Daisuke Matsuzaka

One of the best little news fragments to emerge recently from Red Sox spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., to me, was that Daisuke Matsuzaka is trying to alter his cut fastball and changeup to make them more effective in 2011.

Every year, there are those waiver wire wonders that carry your team through the fantasy baseball season. In 2010, fantasy stars like Jose Bautista, Buster Posey, Carlos Santana and Angel Pagan are just a few of the many players who made an impact despite their undrafted status on draft day. 

In the long and cherished history of the Boston Red Sox, the team has managed to flourish with, and despite of, some of the most oddly reclusive players in the game of baseball. These stars of the diamond have often been compared to Greta Garbo, the famous actress and movie star. She made the mold for the term “Drama Queen” and lived in opulent seclusion.

Spring training is a great opportunity to get a sense of how a player's offseason went, and what to expect in terms of improvement or regression. How a player performs during spring training often helps scouts see how players are recovering from injury or whether or not to expect a player who disappointed the previous season to bounce back.

The Red Sox have one of the most solid rotations in baseball, both in terms of on-field quality and stability.  They have six major league-ready starters and, barring injury, not many of their prospects will see a start. 

Jon Lester is one of my favorite pitchers in baseball.  I’ve loved him since 2008, when I stupidly refused to trade Shawn Marcum for him, and made sure I drafted him in 2009 and 2010.  

I mean, what’s not to like? 

There were rumors all offseason long that the Red Sox could look to move Daisuke Matsuzaka, though at this point it does not appear likely.  Instead, Dice-K will again open the season as part of a deep Red Sox rotation with an awful lot to prove.

After a tremendous 2008 campaign (18 W, 2.90 ERA, 1.32 WHIP), he has struggled tremendously. 

Recently, The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo entertained the idea that Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka could generate some serious trade interest if the Sox chose to put him on the block.

He cited an informal poll of baseball execs as the basis of his claims that moving Daisuke could generate a lot of interest among the baseball community

This is certainly not a new idea, as his inconsistency on the mound and unwillingness to adapt to a more aggressive style of pitching has frustrated many Red Sox fans.

For Daisuke Matsuzaka, the hype was unavoidable.

If it wasn't the $51 million posting bid that the Red Sox gave to the Seibu Lions, Matsuzaka's Japanese team until 2006, just to have the opportunity to negotiate a contract, it was the rumors of the dynamic stuff that Daisuke possessed.

Reports even surfaced regarding his ability to throw a legendary pitch known as the gyroball.

Fast forward almost three and a half years, and the general perception of Matsuzaka is very different. 

Matsuzaka's time in Boston has been anything but consistent.

A pair of starting pitchers found their way onto the disabled list this afternoon:

According to Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Rangers have placed Rich Harden on the DL due to "a strained left gluteus muscle."

There is currently no word as to who will replace him in the rotation as Alexi Ogando has been recalled to fill his spot on the roster.

Red Sox pitching, of course, refers to just two men:

Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield.

Remember how both those guys dominated the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park three weeks ago over a span of 18 hours?

Well, both righthanders will be out to repeat their wizardry of the Phillies this weekend, while the Phillies will be given a shot at redemption, a chance for revenge.