Boston Red Sox: With a 5th DL Stint, Is Dice-K Really a Bust?

Yahoo sports writer Jeff Passan recently wrote an article about Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, aka Dice-K, calling him an ACE pitcher.

ACE not meaning the No. 1 pitcher on the staff, but rather it was used as an acronym for "another chubby easterner."

Passan referenced past "ACE" pitcher Hideki Irabu, who New York Yankee's owner George Steinbrenner once referred to as a "fat toad."

Passan also mentions "Easterner" pitchers like Hideo Nomo (Dodgers), Kaz Ishii (Dodgers) and Kei Igawa, who the Yankees dropped $26 million to speak to, and another $20 million to sign.

Igawa is currently playing ball with Double-A Trenton.

In late 2006, the Boston Red Sox beat out everybody to the tune of $51.1 million just for the right to speak with Dice-K, who eventually signed before the start of the 2007 season, a six-year deal worth $52 million.

Despite a less-than-stellar rookie season in which Dice-K finished 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA, the Red Sox won the World Series and Dice-K won Game 3.

In his second season, Dice-K finished 4th in the Cy Young award race with an 18-3 record and a 2.90 ERA, the seventh best in Major League Baseball behind the likes of Johan Santana, Cliff Lee, Tim Lincecum, CC Sabathia, Roy Halladay and Jake Peavy.

But from then on, Dice-K has never been the same.

Over the next two seasons and including up to right now, Dice-K's stats include a record of 16-15 with an ERA of 5.25.

More importantly, Dice-K has found himself on the disabled list five times in the last two seasons. The injuries include arm, shoulder and recently, elbow soreness.

Although Jeff Passan's article is intriguing, is it right? Is Dice-K considered a bust? Passan cites injuries, stubbornness and as usual, un-named sources calling Dice-K "lazy," "pig headed" and Boston being "tired of his act."

Stubbornness aside, one thing that Passan fails to hit on is the fact that in Japan, pitchers usually played on a six-man rotation, compared to the five-man rotation practiced by Major League Baseball.

This factor alone was mentioned not to long ago on ESPN's Baseball Tonight as one of the possible reasons that then Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Kenshin Kawakami struggled to make the transition from Japan to Atlanta.

Kawakami, who signed a three-year deal worth $23 million with Atlanta before the start of the 2009 season, currently holds a professional record of 10-22 with the Braves.

Kawakami, like Igawa, currently is in Double-A baseball. 

Although his current injury doesn't yet require surgery, Dice-K's lack of production the last three seasons are cause for concern, especially considering that Boston dished out $103 million to sign him.