Dice-K strikes gold again

Dice-K strikes gold again

The legend grows.

Daisuke Matsuzaka hasn’t even thrown a pitch in Fort Myers this spring, and he already has a championship and MVP under his belt.

Just call it another magic trick for the man who can make one inning feel like a complete game without breaking a sweat. Dice-K might not be Mr. Efficiency, but hand him a baseball and put him on a pitching mound, and Houdini knows how to baffle hitters, win games and collect hardware.

The Red Sox right-hander went 3-0 and posted a 2.45 ERA in 14 2/3 innings over three WBC starts to help Japan repeat as World Baseball Classic champs and earn MVP honors for the second straight time.

Somewhere, Fidel Castro is blogging about the turn of events, Bud Selig is wondering how to get Americans to care and Tommy Lasorda is singing the national anthem in his sleep. While some consider the Classic as exciting as watching paint dry, the Japanese won’t stop celebrating until the next time they compete in an international competition.

Dice-K is a big a reason for that. And he’s just getting started.

Last week, a few people in the NESN office were having a debate about whether the 28-year-old is one of the top 10 pitchers in the major leagues. Some think he’s not even in the top 20. I was one of them, but after some more reflection, Dice-K has to be on the top 10 list.

Consider these numbers from 2008:

• Dice-K had the seventh-best ERA (2.90) in baseball. Only Jake Peavy (2.85), Roy Halladay (2.78), CC Sabathia (2.70), Tim Lincecum (2.62), Cliff Lee (2.54) and Johan Santana (2.53) posted lower numbers.

• Dice-K limited opposing hitters to a .211 batting average, and right-handers hit below the Mendoza Line against him (.195).

• He averaged 8.27 strikeouts per nine innings -- a better mark than Santana (7.91), Cole Hamels (7.76) and Halladay (7.53).

• Dice allowed only 58 runs (54 earned) and 12 home runs in 167 2/3 innings.

• He gave up 128 hits in 29 starts, an average of 4.4 hits per outing.

Sure, his strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.64/1) and WHIP (1.32) were less than outstanding, but Dice-K went 18-3 and had the second-best winning percentage (.857) among starters with at least 25 starts. Sabermetricians will argue that win-loss record is one of the most deceptive stats of them all -- and it can be -- but at the end of the day, nothing matters more than W’s.

I’ll take a guy with 20 wins even if he has an ERA over 5.00.

Matsuzaka understands this bottom line as well as any hurler in the game. That’s why he never gives an inch to any batter, no matter the count, no matter the situation. He’s the ultimate competitor. The next time he throws a get-me-over strike on a 3-0 count will be the first time in his life.

This unyielding way is the great contradiction about Dice-K. His refusal to compromise is what makes him special, but his tendency to nibble is also what makes him confounding. He doesn’t have to be perfect to succeed. He has more pitches than a traveling salesman and just needs to trust his stuff and let the defense do its job behind him.

Once he does that, his pitch count will decrease, his innings will increase and he’ll go deeper into games to give the bullpen a break.

This could be the year Dice-K puts everything together. It’s his third season in the Show. He’s used to the grind, knows the idiosyncrasies of American League hitters and is entering his prime.

Beyond all the numbers and experience, Dice-K has something that cannot be taught -- heart. This part of character cannot be quantified like the speed of a fastball, but Dice-K has proved his will to win is off the charts.

One nation already has reaped a big reward thanks to Daisuke Matsuzaka’s efforts in 2009. Red Sox Nation could be next…. NESN.com