I've got your gyroball right here
I was in the stands in San Diego when Daisuke Matsuzaka beat Cuba in the World Baseball Classic final to give Japan the championship and himself the tournament MVP award. So help me, I didn't know I was watching the greatest pitcher on the planet.
The Red Sox have pledged $51.1 million to Japan's Seibu Lions to win the right to try to negotiate a contract with Matsuzaka that is likely to double the cost. Is he worth it?
On March 20, starting on five days' rest, the 26-year-old went the first four innings, making far fewer than the WBC limit for pitches, before being lifted by manager Sadaharu Oh. He gave up four hits and a run, on a homer by shortstop Eduardo Paret, struck out five and walked none.
Even U.S. pitchers in the WBC were going longer than four innings. Since stamina has been one of the concerns as American clubs consider Matsuzaka's chance of being a star here, a big question wasn't answered that night at Petco Park.
The Matsuzaka craze, on the part of the Red Sox and the underbidders, is based on Japanese league stats (2.95 ERA in eight seasons) that the stat wizzes say could translate to staff-ace numbers at the major-league level, and on the mystique that accompanies any player of whom we've seen so little. The talk that Matsuzaka throws a pitch called the "gyroball" is too good to be true.
I'll bet he's really good. As for whether he's otherworldly, I'll believe it when I see it.
For more on Matsuzaka and his mystery pitch:
-- The gyroball is knocked over the wall (excuse me, The Wall) by the Boston Globe's Gordon Edes and the American expert on the Japanese game.
-- If you still want to believe in the gyroball, here's the yahoo.com article that started the legend.
-- And if you want to take it a step further and try to throw the gyroball yourself, slate.com explains how it's done (if it's done).