Daisuke Matsuzaka hasn't won a game for the Boston Red Sox in a long time.
In his first start of the 2011 season, the Red Sox were defeated Wednesday night by the Cleveland Indians, 8-4. Matsuzaka pitched five innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs.
His last winning start was on September 2, 2010, against the Baltimore Orioles.
Matsuzaka's struggles are consistent with those of his team, as the Red Sox are winless in their first five games of the 2011 season.
Coming into the 2011 season the Red Sox made headlines with the signings of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. It was suggested the team would've made the postseason last year if not for the multitude of injuries they suffered.
Boston's lineup looked poised to make a deep run into the postseason this season, and the Red Sox were considered the favorites by many to win the AL East and the World Series.
Rosters don’t win baseball games.
Carl Crawford isn’t quite living up to his $142 million contract. He has a miserable .211 batting average and six strikeouts. He has attributed his hitting slump to a lack of timing and plans to get in the batting cage to work it out.
The Red Sox have had a disastrous start, losing all five games so far this season, but Adrian Gonzalez has been worth the money. He's batting .350 and slugging .600 with five RBI.
Gonzalez hit his first home run of the season against the Indians, but it wasn't enough for Boston to get their first win.
The bullpen couldn't keep the game within reach.
Matsuzaka left the game with the Red Sox trailing 3-2. Dennys Reyes and Dan Wheeler gave the game away in their relief appearances.
Reyes had a 16.20 ERA allowing three earned runs on only 12 pitches. Wheeler made it a full inning before being pulled with an 11.64 ERA after giving up a sixth inning home run to Asdrubal Cabrera.
The season is far from over, and Boston has plenty of time to rebound from their early struggles. Although it is still possible for them to win the AL East and eventually win the World Series, it isn’t probable.
No team has started a season 0-5 and went on to win a World Series.
If the Red Sox don't win a game soon, it may be worth it to have Gonzalez come out of the bullpen.
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