Matsuzaka has plans, but only for tonight
Beyond tonight, when Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound against the Braves, there is uncertainty regarding his next start. While John Smoltz has been slotted Thursday between Jon Lester and Josh Beckett, according to manager Terry Francona, there is no set date for Matsuzaka to pitch next. Thursday would have been his normal turn in the rotation.
Francona downplayed talk of a six-man rotation before last night’s series finale against the Marlins, but this much is certain: Matsuzaka has not pitched well of late. He has not been anything like the 18-game winner of last season. He has been a weak link in an otherwise stellar rotation.
“I think he, like every other starter in our rotation, they know when their next start is and, in this case it’s [tonight],’’ pitching coach John Farrell said. “Where starters can get into a dangerous area is when they look beyond that. I think that is never more true than in this situation because everyone is aware of what John has gone through in his own rehab and getting back to this level and when he’s slotted in.
“But the one thing we continually stress, and I know this can be redundant and can be a mantra, is all that he can control is when he has the ball in his hand and executing that given pitch in this particular start. We can’t look beyond that and he can’t be distracted by what-ifs and what’s coming up.’’
The goal is to get Matsuzaka back to performing the way he is capable. In seven starts this season, Matsuzaka is 1-4 with a 7.55 ERA. He has gone no more than 5 2/3 innings in any start, has given up at least four runs in five starts, and has allowed opponents to hit .372. That’s compared with averages of .246 in 2007 and .211 in 2008.
He’s working on figuring out how “to command the baseball, particularly with his fastball down in the strike zone,’’ Farrell said. “When he’s had difficulty of late, it’s been missed location with his fastball up in the zone.’’
“I think there are times when a pitcher is in a stretch of games where maybe they begin to overthrow at times, with the intention of getting the end result that you work so hard for five days to prepare for,’’ added Farrell.
“The first one will be a normal side,’’ Farrell said. “The second one will be a chance to simulate a couple innings to incorporate the ups and downs. On Tuesday, the first day in Washington, that might be a light touch-up type situation.’’
Smoltz is likely to have a 90-pitch limit in his first start back. Though he had a difficult time gripping the ball in his final rehab start Wednesday, and because of that “almost gave up on the command of his offspeed pitches,’’ according to Francona, the righthander felt great physically.
“I think he’s as ready as he’s going to be at this point, which we’re confident is going to allow him to be successful,’’ Farrell said. “He has passed all the physical tests that he’s capable of at this point. We know that going in he’s been up to 90 pitches both in regular game activity plus additional pitches in a bullpen situation. So we would probably be in the same type range his first time back.’’
Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com. 
