The Boston Globe is reporting that the Red Sox won the right to negotiate a contract with Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Boston’s winning bid of $51 million trumped its most hated rivals, the New York Yankees.
“If they can sign him, they’ve got the best pitcher in the market, and he may be the best pitcher in baseball when all is said and done,” said one American League general manager last night. “He’s got five outstanding pitches.
“Coming over from Japan where he threw a lot of innings and had 18 complete games [including playoffs], I would think this would seem like a vacation to him. It’s a lot of money, but if you have it, why not use it on a kid like this? The Yankees have to be sick about this.”
Why would the Yankees be sick? Because they might miss out on the next Hideki Irabu, Chan Ho Park or Hideo Nomo? One of Matsuzaka’s five pitches is called a gyro-ball. Apparently, this gyro-ball is supposed to “disappear” at some point on the way to plate. Riiiiiiight. Trust me, major league hitters will eventually figure this guy out, just like they figured out Nomo’s awkward pitching motion and whatever Park brought to the table when he first came to America. Matsuzaka may fool hitters for half a season or maybe even an entire year, but it won’t last.
Instead of trying to outbid the Red Sox, why don’t the Yankees actually take the time to find the next Francisco Liriano, Dontrelle Willis or even Carlos Zambrano in their farm system?
