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When fatigue sets in...

Email|Link|Comments (7) Posted by Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff February 11, 2008 03:03 PM

Daisuke Matsuzaka spoke earlier today about some of the problems he ran into last season, his first in the major leagues. While he knew what was coming in the Japanese League, he didn't once he arrived in the U.S.

That, he said, hampered him in his rookie year, in which he had a 10-6 record and a 3.84 ERA before the All-Star break and a 5-6 record and a 5.19 ERA after the All-Star break.

"I think last season I went into it only knowing the pace of the season in Japan so it was certainly a big difference to face a different pace of a season here in the U.S.," Matsuzaka said, through interpreter Masa Hoshino. "I think what happened last year was that the peak of my fatigue arrived at a time when I wasn't exactly expecting it to arrive, not at the time that it usually arrives and I think that was part of the difficulty last year."

Matsuzaka said that fatigue usually comes up in June or July in Japan, but dragged on to September last season.

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7 comments so far...

Did he say what he's doing to correct that in preparation for this season? Or is it the kind of thing that isn't an issue once he knows what to expect?

Posted by Benjamin February 11, 08 03:38 PM

go dice-k

Posted by jack taylor February 11, 08 03:53 PM

what a wus

Posted by thomas ronan February 11, 08 06:11 PM

If fatigued at 15 wins I expect a monster year this year

Posted by Mikey February 11, 08 06:29 PM

"I think last season I went into it only knowing the pace of the season in Japan so it was certainly a big difference to face a different pace of a season here in the U.S...." Hogwash. Every Japanese player in Japan is tuned in to the length of the season in the U.S. Heck, when I was living there, nearly all the "international" television segments were devoted to what was going on in U.S. sports.

Posted by itsjustagame February 11, 08 07:24 PM

I THINK, IF DICE K IS GIVEN THE PROPER TIME AND TRAINING
HE CAN BE A GREAT PITCHER. HE ALSO NEEDS TH E CONFIDENCE
THAT HE WILL SUCCEED IN THE MAJORS.

Posted by RICHARD HOOBEN February 11, 08 09:15 PM

Watching Americam baseball on TV and playing it are two entirely different things.
He can not learn how to pace his body by watching another league on TV....

Posted by JES February 12, 08 08:05 AM