Dice-K goes to DL with rotator strain

Dice-K goes to DL with rotator strain
With no structural damage, righty should return by mid-June
By Ian Browne / MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- First, the Red Sox breathed a sigh of relief. Then on Friday they went through the procedure of placing unbeaten starter Daisuke Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list -- retroactive to Wednesday -- with a mild strain of his right rotator cuff.

An MRI performed on Matsuzaka on Friday in Boston revealed no structural damage. The Red Sox are optimistic that Matsuzaka will be able to pitch right around the time he's eligible to come off the DL, which is June 12.

"There was no structural changes, which is really good news," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "The final diagnosis is a mild deltoid rotator cuff strain. The best way we can see to attack this is, we'll DL him, take the time down, strengthen, get him ready to pitch the rest of the season. That's kind of where we are."

To replace Matsuzaka on the roster, the Red Sox purchased the contract of first baseman/outfielder Jeff Bailey from Triple-A Pawtucket. However, Bailey is likely to be sent back down on Tuesday, when Boston needs a starter to replace Matsuzaka in the rotation.

Although the club is choosing not to tip its hand, it is likely that top prospect Justin Masterson will be promoted for the third time this season to fill in for Matsuzaka. Masterson has already made two spot starts for the Sox, going 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA.

Thanks to the off-day on Thursday, the Red Sox had the flexibility to pitch knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in the finale of this four-game series with the Orioles on Monday night.

Matsuzaka has made 11 starts this season, going 8-0 with a 2.53 ERA. He had to be removed from his Tuesday start in Seattle after four innings after not feeling right from the outset of that performance.

The Red Sox initially described the injury as shoulder fatigue.

Before putting Matsuzaka on the disabled list, Francona and general manager Theo Epstein held a conference call with the pitcher. Yes, Matsuzaka did try to fight his way off the DL.

"I think that, first of all, is good news because he feels good about himself, which is always good," said Francona. "And that's what good pitchers and good players do. That's part of the reason they're good."

Though the Red Sox won't rush Matsuzaka back before he's ready, they don't look at this as any type of long-term injury.

"The timetable is going to be completely on when he's ready to pitch, with health, and sustain that," Francona said. "I don't think this is anything we think is going to be [serious]. If [it's time to come off] the DL and it's not his day or something, it might be longer than 15 days. I think we'll be OK."

So does that mean ESPN won't talk about him for a while

:haha: no

SoulRat wrote:

:haha: no

You're right....

Dice-K has Big Mac for dinner
Not wanting to cook for himself or have something fancy, righty has McDonalds
By Ian Browne / MLB.com

BOSTON -- First, Matsuzaka thought about going out to a fancy restaurant, but he just wasn't in the mood. "I was hungry now" Matsuzaka said through an interpretor. He saw a McDonalds and ordered a Big Mac, medium fries, and medium soda. He had Coca-Cola.

Matzusaka at first didn't really care for the Big Mac, but grew to like it. He didn't realize it didn't come with cheese unless you asked so he had to fix that. "A hamburger with no cheese? Come on!".

"After he got the cheese on there he was able to enjoy his burger. The fries must have been very salty; however, as the pitcher required three refills on his soda - all of them with Coca-Cola. He used ranch dressing on the french fries.

Matsuzaka dined alone demonstrating he is not afraid to go places on his own. After eating Matsuzaka went home where his activities can be chronicled in several other articles here, here, and here.