This writer has always been a big supporter of the Daisuke Matsuzaka signing. The $103 million plus outlay by the NOG ($51,111,111 posting fee; $52,000,000 contract) was bold–and had the added benefit of blowing the Empire’s bid out of the water.

Of course, we thought we were getting a rock solid, indestructible pitching machine at the peak of his career. Not so fast. What we have gotten is a guy who is so wedded to his training regimen and pitching philosophy that he is resistant to adaptation. On top of that, we were subjected to the effects of the moronic World Baseball Classic on Daisuke’s arm and conditioning.

To be fair, the potential for greatness is still there. In his first 61 starts for Boston he won 33 games–not a bad ratio. If he can avoid injury and get back to the 200-inning threshold, he should be as solid a number four starter as there is in baseball (behind Beckett, Lackey and Lester).

His 40-50 batting practice pitches yesterday are a good sign. But, Daisuke needs to step it up and prove that John Henry’s 100 million plus commitment was not in vain.