Playoff Pulse: The Matsuzaka Rollercoaster
October 11, 2008
Filed under: Red Sox, MLB Playoffs
In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.Over the course of his Game 1 start in the ALCS, Daisuke Matsuzaka managed to sum up his entire season brilliantly. He started horribly and flirted with disaster -- completely unable to find the strike zone -- but he somehow escaped. Then he got on a roll. A few innings later the only thing he was flirting with was a no-hitter and his team was scraping its way toward an unlikely win and the inside track on a World Series berth.
That's just life on the edge with Matsuzaka -- at some point you simply run out of ways to explain how or why he is successful.
He handed out 94 free passes during the regular season, yet managed to work his way into fringe consideration for the Cy Young Award by going 18-3 and posting a 2.90 ERA.
On Friday night, he threw 27 pitches in the first inning and loaded the bases, but wiggled out of it without allowing a run. He pulled a similar trick in the seventh inning, navigating out of a runners-on-the-corners, no-out jam to keep the Rays scoreless.
Of course, much of his success is blind luck and nothing more. Opponents are now hitless on the year in 15 at-bats against Matsuzaka with the bases loaded. He has the kind of "clutch" numbers any pitcher would kill for: a .164 batting average against with runners in scoring position and an even more miniscule .153 BAA with runners in scoring position and two outs.
Those aren't sustainable over the course of a career, indeed, it's hard to believe he's kept them up over most of a season.
But the more you watch him, the more it seems like his unique approach is also a part of his success. Matsuzaka seems almost completely unwilling to throw a pitch down the middle of the plate, even if the end result is a hitter winding up on first base. As the TBS announcing crew kept putting it, "he refuses to give in."
Championship Series Storylines - Day 2
Red Sox 2, Rays 0 (Read Recap | Check Box Score)
Daisuke Matsuzaka teetered on the edge of disaster early on, but wound up pitching seven shutout innings as the Red Sox took Game 1 from the Rays at hostile Tropicana Field.
Doug Benc, Getty Images
The Rays seemed poised to break through in the eighth inning after putting their first two runners on and driving Matsuzaka from the game. But Hideki Okajima got Carlos Pena to pop up on a 3-0 pitch, then Justin Masterson, pictured, induced a double play to end Tampa Bay's last scoring threat.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
Kevin Youkilis came into the ALCS 0-for-17 lifetime against James Shields, but he got a pair of hits off of Tampa Bay's starter and doubled in one of Boston's two runs in the game.
Elsa, Getty Images
Shields pitched well, but not well enough to get the Rays off to a winning start in the series. The right-hander lasted into the eighth inning, but allowed the only two runs of Game 1.
Doug Persinger, AP
The eighth inning featured a scary moment for J.D. Drew. The Red Sox outfielder took a Grant Balfour fastball high off the shoulder and slumped on the ground for a few moments before finishing his at-bat. Though the pitch didn't appear intentional, it could raise tensions between the two clubs further in the wake of a June brawl.
Chris O'Meara, AP
Jonathan Papelbon shut the door with a 12-pitch ninth to run his postseason scoreless streak to 20 2/3 innings -- a major league record.
Elsa, Getty Images
Phillies 8, Dodgers 5 (Read Recap | Check Box Score)
Pitcher Brett Myers, a career .116 hitter, once again sparked the Phillies offense in the playoffs. Myers went 3-for-3 and drove in three runs to help Philadelphia take control of the NLCS as the series shifts to Los Angeles.
Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images
The fleet-footed Shane Victorino joined Myers in picking up the slack for Philadelphia's big boppers in the middle of the order. Victorino had four RBI, all of them with two outs, in the Phillies' win.
Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images
The heroics of Myers and Victorino gave Philadelphia an 8-2 lead after three innings, but Manny Ramirez quickly responded. The Dodgers slugger, who watched a Myers fastball sail behind him in his first at-bat of Game 2, belted a three-run home run in the fourth inning, but Los Angeles never got any closer.
Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images
The Dodgers had their chances to close the gap in the late innings. They brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh and ninth, but closer Brad Lidge shut the door to stay perfect in save opportunities this year.
Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images
Daisuke Matsuzaka teetered on the edge of disaster early on, but wound up pitching seven shutout innings as the Red Sox took Game 1 from the Rays at hostile Tropicana Field.'], dims:['http://o.aolcdn.com/dims/PGMC/5/407/269/70/'], showDisclaimerText:['false'], disclaimerText:['NOTE: AOL does not control caption content, which comes from the photo provider.'], CSS_Title:['#000000'], CSS_Caption:['#303030'], CSS_Disclaimer:['#5b5b5b'], CSS_Container:['#ffffff'], CSS_Border:[''], CSS_PhotoWell:['#ffffff'], CSS_photoHolder:[''], CSS_Buttons:[''], CSS_BtnOver:[''], CSS_Scroll:[''], topMargin:['0,0,407,269,408,269,0,0'] } );
Sometimes it turns him into a nibbler. Sometimes a five-inning pitcher. Often times both. But it almost always means he's avoiding damaging extra-base hits. (Matsuzaka surrendered 1.48 extra-base hits per start this season -- 0.3 fewer than staff ace Jon Lester.)
He throws breaking balls in the dirt when he's behind in the count, and fastballs when he's way ahead, and the end result is that opponents just can't get comfortable at the plate. How can you when there's no such thing as a fastball or breaking ball count?
One final note on the mysterious Matsuzaka: He's gotten significantly stronger as his second season in the majors has progressed. If you split his first 12 starts (all but one of which came before he went on the disabled list) and his final 17, the contrast is stark. His ERA drops almost a full run from 3.46 to 2.54, and his BB/9 (walks per nine innings) drops more than a walk from 5.68 to 4.65.
He mirrored that dichotomy in Game 1. After the rocky first, in which he walked the bases full and threw only 12 of 27 pitches for strikes, Matsuzaka issued just one free pass and threw 55 of 88 pitches for strikes over his final six innings.
If he finishes the postseason as strongly as he finished in Game 1, the Matsuzaka rollercoaster ride could end with a lot of chewed fingernails and another Red Sox championship.
Yesterday's Hero: Matsuzaka. The way he picked himself off the mat after the first inning was remarkable. Honorable mention to Brett Myers, Shane Victorino, Manny Ramirez, Kevin Youkilis, James Shields and Justin Masterson.
Yesterday's Goat: Chad Billingsley, who either picked the worst time possible to throw a stinker or got rattled by Brett Myers' Micah Owings impersonation. Dishonorable mention to Brad Lidge, Joe Maddon and Terry Francona.
Quick Hits: Clayton Kershaw pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief for the Dodgers in Game 2 almost certainly ruling him out of a start in Game 4. Greg Maddux could still pitch in that game, but it's looking more and more like Derek Lowe -- who could have an improved sinker on short rest if you believe the conventional wisdom -- will take the hill instead. At this rate, Lowe might be fighting to stave off elimination. ... Memo to Ryan Howard: Lay off the breaking stuff down and away, it's clearly in the Dodgers' scouting report. ... It's hard to overstate how huge the Game 1 win for Boston was. The pressure is off of Josh Beckett Saturday night, but if he has shaken off the rust, it could very well be lights out for the Rays.
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