Projo Sox Blog

The Red Sox will huddle Monday and expect that a decision on what to next with Daisuke Matsuzaka will be made on that off-day.

Whether it be leaving things as they are, skipping his turn in the rotation, or finding a way to send him somewhere to work out his kinks, Matsuzaka indicated that he understands that something must be done.

"If I keep going like this, I have no right to be a part of this rotation," he said.

John Smoltz is set to join the team after a year spent rehabbing a surgically repaired shoulder. That leaves the rotation with six men for five spots. Jon Lester and Josh Beckett are untouchable. Tim Wakefield and Brad Penny are pitching well. With Matsuzaka mired at 1-5, with an 8.23 ERA, it's clear this situation can't persist forever.

We've got an off day Monday. We'll certainly sit down -- we have the ability to be a little flexible in what we do going forward," manager Terry Francona said.

Matsuzaka has tried to make changes himself. In the first inning, he even tried altering his delivery to improve his results mid-game. It didn't turn out like he'd hoped.

"I felt I had to do whatever it took to get out of that situation. After I came out of the game, I checked myself out on video and what I saw was completely different from what I actually thought I was doing, so I was quite disappointed," Matsuzaka said.

For a pitcher who has experienced only success since he was a teenager in Japan, this period of consistent failure has been a sobering experience. The insular Matsuzaka acknowledged that this may not be something he can fix by himself.

"I've had tough moments in the past, but each time I thought out and tried different ways to get through it. Even if I couldn't see the answer right away, often I was able to push myself to work my way out of it. This time, I feel it's taking way too much time to break through, so now might be the time where I need to reach out for some advice, for some help," he said.

The Red Sox invested $50 million for the rights to negotiate with the prized pitcher in 2006, and signed him to a $52 million, six-year deal before the 2007 season. The contract comes with a full no trade clause and a provision that he may not be sent to the minor leagues.

Matsuzaka has taken advice this year, and has been working on his well-known

Matsuzaka has won 33 games over the past two years, including an impressive 18-win campaign last year with a 2.90 ERA. But the complaint on Matsuzaka has always been that he doesn't attack the strike zone enough, and that eventually all the baserunners he allows will catch up with him.

But this year, pitching coach John Farrell said, Matsuzaka has tried to be more aggressive.

"He's tried, and attempted, many times, to be more aggressive in the strike zone, fully aware of the efficiency, and the pitch counts, and all the things we've talked about in the last couple years," Farrell said.

The pitcher just hasn't been able to locate his fastball within the zone well enough to be successful while on the attack.

"I think he's been more aggressive to the strike zone, to be quite honest with you. But it's control within the strike zone."

The struggles seem to be sapping his confidence, Francona said. But Matsuzaka has the track record of success in America to fall back on. The team is not about to give up on him.

"I'm sure it's tough for anybody. It looked like he was out there early and it looked like he wasn't as confident as we've seen him," Francona said.

"It's not a lack of trying. He wants to pitch, and we know that. Just got to keep fighting. This is a guy that has won a lot of games for us. It's a lot of wins. We need to try to figure it out and do better," Francona said.

 Tags  Boston Red Sox Daisuke Matsuzaka John Smoltz

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