Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Well, Holy ****!!

A rumor wrapped inside a mystery within an enigma with a question mark, AND chocolate icing on top, with a cherry or three, might be all too real. Read this from today's Herald, and read the entire article by clicking on the title....but first, read my comments, right after this..........

JUPITER, Fla. - "The gyroball exists and Daisuke Matsuzaka throws it, at least that’s what a couple of major league hitters were left thinking yesterday.
In Matsuzaka’s Red Sox [team stats] debut against major leaguers, two Marlins - Jason Stokes and Jeremy Hermida - said they saw a pitch that had movement and action unlike any other pitch they had ever seen before.
Hermida saw it three times, Stokes once and the UFO broke down and away to the left-handed hitting Hermida and in on the hands of Stokes.
The ball spun in a clock-wise direction, or reverse to what they are used to. It had a screwball-like rotation that left them shaking their heads.
Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell said Matsuzaka’s changeup was the pitch they actually saw but that was not what the Marlins called it.
“It’s a pitch that’s somewhere between a changeup and a splitter but it’s got a sideways spin,” said Stokes. “It’s like a split, but it’s slower, more movement.”
Stokes had one at-bat against Matsuzaka, a seven-pitch plate appearance with the next to last pitch being the supposed gyroball.
“He threw four different pitches to me - a fastball, slider, gyro and curve,” said Stokes. 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."

Peter here, and due to a lack of TV coverage (if I had been in Japan, I would have watched!), I wasn't an eyewitness. But the Marlin's hitters? A different story altogether. And Daisuke still says he's humming along at about 50% of his capability! More hype? You know what? I don't think so, not any more. And before spring training began, I wrote a piece that featured an article about the so-called Gyroball. You can use the search feature at the very top left portion of my blog, and type in Gyroball, if you'd like. Or I can do it for you. I JUST DID... go back to January 27th, 2007. It's easy...just click on January '07 under the archive section, on your right, and go to the post entitled "Gyromania, Or?", and you will find my piece with the incorporated SI article. Great stuff!

And now, this, from Chicago sports dot com! Great stuff!!!!

"Daisuke Matsuzaka was conducting an interview outside the Boston Red Sox clubhouse after making the Florida Marlins look like, well, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Japan's latest expansion team.
Hanley Ramirez, last season's National League Rookie of the Year, couldn't keep quiet when he walked by.
"Hey, you throw too hard, man," Ramirez shouted into the crowd. "I'm happy you're in the American League."
In his first outing against a team of American major-leaguers, Matsuzaka flew through three innings on a sunny Tuesday. He used only four pitches from his wide collection—five if that was a "gyroball" he threw to Jason Stokes, who identified it like he has been seeing them all his life—as he struck out three and thrilled the Boston fans in the standing-room-only crowd of 8,044 at Roger Dean Stadium.
Matsuzaka, the $103 million import, looked very much like the guy who carried a collection of Japanese all-stars to the World Baseball Classic title last March in San Diego. He was so composed in his preparations and on the mound that catcher Jason Varitek didn't realize the significance of the occasion until later.
If this is what Matsuzaka looks like when he is going through his learning curve, as he must be, then he really could be something to see in July and August, when the annual battle between the Red Sox and the New York Yankees enters its full boil."

Peter here, and for now, March 7th, 2007, we see more and more Daisuke magic with each start. And as was just said, Daisuke WILL be something to see come July and beyond. And for years to come! And I cannot wait for the real season, because he becomes more and more puzzlingly delightful with every appearance. But hey, so does every member of our rotation as it exists now. Read the whole article, please. Click on the title. And your comments are always welcome and always answered. Take care on this warm Wednesday (or at least it should be---the normal high temperature for north central interior Connecticut on this date is near 43 degrees F.), where at 9:55am, right now, it's a balmy 13.1 degrees.
I'll be back.....and thanks for being the best readers anyone has ever known! And you KNOW how much I mean that, and how much that means to ME! So thanks...you make this guy so very happy!

2 Comments:

At 3/07/2007 4:47 PM, Blogger Katiee said...

gyroball? niiiiiiiiice
Dice-K is looking good so far lets hope he keeps it up. i have faith in him

 
At 3/07/2007 5:05 PM, Blogger Peter N said...

Thanks Katiee!!!!!

 

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