, FWIW, apparently he threw 170 pitches the other day at training, and told the amassed press that he felt OK afterwards.

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this list. As a life-long Seibu fan I had to write something here. I noticed that Nikkan Sports had something on him here [in Japanese].

It reminds us that Matsuzaka struck out Ichiro in his first three at bats against him. There are murmurings of an eventual move to MLB.

As for his state of health, my understanding is that the elbow discomfort that sidelined him for a while before the Japan Series has well settled. Rumor has it that it was due to him straining his elbow from his cut fastball. I personally didn't think it was wise for Seibu to use a pitcher who had been sidelined for weeks as their opening game pitcher - and I was right. I think they push him too hard.

Matsuzaka also has a bad tendency to overthrow, and I personally think it has nothing to do with the cutter - it's more a simple case of overthrowing. He has a bad tendency to say things in interviews to the effect that it doesn't matter if he's a bit wild as long as he still has "stuff."

Matsuzaka is promising, but he is still immature. And I'm not so keen on his pitching mechanics. He just doesn't quite look balanced, and always looks a bit rushed. Of course I want him to fullfill his promise as the Kaibutsu, but it's dreadfully frustrating watching him.

Hi Satoshi.

Don't forget that Matsuzaka is still only 22. Most pitchers his age in MLB organizations are still in the minors, so he is still growing up. At least he made considerable progress this past season on the command issue, cutting his BB/9 almost in half. His velocity was diminished, though I don't know if he did that in order to throw more strikes (as Terahara is doing now, for example) or if it is due to the abuse heaped on him
by Higashio. I suspect it's more the latter.

I agree with you that using him in the Japan Series was a mistake (in fact, I predicted that he would get hammered in that opener) because he had lost any sharpness he had due to the long layoff.

In any event, I would like to hear more of what you have to say on Japanese baseball-related issues, so feel free to post away.

I'd love for Rick Peterson, the Mets' zen-like pitching coach, to work with him. Peterson helped develop Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson and Barry Zito when he was pitching coach of the A's.

Does anyone think `170 pitches is a bit much for a guy coming bacl from elbow strain?

Any news on Daisuke Matsuzaka coming to U.S.A.?

I agree that Matsuzaka is a promising star, but he should control himself. He pitches so much in a game, even late into games.

I don't like Uehara because of his attitude. Just look at his expression after his teamates get many runs. While Ishigawa behaves nicely.

Sharks410,

Don't hold your breath waiting for Matsuzaka. The Lions have years before they face losing him as a free agent to the majors. Therefore, it's hard to see them posting him unless they're assured of a quite large payout. Given his health issues, I don't think it would be wise for a MLB team to shell out what it would take to get him until he's only a year or two away from free agency.

If at that point he's still a quality pitcher capable of handling a MLB role without frequent breakdowns, that would be the time to seriously think about his coming to the States.

Remember, NPB is independent, and their teams are trying to win and put fans in the stands as well. They can hold on to their good players at least until they face losing them for nothing, and even then they can and probably will try to compete for the services of at least some of them. In fact, Japanese players like Nakamura may well be more valuable to a NPB team than a MLB team, and be compensated accordingly.

Jim Albright

Thanks for the information Jim!

>I'm the only one in America
> with a Daisuke Matsuzaka jersey. Will he ever come
> to America?

where did you get that jersey?

Yeah, where did you get that jersey? I'd love to buy one while he's still with the Lions...I'm hearing that he's going to post in 2006, and having his jersey would be pretty cool.

Getting his jersey would be sweet, but if you want, you can also pick up a Seibu Lions t-shirt in blue with his name and number on the back from any Seibu Department Store in Japan. I picked up one 2 years ago when I was in Japan. Pretty sweet man!

The Seibu Lions' website has his jersey for a high price. It's listed at 30,450 yen(about $272). I doubt they would ship overseas.

1JPY=$0.008938(Note this changes as the market updates)

https://www.nicoh.co.jp/450027.html
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=JPYUSD=X&d=t

Wow, thanks for the info.