One day after watching Jon Lester be so efficient in his briliant outing against the Texas Rangers, Sox fans had to watch Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Matsuzaka was again frustrating. His first inning said a lot. He had a good fastball...as high as 94 mph...as he struck out the side. However, he also gave up an opposite field bomb of a home run to Michael Young.
Daisuke ended up going his usual 5-6 innings(5-2/3rds to be exact), giving up 5 runs on 10 hits. He didn't walk a batter, which is unusal, but then again...they were hitting him.
He said after the game that his outing was "plain".
To me, it looks and feels like he's in a spring training mode. He feels good physically, but...."there are things I am working on right now that I would normally take care of in the preseason or offseason." He went on to say..."So in that sense it might take a little bit more time, but what I'm always trying to do is get back to the point where I can put together a good game."
Again, sounds like a guy who had to shut things down after the World Baseball Classic to build up strength and is now trying to find himself as a pitcher.
Here is where the patience of a Terry Francona comes in. Has to be tough for him to watch Matsuzaka knowing that he'll need a rested bullpen because Daisuke can give him, at best, six innings right now.
Francona may be patient...but Sox fans may be losing theirs on a start-by-start basis.
