Gyro Mystery

Gaylord Perry on Daisuke Matsuzaka:

I was watching him on TV when he pitched against Boston College. And I saw some of his appearance against the Marlins. He's got it all figured it out. ... Make 'em think you can throw five or six pitches when you can only throw three or four pitches. That way, you always have everyone guessing. ...

It's all about getting in their heads. Sometimes, the day before a start, I'd put a little bit of Vaseline on my hands and shake hands with the guys on the other team. And when I was on the mound, I wouldn't do anything until the batter was looking at me. Then I'd do my act. ... It sounds to me like Matsuzaka is already getting into guys' heads.

Two Marlins -- Jason Stokes and Jeremy Hermida -- said they saw the gyroball on Tuesday.

Stokes:

He threw four different pitches to me -- a fastball, slider, gyro and curve. [On the gyro] He threw it up and in. I could see it was obviously a ball right away. I'm thinking 'Get out of the way.' It kind of backs up on you.

Hermida:

It looks like a split, but it's slower. It didn't have the same spin as a split. It had its own unique character. It's got a good, hard and downward break but comes out with more speed than a changeup.

Francona: "If they're seeing it, that's probably good." Pitching coach John Farrell said what they saw was Matsuzaka's changeup. Dice said it was a cut fastball.