Matsuzaka Watch

Daisuke Bulletin #7

I've got a mixed bag of things for you in the latest Daisuke Bulletin. First is a simple link to an article at SFGate.com written by Bruce Jenkins. If Mr. Jenkins has his way, the Giants will be looking to bid for Matsuzaka's services soon. I'll keep my eye on this San Francisco intrigue to see if anything more substantial materializes.

I thought I'd give you a look at Daisuke's statistics from the Spring and Summer Koshien events in 1998 when he was in his 3rd and final year of high school. Three years of Jr. High, and three of High School over here. I've compiled the chart below with the basic info available to me. I have no pitch count data to add to the mix, but we know that he threw 250 pitches in his 17 inning affair with legendary PL Gakuen in the Summer Championship. The final game of his high school career was the no hitter against Kyoto Seisho. Not a bad way to cap things off. Click to enlarge:


Then and now, you have 17 and 18 year olds throwing 5 complete games in an 8-10 day period. Insanity. That brings me to an updated item that I'd like to present. I compiled DM's statistics for the 2005 season, and I've calculated the important ratios as well. Finding GO/AO data for 2005 will take some real effort, and perhaps I'll undertake that research at some point. For now, you can take a look at what he did last year and compare notes with his current 2006 numbers. Click to enlarge:


You'll note that he was FAR more abused in 2005 than he is in 2006. He threw a season high 160 pitches against Rakuten on April 2nd, 2005. He also had pitch counts of 152 and 151 during the season, and took quite a beating. It's also apparent that the Lions slowed him down after his July 9th, 142 pitch, outing against Softbank. I'm not sure what precipatated that, but it has carried over into 2006 for the most part. He closed 2005 at a significantly lighter workload than he had carried all year, and while he still averages 115 pitches a game in 2006, he's not thrown more than 134 in any start. No more 140, 151, 160 games. For what it's worth.

You can look at the abuse he took in 2005 more closely with this Pitcher Abuse Points chart. If you need more background on this metric, go back and read my analysis of Daisuke's pitch counts in 2006. Click to enlarge:


Scary, huh? At any rate, the Watch continues, and we'll keep you posted on the latest, as soon as we find it. Come back again soon.

posted by Mike Plugh @ 9:42 PM