Results tagged “Dice-K”

WEEI reports that Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka complained in the Japanese press this week about the Red Sox' training program, citing it as the cause of the shoulder injury that has twice sent him to the disabled list this season.

It is always trippy to think about the fact that we are living through history and watching legacies be written before our very eyes. While the 2009 Red Sox and its fans are busy keeping their eyes on the prize and the standings, we are witnessing one of the best bullpens in Red Sox history, seeing what is, on paper, the best pitching rotation in the game and watching future Hall of Famers hone their crafts.

Everyone had legends on the brain on Monday, whether we fully realized it or not. In one case, the final (real-time, at least) words of a legendary story were being written; another couple of legends were continuing to add chapters to their tales. What it comes down to is the fact that a city that prides itself on its legends of old - with Williams, Orr, and Bird among them - is fortunate to have modern-day legends walking our streets.

THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the Japanese pitcher Red Sox fans have been waiting since 2007 to see in the postseason. While we know that Josh Beckett ought to deliver (we hope, we pray, we beg) and are worshiping the ground on which Jon Lester walks these days, Daisuke Matsuzaka has been the big question mark of our Starting Three. The approach of the fifth inning with Dice-K on the mound can easily make even the most confident Dice-K fan at least slightly squeamish.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, whose high pitch counts and low ERA give one the unsettling feeling of watching a chess master who mysteriously sacrifices all of his pawns before winning everything with his bishop and rook, won a tidy 8-0 shutout last night against the White Sox. Dice-K pitched eight innings, during which he struck out eight, walked two, and allowed two hits. The win improved his record to 16-2 and tied him with Hideo Nomo for the most wins by a Japanese native in a single MLB season. "I don't think that just reaching that number in and of itself has that much meaning," Matsuzaka told reporters.

It wasn’t that long ago when the Angels swept the Sox and with the Manny being the topic of every sportswriter’s columns across the country, the fans weren’t sure what they'd see last night. Would it be the shining star that makes the great catches and drives in runs two or three at a time? Or would they get the Manny we knew a few years ago who wouldn’t run out a grounder, or maybe even... this? Manny’s home run off of K-Rod didn’t help much when the Sox lost to the Angels, 7-5.

It won’t be a series; it’s going to be a spectacle. Last night, the Celtics beat then Pistons and will move on to face the Los Angeles Lakers. It will be the C’s first time at the finals since 1987; the Celtics faced off against the Lakers and came up short in the series 4 - 2. The two teams have met 11 times in the finals; the Celtics lead that with 8 wins.

Courtesy of Red Sox Monster, we are seeing the Papelbon Jig and Dice-K in a Teletubby costume in a whole new light:

What has gotten into the shampoo of two of Massachusetts' best-known figures? One man cut all his hair off, and another is sporting a mullet that would impress even Denise of Survivor: China fame.