Photo from Yahoo sports
Below, in case you missed it, is the line from Daisuke Matsuzaka's
spring training outing on Tuesday against the Florida Marlins.
After the game, this is what Matsuzaka had to say about his performance (through an interpreter):
"My readiness for the season is difficult to judge from the outside. I'm probably 40 to 50 percent there."
40 to 50 percent? Is it Opening Day yet?
Update: I'd rather not stroke "gyro-mania," but there are some great quotes in the
Boston Herald today from Florida Marlins batters who faced Matsuzaka:
"In Matsuzaka’s Red Sox debut against major leaguers, two Marlins - Jason Stokes and Jeremy Hermida - said they saw a pitch that had movement and action unlike any other pitch they had ever seen before."
"Hermida saw it three times, Stokes once and the UFO broke down and away to the left-handed hitting Hermida and in on the hands of Stokes."
"The ball spun in a clock-wise direction, or reverse to what they are used to. It had a screwball-like rotation that left them shaking their heads."
“It’s a pitch that’s somewhere between a changeup and a splitter but it’s got a sideways spin,” said Stokes. “It’s like a split, but it’s slower, more movement.”
“He threw four different pitches to me - a fastball, slider, gyro and curve,” said Stokes. On the gyro, “He threw it up and in. I could see it was obviously a ball right away. I’m thinking ‘Get out of the way.’ It kind of backs up on you.”
The gyroball may or may not exist, but when Major League hitters refer to a pitch as a "UFO" that carries some weight.
-----
Labels: baseball, daisuke matsuzaka, red sox, spring training
