The Red Sox have placed Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list after he lasted just one inning Tuesday night, allowing five runs and making 43 pitches.Chris Carpenter, meanwhile, had been pitching well for the Cardinals. But his injury-prone ways cropped up again when he hurt himself Tuesday on a swing while batting.
When Matsuzaka was pulled from the game, Boston blamed it on arm fatigue left over from the World Baseball Classic. But Matsuzaka said he felt fine.
So the culture barrier is a double-edged sword here: Matsuzaka's desire to represent his country in the WBC, a passion felt more in other countries than the U.S., and the communication problems between him and the team.
"He didn't communicate too much,'' said manager Terry Francona about Matsuzaka's comments during and after his start last night. "We talked to him a couple of days ago and he expressed some general soreness and fatigue in the back of his shoulder from the WBC. We talked it through pretty good in Anaheim and he came out tonight and didn't really have a whole lot.Last week in Boston, Francona addressed dealing with Matsuzaka's spring preparation after having him absent for most of camp.
"We had talked the other day about this. We knew he came out of the WBC and felt he had probably ramped up too quick – all the things we worry about. Then he threw his bullpen (in Anaheim) and assured us he's fine.''
... When asked after the game if he was having physical issues, Matsuzaka said "not in particular.'' When it was mentioned that Francona spoke about soreness and fatigue, Matsuzaka said, "I haven't had the chance to speak with the manager after the game but for me personally, I think that I'm OK physically.''
"We were forced to play by the rules. He got ramped up a little quicker than we certainly would have done if he were with us in terms of innings and games of consequence. We try to ease guys along; he wasn't kind of sprinting. When he did report to us, he tested out really well. He did a good job in the offseason on his shoulder program. He was throwing his sides 6,000 miles away, but that's just the rules. He's ready to go."
Now, he's not.
(Update: The Red Sox are saying Matsuzaka will miss three to four weeks with the injury.)
Carpenter -- limited to 21 1/3 innings in 2007-08 because of a number of arm problems -- has allowed one run in 10 innings in two starts before hurting his left oblique. The entire St. Louis rotation had been throwing well (6-1, 1.96 ERA), but now the team's depth problems come into play, as it turns to P.J. Walters for his big-league debut Friday against the archrival Cubs in Carpenter's place.
Walters, 24, was rated the Cardinals' No. 17 prospect by Baseball America, based on his screwball-like changeup.
