David Pinto worked for ten years as the chief researcher for ESPN’s Baseball Tonight. Starting in 2002, David brought his research and insights to a wider audience through his blog, Baseball Musings.

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Showing entries for Category: Daisuke-Matsuzaka

Misusing Matsuzaka

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May 29, 4:21 PM

by David Pinto, Baseball Examiner

During my radio show Wednesday night, I discussed the Red Sox pattern of use of Daisuke Matsuzaka. Looking at his log with pitch counts, the Red Sox seem to be more interested in limiting his innings than his pitches. In two of his best starts, he lasted seven innings. In one of those he threw 111 pitches, so I can see him coming out, but in the other, he threw just 96. Why not let him go 115 pitches when he's throwing well? In his two high pitch outings, on 4/13 and 5/22, he pitched poorly, walking six in each game. Now, there are many theories on what pitch counts mean. One that makes sense to me is that pitching fatigued leads to injuries, since it's more difficult to keep your mechanics right.

13 April 2008: Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka as the Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees 8-5 Sunday night at Fenway Park in Boston. MA. Dice-K threw 116 pitches in the game and walked six.
Photo: Icon SMI

Now, I'd like to suggest that walking lots of batters is a sign that a pitcher's mechanics is off. Now, maybe the umpire had a narrow strike zone, or maybe the opposing team was particularly selective. Walking a lot of batters, however, should throw up a red flag that the pitcher may not have everything together that day. So in the two games where walks indicated that Matsuzaka's mechanics were off, he threw the most pitches. The start before he left with an injury was one of those, 118 pitches in a game where he struggled with control. I understand that Dice-K has a history of being able to throw a lot of pitches, it just seems to make more sense to allow him high pitch counts when he's throwing well rather than when he might be struggling with his mechanics.
Topics: Pitchers , Managers , Daisuke Matsuzaka , Red Sox , Pitch Counts

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Effectively Wild

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May 11, 10:09 AM

Daisuke Matsuzaka walked three batters Saturday night, one with the bases loaded. Despite a rate of 5.7 walks per nine innings pitched this season, Dice-K sports a low 2.45 ERA and has yet to lose a game. That 2.45 ERA matches the best ever... Read More
Topics: Pitchers , Daisuke Matsuzaka

David Pinto