A blast from the recent past: Daisuke Matsuzaka
It seems like only yesterday the Red Sox paid $51,111,111.11 for the “opportunity” to talk with former Japanese pitching phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka. I say “seems like only yesterday” because I’m still waiting for that “phenom” to show up (and I love sarcasm). To say this was the worst move in MLB history might be a little over-dramatic but what the heck: This was the worst move in MLB/Red Sox history.
That’s saying a lot considering we practically gave Babe
Ruth to the Yankees to finance a Broadway play entitled ‘No, No, Nanette.’ Nonetheless
Red Sox fans are always moving forward. The past is the past and we rarely hold
a grudge against anyone (wink, wink). So where’s Dice-K now?
On January 16th multiple sources reported that the
32-year-old Matsuzaka was mulling over a minor league contract between the
Indians, Marlins and Mets. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2011
Matsuzaka struggled to find his form in 2012. Following the 2012 season Daisuke
became an unrestricted free agent.
It’s hard to argue that Dice-K’s fall from grace wasn't the
greatest blunder in MLB history. Perhaps the unfortunate result of high expectations
and an injury prone career, Matsuzaka never fully lived up to the 51.1 million dollars
the Red Sox paid just to talk to the guy (just to reiterate that money wasn't to sign Dice-K but for the right to “talk” to him).
In Boston Dice-K will be remembered by Red Sox Nation for
three things; his 2008 season (18-3 record), his long stints on the disabled
list and the introduction of the Gyroball. I hope you didn't think we’d
forgotten about the infamous “Gyroball.” Did you?
Follow Scott Levesque on Twitter at @scottlevesque.
Follow Scott Levesque on Twitter at @scottlevesque.
