Sox take Matsuzaka out of rotation

Nobody likes to see a pitcher from their staff go down, however, it is obivious something is wrong with the Dice-Man, better to find out now with all the various options in pitching. It is good to read that Dice admits some of the problem is from the Classic, which means he would probably accept a stint at AAA to work it out.... Should he be hurt better to find out now and shut him down before any more damage might occur....Good thing the club has all the pitching depth we do..many clubs could not survive a loss of the a #3 guy...

Not to be cynical, but ABOUT TIME. There's a time to hold 'em and a time to fold 'em...and this card game needs to be folded for a while... Dice K made his choice that the WBC was more important so, no sympathy for him... Hopefully he'll rest, rehab and get it together for next year or maybe even the end of the season (although the thought of watching him pitch this year makes my frizzy hair stand up straight).

Has to happen. Saving grace is Smoltz and Bucholz/Bowden. Sox still need LH bat unless Big Papi keeps appearing instead of David Ortiz. But trading Penny now isn't a real option unless they think the kids are ready. Dice K is too good to be this lousy. Something is wrong. Afraid it's going to be a season ender. Who would ever have thought SP would be club weakness when season started?

Other that Bud Selig, does anybody out there give a flying whoop about the WBC? It's a dumb idea that gets players hurt.

Well, now that we have a temporary solution to this abundance of pitching, its time to figure out what to do with Penny and Dice-K. It would be very difficult to move Dice-K in a trade seeing as his ERA is almost as high as his salary (which I belive is about 9 mil per year), although there are plenty of teams I'm sure still interested in Penny. The problem is I'm not convinced Dice-K is better than Penny. Penny is only a year and a half older, throws 98 miles per hour and has an ERA about 4 runs lower than Dice-K. I belive Penny is only a few steps away from his dominating years of 06 and 07 (in which he finished 3rd in Cy Young voting and started the All Star Game). I think a move will be made before the deadline though.

thats a good team player to do that

Is Bud Selig going to pay Dice-K's salary?

I'm watching the history channel at the moment. Hmmm. This isn't so bad.

I hate to say it but Buckholtz may get the call to Boston sooner than later.I wish the Dice man a quick and speedy recovery.

This is another reason why the World Baseball Classic needs to be scrapped or pushed back to after the World Series. Organizations are paying A LOT of money to these players and they do not need them going down with injuries in March due to being overworked by non-Major League Baseball personnel. If the WBC was moved to November any injuries that may occur to players will not have an effect on their main profession, Major League Baseball and the players would have enough time to recover before the start of spring training. If I was a General Manager of a Major League Baseball Club, I would make sure none of my players wasted their time and my money playing in the WBC, even if I had to have it written in their contracts.

Playing softball on the weekend used to mean alot to me. But, guess what? If it meant I couldn't work during the week I didn' t get paid.

Red Sox seem to be handling this delicate situation very well. If they pulled Dice-K sooner--when fans were screaming for it--this could have sent the wrong message to him. Basically, they let him see for himself that there was something wrong. NOW he is fully on board with the teams plan and the Sox may get a good arm back in September/October.

As Obama's crazy pastor Jeremiah Wright would say: "Dicec K's WBC chickens ... are coming home ... to roost"

I am not sure I understand the "return to pitching" thing. If he is not going to pitch out of the bullpen, is he going on the DL or are we just going to play with 24 players so that we don't hurt anyone's feelings? Don't we need an answer here? Did you guys ask Terry or Theo about this? Can you find out an answer. It's a bit odd, saying he won't pitch out of the rotation, and will have tests, but he is going to suit up and sit on the bench as sort of a mascot, yet count against our 25, especially with a manager who demands (I am not arguing with a guy who has won 2 world championships) carrying 12 pitchers to keep his bullpen full and ready. Would we send Bard down and let Daisuke just sit there?

I hope Buchholtz is moved into the rotation. Masterson and Bard are good fits where they are for now. Clay has made great strides and deserves another chance just like the opportunity given to Lester.

The amazing part is he was already on the DL. Didn't they have the time to evaluate him then? I'm a bit bafled by all of this especially with Clay pitching so well down south. I bet they keep their plans for 6 man by replacing him with Clay. The last thought I have is that he needs to return some of his salary or the team needs to let Japan know what they did. I don't care that it meant alot to him, THEY DON'T PAY HIM!!!!

Thank You God- That just relieved some pressure on the back log of pitchers that CAN PRODUCE. I am not saying that Dice K is not a very important part of the fortunes of this team but, he obviously is not the pitcher he has been in the past. When dealing he is the best no. 3 starter in baseball, last year he was dealing/. We are a better team with him pitching right. Fortunately we have the depth to let him get his stuff together- even if it takes a month. This is the best news I have heard about DK in months

Sayonara Dice-K. Don't let the door hit you on the way to the DL. How do you say in Japanese - pound the strike zone? !!!!!

I am not sure I understand the "return to pitching" thing. If he is not going to pitch out of the bullpen, is he going on the DL or are we just going to play with 24 players so that we don't hurt anyone's feelings? Don't we need an answer here? Did you guys ask Terry or Theo about this? Can you find out an answer. It's a bit odd, saying he won't pitch out of the rotation, and will have tests, but he is going to suit up and sit on the bench as sort of a mascot, yet count against our 25, especially with a manager who demands (I am not arguing with a guy who has won 2 world championships) carrying 12 pitchers to keep his bullpen full and ready. Would we send Bard down and let Daisuke just sit there?

THey need to get Ortiz out of there. He is killing them. They should make a trade for Adam Dunn. He would be the perfect Dh. Washington is in need of ypung players and he would be the right guy.

Press the "start over" button for Dice-K, but this could be a blessing in disguise. He never really got to ramp it up on his own time because of the WBC. Glad they're going to stop, take a step back, hopefully put him on the DL and let him pretend that today is the first day of pre-season and go through the process. I just hope that when he does come back, the Sox let him pitch his game. The guy isn't a young arm that can be molded...he's a veteran with his own style that's worked for years. It may have been maddening to watch, but why mess with results? Nibble away....

Can't believe that FranCOMA didn't make the move a few losing starts sooner. Not sure Ortiz has turned the corner. Hope FranCOMA's watching Ortiz closely in BP. If he's not driving the ball... bench him too!! This is PROFESSIONAL baseball not Little League where everyone plays.

Well, I hope this will be a helpful step for Dice-K. I think we of Red Sox Nation would like to go back to having some confidence that we can win the game when he's on the mound.

Japan won the WBC so it's all good. Sayonara Dice-K

Sell him to the yankees for a buck and a quarter. Hes been a strain to watch since day one. !00 deal from day one. pitches in 3 innings over and over., What a pleasure playing behind that kind of pitching is to play behind..........not. Defense that ends up on its heels and falling asleep and a offense that has to play catch up all night. A bad deal from day one. Bet that money could have been better spent a lot of ways. Maybe he could take Mr. Lugo with him. Another big iron dissappointment. Looks like hes pouting every minute of bench time. Not the team player kinda attitude any club needs.

The owners should have some leverage with players who opt tp play in the WBC. Players that do should do so at their own peril because if they show up at their MLB teams injured why should they be paid. It happens, especially to pitchers, both times the WBC has been played. B.S.

uhm ,,, Bill?
SP is a weakness? Is this a Yankees blog and nobody told me? I see this as a perfect opportunity to see what the kids have so far. Bucholz must have his 400 minor league innings in by now.Lester{1} Beckett{2}Wakefield{3} Penny{4} Smoltz{5}masterson{6} Bucholz{7} looks more like a logjam to me.

Just goes to prove that you can NEVER have enough pitching. Also, I can't begrudge him for playing in the WBC as he is a Japanese citizen and winning that event probably means a lot more in Japan than him being on a World Series winner. Shutting him down now is a smart thing to do and maybe you get him back for the playoffs. And I don't think we can just assume that John Smoltz, who is 42, will step in now and blow away the world coming off shoulder surgery.

Hey, Ed! In case you haven't been paying attention (which apparently you haven't) Papi has been hitting, if not like his old self, then WAY better than he had been. He for me is no longer an issue.

Whew... glad Dicey will be out for a while.... though the Red Sox hitters stunk pretty bad too last night. Can't the Red Sox ever come from behind to win?

I just hope he is healthy. RSN doesn't like the way he's been performng this year. Just imagine how he feels. Put yourself in his spikes! Yikes! (huh, I rhymed!)

Get well soon Dice-Man. We ain't mad at ya'...

Red Sox is paying the price for their stupidity.
The Red Sox has been treating Disuke as the very top star player
from the beginning without testing him in the US leagues assuming
he would play so. They have been treating him like a prince even hiring
a translator for him and calling him -san, -san. It's like stupid to watch
all that. Special treatment in the big leagues doesn't work. It's the world
for real skill and talent.

SP a weakness? Bill, we have Smoltz, Bucholz and Bowden waiting to assist, and Masterson, if needed, can fill in. Hardly a weakness...

Why do people care about the redsox money? Its not your money. It might as well be monopoly money. Who cares how much a player costs. The only thing fans should worry about is what place their team is in and how their favorite player is doing, not how much money a team pays or wasted on a player. Get a grip sox fans. The team is in first place and you got the best coach in the league.

A good, smart move by Sox management.. early enough in the season. About time they asked themselves: "What would Bill Bellicheck do?" (I know my spelling sucks.. sorry Coach B.)

When a player refuses to play for his country people get all over him and say he's selfish. If he plays and gets hurt they say he's stupid. Sounds like a tough spot, but how do you pass on the honor of representing your country? As much as it pains me to watch him pitch, even when he's getting out of those self created jams, his return to effectiveness would be a big boost for the Sox down the stretch. When I watch him pitch I envision Tito bringing a bat from the dugout and beating him severely about the knees and head. Somehow that glimmer of hope keeps me going, but he could end up being a hero down the stretch and in the playoffs. Ask Derek Lowe.

There is 0% chance Dice K will get traded. For one, the Sox would have to eat the $51 million posting fee. Secondly, there's no reason not to believe he will be his dominating self for the remaining 3 years of his contract. He was 4th in Cy Young voting last year, had 18 wins, and the lowest batting average against in the league. Obviously, this year is not going to be a normal year for him, but hopefully, 4 weeks or so on the DL can rehab him well.

Penny has to be traded. You can get so much more for him now than you can if he starts to struggle, and he is notorious for falling apart the second half of the season. Dice K will surely be back in no more than a month, and behind Smotlz, we still have Bucholz, Masterson, Bowden who can jump into the rotation if need be.

Also, why did someone say trade Ortiz. He got 4 homes runs in a week and a half and led the team this month in batting average. He surely looks like his old self.

Hey Mikey, some of us do give more than a flying whoop about the WBC. Until the present faux World Series becomes more than just a North American Series, the WBC is a great substitute. So typical---Americans can't win it, so they belittle it! But I agree it is difficult to figure out when to schedule. Hopefully it is an intermediate step until we can start having a "real" World Series.

You can bet the WBC will be part of the next collective bargaining agreement. I believe clubs require the players to get insurance to play but who determines when the injury occured and if it was from the WBC?

After living in asia half of my life alot of this is due to respect.However Terry decided to let the Ortiz/Dice-k situation play out and damage the team.What point of a slump or losing does it take a manager to "have some gonads" and tell these overpriced players to sit and watch. On the japanese front I can see it was all done not to "disgrace" Dice-k. The redsox have had luck in the Japanese market and dont wanna injure relations.They have more Japanese players on theyre roster than other teams and they just dont want any tension. Im sorry..but when Brad Penny hit A-rod that was enough for me to love this guy. Take notes Redsox players...your better than the Yankees just play with some heart and youll be fine.

he is soft.

mentally. same with pedro.

similiar cloth. lot of talent. soft players by nature.

Hey Otis, Glad you're not MY boss! "Bad week? GET OUT!!!" I like Francona's conservative approach, and I'm a liberal!!!

If the Red Sox's were shopping at Wall Mart they could get thier money back.They paid more money to the Japanese team than DK is worth and then they paid to much money for DK. They should give back half the money that they got from the Red Sox's and pay him what he is worth which isn't a whole lot at this moment

WBC. They should penalize this guy for going out like a lion for japan, while he is over here stealing American dollars. Shame on you Dice-K, and hopefully the Red Sox will wake up and forbid their players from playing in the profit driven attempt to squeeze every last dollar out of the fans. Also, if Dice-K needs the honor of winning for Japan, then he should have kept his non english speaking self over there to play with his fellow countrymen. Enough is enough already- let's have some accountability and let these pin head jocks earn their money!!!

the sox are setting up their rotation for the sept / oct run. dice-k will be nice
and rested for the post season via some "rehab" time; others will develop
similar mysterious ailments along the way during the season...it's the price
for being pitcher rich.

Boo- I don't know what team you have been following , but to compare Pedro to Dice-K is ridiculous. Pedro was one of the best pitchers to ever step foot on a MLB mound. A fierce competitor, with grit, fire, and natural talent.

That does not compare to Dice-K at all! How about a little thought before you respond next time.

Personally, I think Daisuke should be placed on DL before an innocent Japanese bystander gets killed by drunken Boston mobs. I've been a RedSox fan but I never wanted Red Sox to sign Daisuke 'cause I knew the entire Japanese community in Boston would go down when Daisuke went down. Though, I don't think Dominicans get bashed just becasuse Papi can't hit a lick. Anyway, I'm Daisuke's compatriot, but I really don't like him much anyway. When I bought a Sox ticket, I made sure Daisuke wouldn't pitch on that day. I hate to see him nibbling just like anybody else.
Go Oki! Go Saito!

WTF is wrong with some of you folks? Talking about trades for a bat? What's the hurry, when the deadline isn't for a month? Let's see what shakes out as far as Smoltz et al before we start talking about trading away an arm.
Bring up Clay? With Dice-K down, ( on the DL, oh they'll FIND something wrong with that shoulder no matter what) that reduces the rotation to FIVE. If we're talking about just giving a few guys some rest that's fine, but FIRST let's see what Smoltz has to offer before going back to a SIX man log jam again.
Patience......... no reason to rush through anything at this point.

Gee, what a shocker!...let the players run off to play for that dopey exhibition WBC and one or more of them gets hurt. Nice job Theo..next time lets have ALL the pitchers run up arm problems by playing out there,,,and don't EVEN get me started about Pedroia getting hurt in those d**n games...No more playing around with that stuff. you wouldn't let them play hockey or football in the offseason.

Bill, can you please explain to me why you think that bostons "starting pitching is a weakness".. It is the total opposite, it is their main strength.. Smoltz,, Bucholz and Bowden are I dare to say better than most any other teams numbers 1, 2 ,and 3 starters. We have Beckett,Lester, Wakefield and Penny as starters already.Unbeleivable depth...Don't trade anyone unless it's a sweet deal....Lowrie will be back soon and we'll be fine at Shortstop with Nick Green as a backup. Get rid of Lugo and all will be fine..I must admit that Adam Dunn would have been a nice pickup this offseason.

Get him fixed up. For the moment it is a blessing in disguise. We are going to be in the playoffs and we have plenty of time to answer questions. WiIl Smoltz, Bucholtz, Penney, Bowden or Masterson be the answer? Maybe not all but one or two of them will click. We are going to win the whole thing and there is nothing the Empire can do about it. As far as FranCOMA is concerned, he has 2 rings and all the other dopes who managed here before him had a combined total of zero. I think he knows a little more than the average Sox fanatic.

It's about time! I figured this would be another Big-Papi-is-killing-us-but-let's-keep-him-in-the-lineup-for-another month-or-two-anyway situation! Francona's loyalty is touching, but at some point you gotta go ahead and MANAGE!

So are we back to a 5 man rotation or is it still six? This is tiring.

Ever since Dice went to Japan......there is one excuse after another over his LOUSY pitching. They never find out what is wrong either. And before that....he walks more men than any pitcher I know. I am sick to death of biting my nails and cringing everytime he is on the mound!!!! Will he or won't he FINALLY pitch a strike?? GET RID OF HIM!

Rick,
If the rest of the world gave much of a hoot about baseball, it would still be an Olympic sport. I wish it was. At that point, players are in midseason shape and actually ready to play. The WBC is Selig's little fantasy about marketing baseball around the world. Fine if you do it with college players. But it's hurt the Sox at least twice--once with Timlin and once with Daisuke. I can't imagine that team owners are wild about funding games that provide only risk and no benefit.

I'd love to see baseball more popular around the world. That would mean we don't have to pretend that soccer doesn't suck. But it will have to grow from the bottom up.

This is the saddest news in the annals of Japanese sports since Mr.'s Fuji and Saito lost the tag team title to Chief Jay and Jules Strongbow.
Go work on that mysterious, unhittable gyroball, Dice, and bring it back in September.

Dice was playing playoff baseball (WBC) too early in the season. He has to be sat down for a while.

"Dice K made his choice that the WBC was more important so, no sympathy for him..."

I'm not sure how much of a choice he actually had. Had he chosen not to pitch in ti the WBC, the pressure from Japan to change his mind would have been incredible.

The Sox knew about the WBC when they signed Dice-K. They knew it was a big deal to him and his country. If there's any blame here, Dice-K and the Sox share it for not working out a plan to deal with the impact of the WBC. Even so, we have to cut both camps some slack because the WBC is a new event. It's still hard to actually measure its impact on a major league pitcher.

wow some of you guys need to be less selfish. Matsuzakas knows hes doing really bad, he knows theres a problem, and he wants badly to fix it. He wants this more than any other teammate and of course much more than any of us fans. Its his life for God's sake. We were all happy last season, but now that hes in a slump, your just going to give up on this guy. So cut him so slack, and let him search for his talent back without your criticism.
And also the comment about moving the World Baseball Classic until after the world series........way to only think about the US. Not every country in the world has their world series at the same time, so if you move the date to fit our schedule, iit probably wont fit anyone elses.

I'd like to know who will replace him in the rotation? Bucholtz?

what does three starts in March have to do with how he pitches in late June

I've been saying for 6 weeks, get Bucholz into the rotation, he deserves it. Dice K just needs to rest that tired arm. He's still young and will come around. The World Baseball Classic is a joke...at least for major leaguers. I'm concerned about Pedroia's bat, hoping he will turn it around soon....Beckett and Lester are a great #1 #2 punch.

guys, just watch the ball games! don't think too much!

Another fallen hero in the vapid egotism of winning in an irrelevant sport.

Dice-K problem reminded me of Matt Clement. Matt Clement struggled pretty badly without any reason at the time. Afterwards, we found that he had pretty messed up shoulder and he was shelved for 2+ years now. If I were Dice-K, I would be very worried.

'Bout time. The Red Sox could NOT tolerate the status quo and stand pat on this any longer; to have done so would have made clear that one person's interests were being placed before the team's. As for the WBC, if it's so important to Bud and his minions, play it in November after the conclusion of the MLB season. Isn't that when those MLB All-Star teams used to tour other countries, most notably Japan? Not to come across as uber-nationalistic, but while I understand that such an arrangement might conflict with schedules in Latin American winter ball, MLB is where a lot of players who participate in winter ball make their bones. It's a question of priorities.

It makes sense that Terry recognizes that the WBC was important to Dice K, since the Sox have contributed million$ to it themselves by letting him pitch in it, and mess up his arm in the process. So, how much does a lost season of Dice K cost the Sox? $10 million, or $20 million in you figure in the pay to play they had to pay to sign him. (A nice contribution to Japan's success in the WBC.) I think the 6 man rotation makes some sense for a while, with Clay taking Dice K's spot. Let's see who the top 5 are after a month, and go with them the rest of the way. They'd be rested, and it'd be off to the races for the Sox.

It is a bad shoulder indeed, and he's been working around it since he arrived in 07. The first thing to go is location, the second is velocity. He, and Clement, had the baseball knowledge to skate with it for a while, but then hitters get to know they just have to wait as long as it takes for something fat, and they will get it. Then they hit .372 off you and you are throwing the same stuff you were getting away with before. The WBC just exaggerated the problem.

I LOVE all the women who posted on here. There's nothing better than a woman who loves baseball. God bless all of you.