Whatever it is, Dice-K's start tonight was his first step on the path to it. And, it was a giant step. 2009 Matsuzaka 2.0 went 6 + shutout innings in his return to the big-league mound. He wasn't facing any of the doormats of the American League either--he was baffling a lineup stacked with near .300 hitters on that team called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. On a night when two of the Sox' best hitters, Youk and V-Mart, were not in the lineup, Dice-K's performance was all the more important. His line: 6+ IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB and 5 K. Going into tonight, I honestly didn't know what to expect out of him, but this pretty much falls into the "best case scenario" category.
Of course, Paul Byrd's first outing of the season had similar results and then he was used as a pinata by the White Sox in his next start. However, the level of competition in that first start (the Toronto Blue Jays) is not the same as what Dice-K faced tonight. I think we will continue to see good performances out of Dice-K this month, but won't all necessarily be shutouts. He is younger than Byrd and he's hungry to get into that playoff rotation, should the Sox hold onto their Wild Card lead. If he follows tonight up with 3 or 4 more quality starts and Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz keep pitching like they have lately, the Sox have an excellent chance of making the playoffs and being a force to be reckoned with once they get there.
Magic Number: 15, but if Oakland holds on to their lead over Texas, it could soon be 14. Oh, and the Jays are routing the Yanks.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment