(Above) RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka addressed the media at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium, in Manchester, NH, after a rehab start against the Fisher Cats last July.
Red Sox RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka has told a Japanese magazine that he suffered a leg injury last year while training for the World Baseball Classic and that he kept hidden from the team. He alleged that the injury caused him to alter his mechanics, and said that the combination of the injury, the altered mechanics and his decision to hide the injury from the club is what led to the shoulder injury that put him on the disabled list.
So, do YOU believe he was really injured? Or are his ego and pride causing him to make excuses in an effort to save face in his home country?
Here are a few excerpts from the magazine article:
“Early in January 2009, I hurt my right leg. I consider movement around my hip joint a crucial part of my pitching motion. The injury happened during the course of my exercise to strengthen my hip joint. I may have pushed myself just a little too hard (in an effort to prepare for the WBC).”
“Regrets and guilt filled my mind. It was time to start preparing for the season, but I hurt myself due to my own doing. I had to make a decision whether this injury was serious enough to withdraw from the World Baseball Classic. My body was functioning well and by taking anti-inflammatory medicine I was able to tolerate the pain, so I continued training. But it was actually hard just to run (so I should have shut it down).”
“I didn’t (tell the coaching staff and trainers). I didn’t want to be the center of concern for people. I was in charge of my own training, so when it started to hurt I was able to adjust my workouts so as not to hurt myself. But pitching while hiding the injury was very difficult. Even when I didn’t feel the pain, my body was holding back because it sensed the danger. My pitching became more of a straight up motion, throwing with my upper body and relying more on my shoulder strength than usual.”
“My plan after the WBC was to heal myself while keeping my turn in rotation, but the condition didn’t improve as the season went on. After my first trip to the DL (in May), I was very hard on myself. I got plenty of rest, so my shoulder was much stronger and I could still get up there in velocity. But I couldn’t use my lower body well, and I could not use my full body to generate the power. My fastball was not effective, therefore I lost effectiveness of my other pitches…but the (team) was struggling a little bit in the beginning of the season and I wanted to help as much as I could.”
So he says he pitched when he shouldn’t have…and hurt himself.
Do you believe him, Red Sox Nation? Leave a comment and let me know what you think…
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