Dice-K earns respect of the Tribe, but not of a Boston scribe.
Daisuke Matsuzaka sliced and diced the Tribe Monday night, allowing zero runs in eight innings.
Cleveland, Ohio -- Daisuke Matsusaka's nickname is Dice-K. It's a pretty onomatopoetic description of what he did over eight innings to the Indians Monday night: He sliced and diced 'em like a human Veg-o-matic for a 4-1 win.
He darn-near had them scared hitless. If not for that useless lead-off homer in the ninth by Austin Kearns -- against Daniel Bard, and not Matsuzaka -- they would have been scoreless, too. Dice-K's line against the hapless Tribe (please, Lord, let there come a day again when that adjective isn't appropriate): eight innings, four hits, no runs, five strikeouts, two walks.
In his game story, Plain Dealer beat writer Paul Hoynes details Dice-K's dissection of the Tribe.
Despite Matsuzaka's performance, he's still catching grief from the hometown paper. Specifically, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald:
Daisuke, tell us: Is it safe yet to rely on you putting together a run of consistent, decent starts. You don't need to be great, but could you please, Daisuke, just not implode?
"It's the first time I was able to string together two good starts this season, but who knows?" Matsuzaka said after the 4-1 Red Sox victory. "Maybe I can keep going like this."
So, that is not a ringing endorsement of his powers to see into his own future, but he was not signed to be Nostradamus. It would be nice, however, if he simply could be trusted to be an above-average major league starter.
Is that asking too much?
Shoot, yeah it is. Here in Cleveland, the Indians are just looking for an average one.
With that in mindThe 2010 Indians most likely couldn't get into this year's Little League World Series without a ticket. So let's talk about the future, say the 2013 Indians.
The Tribe on Tuesday drafted left-handed power pitcher Drew Pomeranz out of Ole Miss. The kid has a chance to be something special for the Indians, at least according to the story by Dennis Manoloff in today's Plain Dealer.
By the way, Starting Blocks thinks that perhaps the best response to Dman's story is from ShadOwcat216: "(Larry) Dolan is already trying to trade Pomeranz to cut payroll."
But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Here's what the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger had to say about the Tribe pick:
Pomeranz, a 6-foot-5, 231-pound left-hander from Collierville, Tenn., is the highest MLB draft pick in school history and the state's loftiest since Mississippi State pitcher B.J. Wallace was taken third overall by the Montreal Expos in 1992.
"My heart was definitely racing a little bit more right before that pick," Pomeranz said. "I felt pretty confident that Cleveland would pick me. It's just an awesome feeling to actually have it happen."
. . . Pomeranz went 9-2 this spring with a 2.24 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 100 2/3 innings for the Rebels (39-24), whose season ended Sunday in the NCAA regional at Charlottesville, Va. Those numbers earned Pomeranz SEC pitcher of the year honors and the Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi's top college player.
"I needed to come to college for a few years and refine a few things, like my mechanics," Pomeranz said to MLB.com after being drafted. "Playing three years in the best conference in the country, you pick up things here and there, things like knowing the importance of throwing three pitches for strikes and moving the fastball in and out and keeping hitters off-balance."
At first, Starting Blocks figured Pomeranz is a perfect match for the Tribe. And then we realized: He meant three pitches for strikes per batter, not per game.
Welcome home, VictorEverybody knew it was going to be an emotional return to Cleveland for Victor Martinez. Of course, the son-of-a-gun could've helped out his old team if he really wanted to. But alas, he didn't. Martinez turned out to be the star of the game for the Red Sox in their 4-1 win, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Plain Dealer beat writer Paul Hoynes talked to Martinez, who spent 13 seasons in the Tribe organization before being dealt to Boston last year, for his Indians Insider column. Coolest detail of that? Learning that Martinez spent part of his day with Bob and Patty Bixler, the mom and dad in the host family when he first came to the states from Venezuela and played in Mahoning Valley.
The Boston Globe also recognized the story within last night's game. But as you might expect, had a bit of a different spin:
The applause was warm and full as the Indians' former catcher stepped to the plate in the first inning.
It was not, however, very loud, though that had more to do with the low attendance at Progressive Field on the night Victor Martinez returned to Cleveland for the first time as a member of the Red Sox.
And in that reception by the few that came out to support the home team -- announced as 14,758 -- is the reason Martinez is grateful for being shipped out of Cleveland.
"There's no doubt about it," Martinez said, before last night's game. "I left this place that I always am going to have in my heart. I left the place that saw me growing up as a player, as a person. I really can't say thanks enough. They sent me to one of the greatest teams in baseball, to the Red Sox, to a contender team that is always in the race, always has a chance to win a World Series. I'm really, really happy to be here."
And Starting Blocks is torn between being really, really happy for Martinez and really, really jealous of Red Sox fans, who can look forward to a team contending every year.