MLB HPより抜粋。
He throws five pitches. Or is it six? Or maybe eight? And is the gyroball one of them? Or is that a pitch that lives only in baseball legend and computer animation?
Daisuke Matsuzaka is the only one who knows for sure -- and he's not telling.
Regardless of the number, Major League hitters began to learn this spring that the right-hander can throw all his pitches for strikes. In five Spring Training games, Matsuzaka compiled a 2-1 record with a 2.91 ERA. In 21 2/3 innings, he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits and 11 walks, striking out 26.
Three of the 11 hits were home runs, to Baltimore's Jason Dubois and Jon Knotts, and the Phillies' Pat Burrell.
In his first Grapefruit League outing, March 6 against Florida, Matsuzaka left several Marlins convinced they had seen the mythical pitch among his offerings in three innings of work.
"I saw the gyroball," Jason Stokes, the former Marlins infielder who was one of three Matsuzaka strikeout victims, told the Palm Beach Post.
"It's like a split-finger, downward angle, maybe runs in a little bit," said Stokes, who took the pitch for a 3-2 count before striking out on a slider.
"I'm glad he's in the American League," said Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who grounded out and lined back to Matsuzaka.
Ramirez was the first Major League batter Matsuzaka faced. In the third inning, Ramirez smoked a hard liner up the middle, but Matsuzaka reached his glove up and snagged it.
"I told him, 'Come on, man? You come here from Japan and you're stealing my hits,'" Ramirez said jokingly. "He's good. His slider is good."
Dan Uggla had the first hit off Matsuzaka this spring, lining a single to right field in the first inning.
"I thought his fastball was sneaky quick," Uggla said. "This [was] his first time out. I imagine he is only going to get better."
Catcher Miguel Olivo noted that Matsuzaka had a deliberate full windup, pausing slightly, and that from the stretch he speeds everything up.
"His slider is nasty," said Olivo, who claimed it broke in two directions -- down and over. "With men on, he works faster."
Matsuzaka was tagged with the loss in his next outing, as the Sox fell to the O's, 5-3, on March 11.
"He's got good stuff," O's second baseman Brian Roberts told The Baltimore Sun after going 0-for-2 against the Japanese sensation. "Shoot, you don't give guys $50 million for nothing. He threw everything for strikes at different times in the count. He mixed it up. He's here for a reason."
"I don't know what I hit," shortstop Miguel Tejada told the Sun, after going 1-for-2 against Matsuzaka. "I just know that ball moves. I don't know if it's the gyroball or a slider he threw me. He's pretty good."
Until Burrell homered off Matsuzaka on Saturday, a pair of O's Minor Leaguers were the only opponents who took Matsuzaka deep this spring. Dubois downplayed his roundtripper, taking a fastball over the left-center-field fence at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla., breaking a 2-2 tie.
"I put a pretty good swing on it and made contact," Dubois told the Sun. "That's all I was trying to do. He's got a pretty good slider. He's a pretty tough pitcher. We just got to him in that one inning."
Knott homered an inning earlier, his first hit of the spring.
"It was the last thing on my mind," Knott said in the Sun. "I [had] been pressing a little bit the last couple days. I was just trying to get a knock."
With his next scheduled start washed out by a deluge in Vero Beach on March 16, Matsuzaka had 10 days to prepare for his next outing, when he stifled the Pirates in Bradenton, Fla., to pick up his first Grapefruit League win. Over 5 2/3 innings, he allowed one run on one hit and one walk, striking out seven, before leaving to a standing ovation from the Sox partisans in the stands at McKechnie Field.
"He's not the least bit shy about throwing any pitch in any given count, which suggests how much confidence that he has in throwing all of his pitches for strikes," said Pirates manager Jim Tracy. "If you have the capability to do that, you're going to keep hitters off balance for a very long time."
After giving up an RBI single to Adam LaRoche in the first, Matsuzaka retired 11 in a row, from the last batter of the first inning through the first batter of fifth, with three consecutive strikeouts to wrap up that skein. He also struck out the final batter he faced, shortstop Don Kelly, in a 12-pitch duel. Kelly fouled off several Matsuzaka offerings before whiffing on a fastball.
"I was impressed," said LaRoche, the only Pirate to record a hit off Matsuzaka. "He had pretty good command with all his pitches. Obviously, he had a very good changeup, a slider. He must have a dozen pitches. I was asking [Sox catcher Jason] Varitek how many, and he said, 'I don't know, but I have to use both hands to give signs.'"
"He's worth every penny," Pirates leadoff hitter Chris Duffy, who scored on LaRoche's first-inning single after being hit by Matsuzaka to open the game, told the Boston Herald. "He throws every pitch imaginable and throws them all for strikes. With most pitchers, when you get in a hole against them, you at least have an idea what pitch they are going to throw to try to finish you off. With this guy, there is no sense sitting on a particular pitch because he throws everything."
Matsuzaka struck out Duffy, swinging at a changeup, in the third.
"I was saying, 'Wow!' as I was swinging," Duffy said.
Matsuzaka left several Reds talking to themselves, after throwing five scoreless, yet unbalanced, innings March 26, striking out six, walking five, throwing 104 pitches, 59 for strikes, often working behind in the count.
"We didn't get any hits, so obviously he did something," Reds right fielder Ken Griffey said. "It's a matter of seeing him a couple of times and reacting. The first time that you see anybody, he has the advantage over you. But he's a guy who thinks his way through the order and knows what he wants to do."
"I don't think he had his best stuff today," said left fielder Adam Dunn, before catching himself. "What am I saying? I've never seen the guy before in my life. But from what I saw today, it was as advertised. He didn't have very good location today. It probably made it a little easier on us. But he still got away with no runs and no hits. He did what he had to do."
"Daisuke was funky, for one thing," manager Jerry Narron said. "He throws a lot of different speeds. He throws a lot of different pitches at different speeds. He's got pretty good command."
In Saturday's spring finale against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, Matsuzaka got the win, despite struggling with his control -- the third consecutive game he's cited control issues. He surrendered three runs on just two hits, including a two-run homer by Burrell. Matsuzaka struck out seven and walked four in four innings, throwing 82 pitches, 51 for strikes.
It now falls to the Royals to try to solve Matsuzaka, as they open the season against the Sox at Kaufmann Stadium and face the Japanese phenom Thursday.
"I don't know much about him," said Royals manager Buddy Bell. "I've seen him on video. I've seen that he has great stuff with great command. We're hoping he doesn't have that great stuff and great command. If he does, it is going to be tough, as it is with every pitcher."
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賞賛の嵐。
He throws five pitches. Or is it six? Or maybe eight? And is the gyroball one of them? Or is that a pitch that lives only in baseball legend and computer animation?
Daisuke Matsuzaka is the only one who knows for sure -- and he's not telling.
Regardless of the number, Major League hitters began to learn this spring that the right-hander can throw all his pitches for strikes. In five Spring Training games, Matsuzaka compiled a 2-1 record with a 2.91 ERA. In 21 2/3 innings, he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits and 11 walks, striking out 26.
Three of the 11 hits were home runs, to Baltimore's Jason Dubois and Jon Knotts, and the Phillies' Pat Burrell.
In his first Grapefruit League outing, March 6 against Florida, Matsuzaka left several Marlins convinced they had seen the mythical pitch among his offerings in three innings of work.
"I saw the gyroball," Jason Stokes, the former Marlins infielder who was one of three Matsuzaka strikeout victims, told the Palm Beach Post.
"It's like a split-finger, downward angle, maybe runs in a little bit," said Stokes, who took the pitch for a 3-2 count before striking out on a slider.
"I'm glad he's in the American League," said Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who grounded out and lined back to Matsuzaka.
Ramirez was the first Major League batter Matsuzaka faced. In the third inning, Ramirez smoked a hard liner up the middle, but Matsuzaka reached his glove up and snagged it.
"I told him, 'Come on, man? You come here from Japan and you're stealing my hits,'" Ramirez said jokingly. "He's good. His slider is good."
Dan Uggla had the first hit off Matsuzaka this spring, lining a single to right field in the first inning.
"I thought his fastball was sneaky quick," Uggla said. "This [was] his first time out. I imagine he is only going to get better."
Catcher Miguel Olivo noted that Matsuzaka had a deliberate full windup, pausing slightly, and that from the stretch he speeds everything up.
"His slider is nasty," said Olivo, who claimed it broke in two directions -- down and over. "With men on, he works faster."
Matsuzaka was tagged with the loss in his next outing, as the Sox fell to the O's, 5-3, on March 11.
"He's got good stuff," O's second baseman Brian Roberts told The Baltimore Sun after going 0-for-2 against the Japanese sensation. "Shoot, you don't give guys $50 million for nothing. He threw everything for strikes at different times in the count. He mixed it up. He's here for a reason."
"I don't know what I hit," shortstop Miguel Tejada told the Sun, after going 1-for-2 against Matsuzaka. "I just know that ball moves. I don't know if it's the gyroball or a slider he threw me. He's pretty good."
Until Burrell homered off Matsuzaka on Saturday, a pair of O's Minor Leaguers were the only opponents who took Matsuzaka deep this spring. Dubois downplayed his roundtripper, taking a fastball over the left-center-field fence at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla., breaking a 2-2 tie.
"I put a pretty good swing on it and made contact," Dubois told the Sun. "That's all I was trying to do. He's got a pretty good slider. He's a pretty tough pitcher. We just got to him in that one inning."
Knott homered an inning earlier, his first hit of the spring.
"It was the last thing on my mind," Knott said in the Sun. "I [had] been pressing a little bit the last couple days. I was just trying to get a knock."
With his next scheduled start washed out by a deluge in Vero Beach on March 16, Matsuzaka had 10 days to prepare for his next outing, when he stifled the Pirates in Bradenton, Fla., to pick up his first Grapefruit League win. Over 5 2/3 innings, he allowed one run on one hit and one walk, striking out seven, before leaving to a standing ovation from the Sox partisans in the stands at McKechnie Field.
"He's not the least bit shy about throwing any pitch in any given count, which suggests how much confidence that he has in throwing all of his pitches for strikes," said Pirates manager Jim Tracy. "If you have the capability to do that, you're going to keep hitters off balance for a very long time."
After giving up an RBI single to Adam LaRoche in the first, Matsuzaka retired 11 in a row, from the last batter of the first inning through the first batter of fifth, with three consecutive strikeouts to wrap up that skein. He also struck out the final batter he faced, shortstop Don Kelly, in a 12-pitch duel. Kelly fouled off several Matsuzaka offerings before whiffing on a fastball.
"I was impressed," said LaRoche, the only Pirate to record a hit off Matsuzaka. "He had pretty good command with all his pitches. Obviously, he had a very good changeup, a slider. He must have a dozen pitches. I was asking [Sox catcher Jason] Varitek how many, and he said, 'I don't know, but I have to use both hands to give signs.'"
"He's worth every penny," Pirates leadoff hitter Chris Duffy, who scored on LaRoche's first-inning single after being hit by Matsuzaka to open the game, told the Boston Herald. "He throws every pitch imaginable and throws them all for strikes. With most pitchers, when you get in a hole against them, you at least have an idea what pitch they are going to throw to try to finish you off. With this guy, there is no sense sitting on a particular pitch because he throws everything."
Matsuzaka struck out Duffy, swinging at a changeup, in the third.
"I was saying, 'Wow!' as I was swinging," Duffy said.
Matsuzaka left several Reds talking to themselves, after throwing five scoreless, yet unbalanced, innings March 26, striking out six, walking five, throwing 104 pitches, 59 for strikes, often working behind in the count.
"We didn't get any hits, so obviously he did something," Reds right fielder Ken Griffey said. "It's a matter of seeing him a couple of times and reacting. The first time that you see anybody, he has the advantage over you. But he's a guy who thinks his way through the order and knows what he wants to do."
"I don't think he had his best stuff today," said left fielder Adam Dunn, before catching himself. "What am I saying? I've never seen the guy before in my life. But from what I saw today, it was as advertised. He didn't have very good location today. It probably made it a little easier on us. But he still got away with no runs and no hits. He did what he had to do."
"Daisuke was funky, for one thing," manager Jerry Narron said. "He throws a lot of different speeds. He throws a lot of different pitches at different speeds. He's got pretty good command."
In Saturday's spring finale against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, Matsuzaka got the win, despite struggling with his control -- the third consecutive game he's cited control issues. He surrendered three runs on just two hits, including a two-run homer by Burrell. Matsuzaka struck out seven and walked four in four innings, throwing 82 pitches, 51 for strikes.
It now falls to the Royals to try to solve Matsuzaka, as they open the season against the Sox at Kaufmann Stadium and face the Japanese phenom Thursday.
"I don't know much about him," said Royals manager Buddy Bell. "I've seen him on video. I've seen that he has great stuff with great command. We're hoping he doesn't have that great stuff and great command. If he does, it is going to be tough, as it is with every pitcher."
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賞賛の嵐。
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