What should we do with Dice-K?

[jacksonianmarch]

I would assume the merchandising money has dried up with him becoming the butt end of a joke in Boston. Just like I doubt the idea that the A's are making money hand over fist by having Matsui on their team

[TeddyBallGame9]

If there are any doubleheaders, pitch him in both and THEN we'll see who the REAL Red Sox fans are.

[Scottish Red Sox Fan]

What should we do with Dice-K? Well, where do you start....................

 

First of all I'd send the guy packing to Pawtucket. Whatever his issues are - whether they be health issues, mental issues, mechanical issues or just plain lack of ability issues - let him sort them out in Pawtucket and not in a Red Sox uniform. If he's going to continue to pitch like an ass then I'd rather he did it somewhere where it's not going to harm the Red Sox chances of being successful.

 

If by some miracle he can get his finger out of his arse and start to look like a quality pitcher then we can always bring him back to Boston and give him another chance.

 

Matsuzaka has made around 100 starts for the Red Sox now, he's had various pitching coaches and catchers to work with and yet he continues to have the same problems he's had since arriving in Boston ie. refusing to pitch to contact and being unable to get past the 6th inning. Enough is enough.

 

It's an absolute sin to think of the amount of money the Red Sox have wasted on this guy. I'm a big fan of Theo Epstein but oh boy did he get it wrong when he decided to plough so much of our resources into Dice-K. I wish there was some way we could trade him but given the salary he is on I think it is very unlikely that we could. So I guess we're stuck with him.

 

I've had it with Dice-K and just wish to never see him on the mound in a Red Sox uniform again. I'll be honest and admit that I haven't really been a fan of his since Day 1 but with each inept performance he puts in I find my intolerance of him growing and growing.

 

 

Taxi for Matsuzaka! :thumbdown

[Palodios]

Matsuzaka has made around 100 starts for the Red Sox now, he's had various pitching coaches and catchers to work with and yet he continues to have the same problems he's had since arriving in Boston ie. refusing to pitch to contact and being unable to get past the 6th inning. Enough is enough.

 

Daisuke has a very strange way about pitching. He usually likes to nibble the strike zone, throw a lot of pitches, and only allow 2-3 runs in 5-6 innings. That's what we're going to see from him, and we saw this "classic dice-k" on his first start of the year-- 5 innings, 3 runs. Arguably, the best season we've seen from him was in 2008, when he pushed closer to the limits of 2 runs, and 6 innings, and ended up with a sub-3 ERA.

 

 

But if you watched closely to his last start, he wasn't mixing it up. He was going too far into the zone. His first 12 pitches were thrown to either strikes or contact, which is absolutely unheard of for him. And after that, he was trying too hard to get it in the zone that he left it hanging down the middle, where he got pounded. It just felt to me like Dice-k was saying to Curt Young "f*** you, this is what it looks like when I pitch how you want me to". I've spent a lot of time defending him on Talksox, and honestly, after that POS outing against a pitiful lineup, I've had enough.

[Scottish Red Sox Fan]

But if you watched closely to his last start, he wasn't mixing it up. He was going too far into the zone. His first 12 pitches were thrown to either strikes or contact, which is absolutely unheard of for him. And after that, he was trying too hard to get it in the zone that he left it hanging down the middle, where he got pounded. It just felt to me like Dice-k was saying to Curt Young "f*** you, this is what it looks like when I pitch how you want me to".

 

I think you've got a good point there actually. A lot of Dice-K's pitches were right over the middle of the plate last night and he did indeed get clobbered. Rick Sutcliffe was saying in commentary that Kurt Young had been trying to encourage Dice-K to pitch to contact and perhaps what happened last night was a result of that. I have to say though that if Kurt Young is trying to get Dice-K to pitch to contact then that is something that I wholeheartedly support. Dice-K's continual attempts to nibble the edge of the plate are what leads to his high pitch count and short outings.

 

Maybe, after another few weeks of adjusting to this new way of pitching, things will improve with Dice-K. I wouldn't bet on it though.

[Will617]

Not every pitcher has their sharpest stuff at the start of the season. If Dice-K pounds the zone, he needs good movement (which he had at times last year). I'm sure that eventually he'll be a 4.5 ERA guy at the end of teh season. If he keeps sucking over the next 5 starts, then there might be a problem.

[J-Beck]

Let him pitch backwards again.

 

It's worth a shot.

[a700hitter]

Abrahams is calling for him to be traded:

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/04/the_time_has_co.html

[boston22407]

get pedro or trade dice-k for barry zito straight up and he can go play for a west coast team

[boy racer]

I'd say pitching lessons but it's not even worth it. It's not 2007 anymore, get him outta here.

[a700hitter]

Dice K is almost certainly going to end up in the big bust category for my boy Theo.

[TedWilliams101]

So that brings me to this question: Has there been a single Japanese import that actually sustained a moderate to high level of success in the majors? I can't think of a one.

[SoxSport]

The Herald poll suggest replacing him with Wakefield. Yikes. Poor Wake doesn't have much left--even to mop up--which seems to be his current role. Looks like he's added about 20 lbs.

 

The best way to get rid of Dice-Ks contract is to move him to some team in Japan. He's still marketable over there, and there should be some interest.The kid is underachieving here, and maybe pitching in Japan would be better for him.

 

I can't believe Young told him to throw the ball down the middle. That's committing hari-kari in the big leagues. No pun intended.

Has it occurred to anyone that he may have a communications problem? He should be pitching in Japan, Theo.

[Will617]

So that brings me to this question: Has there been a single Japanese import that actually sustained a moderate to high level of success in the majors? I can't think of a one.

 

Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, Takashi Saito, Hiroki Kuroda, Koji Uehara, Hideo Nomo

[SoxFanForsyth]

I'll break his legs for a bag of seeds.

[Palodios]

Ichiro Suzuki' date=' Hideki Matsui, Takashi Saito, Hiroki Kuroda, Koji Uehara, Hideo Nomo[/quote']

 

I think the better question is how many Japanese pitchers have sustained success in the majors. Kuroda/Uehara haven't been around very long, and Nomo definitely wasn't consistent by any means. Tsaito has had 5 solid years at the end of his career.

[SoxSport]

Ichiro Suzuki' date=' Hideki Matsui, Takashi Saito, Hiroki Kuroda, Koji Uehara, Hideo Nomo[/quote']

 

Good point. But everybody's different. I don't think Dice-K has adapted well.

 

Wish they had signed Matsui. That guy can still hit.

[Flynnatic10]

Deport his ass back to Japan.

[Redsoxwin15]

I agree that Dice-K has to go. Maybe sending him back to Japan would be a good idea if it works. At least we can count on Lester (sorta)

[BecKett]

The real question:

 

Who do you trust more on the mound right now?

 

a)Lackey

b)Dice-K

c)A box of crunch berries

[snydersminipretzels]

The real question is how much damage do those two pitchers are they going to do to our final win total. Bill James projected Dice-K at 173.0 IP with a 3.85 ERA added. Lackey is 227.0 IP with a 3.89 ERA added. I think the two are obviously going to pitch better, but how much better are they? Dice-K has induced four swing and misses this year, and is getting absolutely torched by lefties. Lackey is going to be the Red Sox's AJ Burnett. He looks old, his stuff has declined, and now he can't throw strikes. Bill James has these two for a projected WAR of 6.5. I don't see league average pitchers in these two, they are probably good bets to finish with 5+ ERA's.

 

With the rest of the team performing at his projected standards, they are picked to finish with 95 wins. Where are they going to make up those up? This team will finish south of 90 wins.

[DwightFright]

Their best bet is to sell him to a team in Japan. He still has some value over there.

 

I agree that the signing of Dice was partly a strategic signing to allow the Red Sox to gain part of the international fanbase that other MLB teams were gaining. He isn't the first Japanese star to come over from Japan and meet with mediocre results. There are only a few Ichiros that perform consistently well over time. Because it was partly a marketing decision, Theo must have an exit strategy that does not alienate the Japanese fanbase. It makes sense to send him down to Pawtucket first, and then maybe deal him back to Japan at any cost as long as the Red Sox do it in a way that does not cause Dice to lose too much face. This is a more sensitive marketing issue than merely a baseball decision. There are still quite a few fans walking around Tokyo with Red Sox caps.

[boy racer]

The Herald poll suggest replacing him with Wakefield. Yikes. Poor Wake doesn't have much left--even to mop up--which seems to be his current role. Looks like he's added about 20 lbs.

 

The best way to get rid of Dice-Ks contract is to move him to some team in Japan. He's still marketable over there, and there should be some interest.The kid is underachieving here, and maybe pitching in Japan would be better for him.

 

I can't believe Young told him to throw the ball down the middle. That's committing hari-kari in the big leagues. No pun intended.

Has it occurred to anyone that he may have a communications problem? He should be pitching in Japan, Theo.

 

This can NOT happen. Keep Wake at relief for the love of god. If we do any bullpen rearrangement we better do it right, even if it means letting go of Dice-K, which seems to be the most logical choice right now.

 

Edit: Check this article

 

http://firebrandal.com/2011/04/12/time-to-roll-dice-k-out-of-the-rotation/

 

I don't mind the Doubront idea. If there's a time to try things out, it's now.

[SoxSport]

You can't help but suspect that Dice-K wishes he were pitching in Japan. 'Nuf said.

[Station 13]

It's time to part ways, in the best interest for both parties.

 

Wish him the best........once he is move.

[Youk Of The Nation]

The real question:

 

Who do you trust more on the mound right now?

 

a)Lackey

b)Dice-K

c)A box of crunch berries

 

Theoretically, the opposing team could be enticed by the deliciousness of Cap'n Crunch (The official cereal of masochists everywhere), and not hit well.

[Palodios]

This whole Dice-k situation has really bothered me quite a bit, partly because I've backed him so much over the last three years, but mostly because of how much this team needed him to simply do better, and he instead pitched the worst I've ever seen.

 

But you know what? Everything we've ever seen from this guy makes me think to myself.... if he goes out and throws 7 shutout innings on Monday, I wouldn't be one bit surprised.

[WhiskeyBreath]

Daisuke has a very strange way about pitching. He usually likes to nibble the strike zone, throw a lot of pitches, and only allow 2-3 runs in 5-6 innings. That's what we're going to see from him, and we saw this "classic dice-k" on his first start of the year-- 5 innings, 3 runs. Arguably, the best season we've seen from him was in 2008, when he pushed closer to the limits of 2 runs, and 6 innings, and ended up with a sub-3 ERA.

 

 

But if you watched closely to his last start, he wasn't mixing it up. He was going too far into the zone. His first 12 pitches were thrown to either strikes or contact, which is absolutely unheard of for him. And after that, he was trying too hard to get it in the zone that he left it hanging down the middle, where he got pounded. It just felt to me like Dice-k was saying to Curt Young "f*** you, this is what it looks like when I pitch how you want me to". I've spent a lot of time defending him on Talksox, and honestly, after that POS outing against a pitiful lineup, I've had enough.

 

I gotta agree. Looks like he was just saying a giant f*** you to the team by throwing meatballs right down the heart of the plate instead of his normal nibble around the corners for 5 innings ********.

 

At this point I really don't give a s*** what he does. I've always hated the guy but if he wants to keep doing what he's doing whatever. He's the 5th starter on this team and they don't have a suitable replacement.

[arbitrary]

I remember hearing something that Curt Young wanted him to attack the zone more. Maybe that's what he was doing, I dunno?

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Yeah, attack meaning throw strikes. Dice-K's definition of strikes is throwing heaters right up the middle. He needs to fix that s*** asap.