Red Sox 2008: Daisuke Matzusaka, Round Two

Daisuke Matsuzaka is one of the most hyped players to ever come out of Japan since Ichiro Suzuki. He was billed as the next big thing, even money to win a Cy Young in his rookie season. Daisuke, He who throws the legendary, mythological "Gyro" Ball. Heck, the Red Sox even paid $51,000,000 just to talk to this guy, who's represented by Scott Boras. But then came the regular season, where Daisuke at times looked brilliant, but at other times didn't seem to have a clue as to what was going on. He wowed people in his first career MLB game against the Royals on April 5, going seven strong innings and only giving up one run, while striking out 10 players en route to the victory. But then there were also games like on May 3 against Seattle, where he gave up five first-inning runs, lasted only five innings, giving up seven total runs and amassing only one total strikeout. Many things seemed to bother Daisuke while adjusting to his new league. The seams on the ball used in the Major ... [link]