BOSTON - Hours before Daisuke Matsuzaka's start against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night, a Red Sox official was asked what he and the organization expected from their prodigal starter after a three-month absence."No idea," said the official without hesitation.
"If I'm forced to continue to train in this environment, I may no longer be able to pitch like I did in Japan," Matsuzaka warned. "The only reason why I managed to win games during the first and second years (with the Red Sox) was because I used the savings of the shoulder I built up in Japan. Since I came to the major leagues, I couldn't train in my own way, so now I've lost all those savings."
Red Sox officials were livid, none more so than pitching coach John Farrell, who viewed Matsuzaka's remarks as nothing less than a betrayal. Tuesday night, after Matsuzaka's brilliant comeback effort, the same Farrell was effusive in his praise.
"He's to be commended for the work that he's done," said Farrell, "in reshaping himself, getting his core strength. ... Everything about the work he did on the DL, it showed up here tonight. His body control was better, and I think that's just the result of improved core strength. He maintained a much better arm slot, and as a result, he got a lot of outs from his fastball. It was a big step for him and a huge lift for us with his outing here tonight.
"He did a heck of a job. If he didn't commit to this work needed, we probably wouldn't be sitting here talking about him tonight. But the fact that he did, on some very lonely outings down in Fort Myers, when no one else was around, that's where his drive and his self-motivation shines through."
After a few months spent getting back to fundamentals, Matsuzaka continued to get down to basics Tuesday night. Though he has a repertoire of pitches too numerous to catalogue, it was his fastball — crisp, with some movement — that served him best.
Boston's rotation was largely set before Matsuzaka, and Tuesday night won't alter that. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz will be the team's top three starters in the postseason, but Matsuzaka may have staked a claim to the No. 4 spot, especially as Tim Wakefield continues to battle back woes.
"There's not much left in the season," acknowledged Matsuzaka, "but in the limited time and the limited opportunity that I do have, I want to show my appreciation to my teammates and the fans by contributing in a positive way."
Basking in the afterglow Tuesday night, Matsuzaka's lonely summer journey back to the beginning suddenly seemed worthwhile.
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