The Globe's Chad Finn has extensive quotes, including:
Our every intention will be to get him back this year. ... There are going to be objectives that he's going to have to meet along the way here both in terms of strength and conditioning, both from a body standpoint and from a shoulder standpoint. ...
By his own admission he knows there's the need to take a step back before taking steps forward ...
I think it's important to clarify, there are reports out there that Daisuke is suffering from a sore shoulder. That is not true. ...
I wouldn't say he is loathe to listen [or is stubborn], that's not the case. But I will tell you this, every elite performer ... they're very strong in their mindset in terms of what they're individual strengths are ...
[W]e're not talking about wholesale changes with Daisuke. This is centering around physical strength and conditioning, and overall shoulder strength.
4 comments:
I'd like to think Daisuke is going to be fine. His stuff and movement is so good that it would be a shame if this were all he could accomplish in the majors. I've always predicted he'd win a Cy Young while with the Sox and I still think that's a possibility, but he's obviously got a lot to work on. There's a lot of talent (Jered Weaver, Chad Billingsley, Joe Saunders, John Lester, James Shields) on his comps list, so I'd say he's clearly too talented to be this bad.
I know I know we paid millions for him but I like him and I think that he can be great if he allows the Sox coaches to coach him and I think we are there now. If this takes until October to fix so be it.
I'm not sure I get what "it" is. If he isn't sore, is he weak and tired? Is that what 'strength and conditioning' mean? Do those really explain his ineffectiveness--it's not like he pitches three good innings and then runs out of gas? How long does it take to build those back up? Longer than the rest of the season--why so long? How did he get so weak, if weakness is the problem? (I'm assuming that he never dabbled in pharmaceuticals....)
I've just never been sure about Daisuke. The drastic difference in his performances here and in Japan has always worried me. Wins aside, which are a bollocks statistic to base success on anyways for a pitcher, he had had far poorer peripherals here than in Japan, and it took him a ridiculously lucky tightrope act to get those 18 wins last season with the ERA he had, especially with his penchant to throw 100 pitches and be done in the 5th inning.
Some stats to back this up: Daisuke's stats when he went 18-3 last year:
.321 OBA
1.32 WHIP
Less than one GO/AO
5 BB/9
Almost 7 H/9
And a whopping 17.32 P/IP
The sad part is that for all his struggles this year, he's actually LOWERED his walk rate. He's just translated those walks into hits.
Post a Comment