The Americanizing of Dice-K: Cultural Differences Fuel Matsuzaka-Red Sox Feud

It was apparent that there were going to be some social and cultural differences when the Boston Red Sox signed Daisuke Matsuzaka out of Japan three years ago and shipped him over to the United States.

You know, different country, different language, and forks instead of chopsticks. Such things can be difficult.

But did we ever guess those differences would come down to the performance and maintenance of New England’s favorite $103 million (and change) man? Not that I remember.

There’s no nuclear war about to commence in the Red Sox clubhouse between Matsuzaka and staff, but let's just say that Dice-K hasn’t been the yin to Boston’s yang.

With Matsuzaka spending much of the 2009 season thus far on the disabled list, the Red Sox have not been happy with Matsuzaka’s preparation—and his decision to pitch in the World Baseball Classic this past spring—and in return, Dice-K hasn’t been happy with how the Red Sox management has forced him into their own training and conditioning methods.

Earlier this week, in a move that disgruntled and angered the Boston brass, Matsuzaka decided to take his displeasing thoughts to the Japanese media.

"If I'm forced to continue to train in this environment, I may no longer be able to pitch like I did in Japan,” Matsuzaka said. “The only reason why I managed to win games during the first and second years [with Boston] was because I used the savings of the shoulder I built up in Japan. Since I came to the Major Leagues, I couldn't train in my own way, so now I've lost all those savings."

This got the pundits stirring in Boston, and in turn they took a black light to Matsuzaka’s attitude and alibi. Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe wrote a column Tuesday evening for the Globe’s online site, boston.com, and ripped into Matsuzaka.

“They have multimillion-dollar athletes who take all of the credit and none of the blame, and they have overpaid excuse-makers just as proficient at passing the buck,” Massarotti wrote.

“Apparently, at least in Daisuke Matsuzaka's house, they just don't have mirrors ... what Matsuzaka did not say, of course, was that he showed up in camp this year looking like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.”

Columnist Dan Shaughnessy, one of the Globe’s big hitters, put his take in print in Wednesday’s paper, and he too backed the Red Sox on this one. Manager Terry Francona and pitching coach John Farrell were both upset when they heard about Matsuzaka’s outburst.

They weren’t surprised about what Matsuzaka said, because they already knew he had those feelings. Francona and Farrell were upset that Matsuzaka went public when the Red Sox have their own qualms with Matsuzaka but have had enough restraint to keep the differences in house.

“To hear him say that is disappointing,” Francona said. “At times he’s been his own pitching coach.”

Francona made his weekly appearance Wednesday afternoon on “The Dale and Holley Show” on WEEI radio in Boston and said that he was frustrated about Matsuzaka’s comments, but that he also understood the frustrations of the player.

"There's been a lot of give and take,” the skipper said. “There's been a lot of difference of opinions. And certainly we can understand that. I don't think you can expect a guy from a completely different culture, different learning methods, to completely buy into it because we say it. But at the same time, when you come to the United States and play baseball here, there are different rigors, from the schedule to when you're pitching, and we want this guy to hold up over the course of his career."

The problem is that both Matsuzaka and Red Sox management are at fault here, but for different reasons. Matsuzaka can’t use Boston’s different training philosophies as an excuse for his poor performance. When you sign a contract for over $50 million, nobody wants to hear why you aren’t performing—they just want you to get it done.

Injuries are one thing, but acting irresponsibly to your professional duties is quite another. The fact that Matsuzaka has not taken his physical conditioning seriously has been a main concern with the Red Sox. By showing up to spring training out of shape, Matsuzaka is already setting up a trap for failure.

"It's not just the shoulder," Farrell said. "When the overall body is not in the condition necessary to support that, there has to be some responsibility taken [on the part of Matsuzaka]."

Besides being as mentally and physically prepared as possible, Matsuzaka needs to show where his loyalty lies. We know that he has great pride in his heritage and his native Japan, but it’s a problem when it seems like the WBC is more important to Matsuzaka than the MLB season.

Matsuzaka was stellar in the WBC, earning the MVP award for the champions, but then fell flat on his face once the real bell rung in April. Do we need to remind Dice-K that it’s the Red Sox who are currently paying his bills and providing financial security for his family, not Japan?

So, yeah, the Red Sox have their reasons to be upset with what they have gotten from Matsuzaka. Have they gotten what they deserve, which is his full and honest effort to become the best pitcher he can be?

It doesn’t seem like it.

But they sure aren’t doing themselves any favors by trying to alter the way Matsuzaka likes to work and prepare. There is an ongoing rift between American baseball theories and those of the rest of the world, and that is what the conflict is here.

We Americans are stubborn in our ways, and the Red Sox think they know what’s best in terms of the health and future of Dice-K and his arm.

“We have a responsibility for the size of the investment,” Farrell said. “It’s unfortunate that he feels that way. It’s disappointing. This is where two baseball worlds somewhat collide.”

I’m not saying the philosophies of training and developing ballplayers that the Red Sox employ are wrong. In fairness, Japan uses a six-man rotation, so Boston probably was worried about that adjustment for Dice-K. I’m just wondering why they ever tried to force them on Matsuzaka.

Furthermore, now that they have seen that it’s not working like they hoped, why wouldn’t they let go of the reins and allow Matsuzaka to go back to what worked?

It’s not as if Matsuzaka is some 16-year-old prospect that they just signed from a foreign country and want to protect. This guy was an established pro who was dominant and durable, the two qualities the Red Sox paid so lavishly for. Boston obviously liked what Matsuzaka was doing in Japan, or else they wouldn’t have signed him.

Matsuzaka wants to return to his ways in Japan of throwing more bullpens between starts and more pitches during starts. Some guys simply need to throw more than others. Matsuzaka wasn’t broke in Japan, yet the Red Sox tried to fix him anyway.

By “Americanizing” Matsuzaka, this is what we have seen over the course of two-plus seasons in Boston: Dice-K’s velocity is down, his stuff isn’t as polished, his command isn’t as sharp, his control isn’t as good, he walks more hitters, he doesn’t go nearly as deep in games, and now he is hurt.

I can’t be the only one out there who thinks this is odd and doesn’t add up. The Red Sox aren’t trading him, not with an 8.53 ERA, a cranky shoulder, and that contract. So they better get to figuring out how to fix him. The answer is to let him return to the way that worked for him.

The Red Sox owe Matsuzaka, and themselves, the opportunity to get the pitcher they paid for. In return, Matsuzaka owes them a professional attitude and effort. If they can agree on that, this whole situation will indeed “blow over,” as Francona put it. But being too hardheaded to see the light isn’t helping anybody.