But the Dice-K on display in the Sox' 6-3 loss to the Rangers at Fenway Park was a very different creature. For only the sixth time in 74 career Bosox starts (regular season and postseason), he walked nobody. He faced 27 batters and he only had three-ball counts on four of them. This is the man who issued 103 walks in 183 2/3 regular-season and postseason innings a year ago.
What they did was hit him. The Rangers had 10 of their 12 base knocks off Dice-K, including three doubles (all authoritative), a Nelson Cruz triple off the garage door in dead center, and a Michael Young homer into the Red Sox bullpen. This is the man who led all American League pitchers last year with an opponents' batting average of .211.
Then again, there were a lot of swings and misses, indicating that when Matsuzaka put the ball where he wanted, he was very effective. He struck out eight, and six of them were swinging.
It wasn't about stuff. He threw consistently from 92-94 miles per hour and he had a full variety of pitches, striking out people on fastballs, curves, and sliders. He also threw cutters and changeups.
Of course, in the major leagues it generally comes down to three things: location, location, and location.
"I thought he missed over the middle and up on a team that can really make you pay when you throw the ball in the middle," said Sox manager Terry Francona.
Amid the occasional rockets, there was actually a lot to like, starting with the fact that he was working uncommonly fast.
In the first inning I glanced away from the field after he threw a pitch and when I looked up he was already in his windup. In his two-plus years with the Red Sox I can guarantee you that's never happened before.
The flip side is that maybe working fast just isn't him. Working at his usual glacial pace last year, the most hits he gave up in any game was eight. And, oh yeah, he was 18-3.
Question: Was yesterday's 5 2/3-inning, 10-hit, 5-run, 8-strikeout, no-walk outing a step forward, a step backward, or a completely mystifying performance that leaves the Sox brass no better off than it was?
Catcher Jason Varitek was leaning toward the glass-half-full analysis. "I don't think Daisuke's far off," he declared. "He's still trying to figure himself out right now. He's getting himself into the season."
