Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Live Blog 8: Dice-K too dicey


Daisuke Matsuzaka may never live up to the hype.

But is he really overrated?

The Red Sox spent $52 million on a posting fee last offseason and over $100 million total, including a 6-year contract and what have they got for their investment?

And subsequently, what did fantasy owners get for their 6th or 7th round investment last season?

A 4.40 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, 15 wins and 201 Ks.

Take away the 7.62 ERA in five September starts and most fantasy owners would have been relatively happy with the Dice-K experiment in 2007.

But this morning, we've seen why Matsuzaka is just too dicey to count on as a top 15 fantasy pitcher. He nibbles too much on the corners and teams have learned to take the walk. Dice-K walked 80 guys last year - almost 3 an outing - and 5 Athletics today.

Not only does that translate into WHIP-lash for fantasy owners, but it usually adds up to an ERA not even worthy of a $9 or 9th round investment, which has been Matsuzaka's going rate this draft season.

Even with one of the best lineups and bullpens in baseball, don't roll the Dice in 2008.

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