Sunday night Dice-K matched up against Randy Johnson, and while Matsuzaka did pitch well, he and the Red Sox fell 5-1 against the Diamondbacks. Dice-K pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 ER while striking out nine batters and walking four. The four walks are somewhat of a cause for concern for the Red Sox, but Dice-K was able to pitch out of trouble for the most part Sunday night.
After his fourth tough loss of the season (a tough loss being defined as a loss in a game where the pitcher made a quality start), Dice-K's winning percentage and quality start percentage are almost exactly equal, meaning that his 7-5 record, despite his recent bad luck, is indeed reflective of the quality of his overall pitching performance this season. In a shocking development, after his latest performance Dice-K is looking like, for the third time, Vicente Padilla. So I suppose that unless Matsuzaka makes some large change for better or worse, it seems that he is continually evening out to the Padilla level of performance. So is that what the Red Sox paid $102 million for? Hmm...
Dice-K 2007: W%: .58
QS%: .62
WHIP: 1.31
ERA: 4.52
Salary:$6,333,333
Padilla 2006:W%: .60
QS%: .61
WHIP: 1.38
ERA: 4.50
Salary:$4,400,000
