Dice-K v2.0
Daisuke Matsuzaka won again last night. That puts him at 6-0 on the season. Aside from issuing an alarming amount of walks (30 so far, 8 in his previous outing--which he won), his 2008 numbers are impressive.In just under 43 innings, he's given up only 28 hits and 13 earned runs while striking out 40 batters for an ERA of 2.45, which is fourth best in the American League.
This is clearly a different Dice-K than last year's rookie edition. Funny, but as he continues undefeated, I haven't heard a peep from his chorus of detractors about the $105 million that was "wasted" on Japan's greatest pitcher. People were getting so up in arms last year that you'd think those who were complaining were the ones who wrote that infamous posting fee check of $51,111,111.11 instead of John W. Henry.
Salary is never talked about when a player is delivering. When he falters, however, it's the main topic of conversation. We're all guilty of it, myself included. Case in point: Julio Lugo. The blogs and forums these days are full of frustrated and angry fans (of a first place team, mind you) who are leading off their online gripes with "I can't believe we're paying this guy $9 million a year!" (I love the "we" fans. "We" should have won last night. "We" should have been more aggressive on the base paths. "We" should have taken Lester out in the 6th. "We" should have signed Johan Santana, etc. Sorry, tangent. That's another post for another day.)
If Dice-K can cut his walk total in half, what the Red Sox have is a solid number two starter for this year and in all probability, a co-ace (along with Josh Beckett) for the next seasons to follow as Matsuzaka continues his steady transition from Japanese to American baseball.
Red Sox fans may find themselves asking, "What's the matter with Papelbon?" after the normally lights-out closer lost two games in two appearances.
A thousand strikeouts over 1055 innings in his major league career. Not a bad stat for Josh Beckett, a week shy of his 28th birthday. Chicago's Kerry Wood holds the record for the fewest innings needed to hit the 1000 K mark. Wood did it in an amazing 853 games, but then as you know, his history of arm injuries held him back and certainly diminished his ability in recent years.
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While listening to part of Sunday's game in the car, I heard Dave O'Brien mention that the Rays considered last week's sweep of the Red Sox to be the most significant series they've played in the 
There's a reason why Baseball America voted the Red Sox farm system the second best out of 30 MLB organizations. Seems like just about every player they call up contributes to the team's success. Last night was no exception as the Red Sox opened their series against Tampa Bay at Fenway, a week after getting swept at the Trop by the upstart
OK, no sweep of the Jays on Thursday, but taking two out of three is impressive considering the Sox only scored three runs in the entire series. 
It was pretty cold for a late April game last night. Tracey and I had to deal with some last-minute sprinkles, but otherwise the weather cleared up a tick before game time. So I guess the chilly air circulating around the park was the only drawback to an otherwise exceptional Fenway experience.