Getting off the DL

ESPN notes that the Red Sox are opening with nine players on the disabled, and the total value of their 2012 contracts is $59.27 million.  Ouch.  That's more than the total team salaries of either the Oakland A's or the San Diego Padres.

Most of that, of course, is attributable to the salaries of Carl Crawford ($20.36 million), John Lackey ($15.95 million) and Daisuke Matsuzaka ($10.33 million).  Crawford is taking his time in rehab, but should still get plenty of opportunities in the lineup to try and justify his paycheck.  But what about Lackey and Matsuzaka?

Matuszaka underwent Tommy John surgery on June 2, 2011.  As of this writing, he's down in Fort Myers, getting his pitch count up.  Some have suggested that he could be ready to return to the active roster in early June, or possibly even May.  That's a pretty quick return from Tommy John surgery, and only time will tell if he will succeed.  But at least he has a good attitude:

[Staying in Boston after 2011] would be the ideal situation, but before I can talk about staying long term I have to prove that I belong to stay here. I have to pitch to the level that’s expected in Boston . . .With it being my last season on my contract, I’d like to do everything I can to get myself into a situation to contribute with the limited time that I have.

Lackey underwent Tommy John surgery on November 1, 2011.  So, he's five months behind Matsuzaka.  Here are his plans for the year:

My doctor doesn’t want me to pitch this year. He says it was pretty messed up and doesn’t think it would be good for me. . . I’m just going to kind of hang out, work hard, and support the team a little bit. I still want to be around the team. Still want to be around my buddies and support these guys and help them have a good year.

Nice work if you can get it!

Well, When You Put It That Way...

Insights on Red Sox pitching from Ruben Lipszyc, the author of Red Sox Nation - Alberta:

The top 3 pitchers in the rotation are back, and Buchholz didn't pitch after the middle of June, so the top of the rotation can potentially improve. There's been a lot of talk about not addressing the #4 and 5 slots. Despite many rumours, Boston did not sign Oswalt, Kuroda or Edwin Jackson or make a bid on Yu Darvish, or trade for John Danks. But last year Lackey pitched all season with an ERA well above 6. DiceK while healthy contributed an ERA over 5. Wakefield had the 4th most starts on the team, and his ERA was North of 5 as well. Andrew Miller started 12 games and had an even higher ERA. And please don't get me started on Kyle Weiland who would have made any of the above look like Cy Young in comparison. That's a total of 75 games started by pitchers with a combined ERA of approximately 5.80. I believe that Bard, Aceves and any others that need to fill in due to the inevitable injuries such as Cook, Padilla, Duckworth, Silva, Ohlendorf etc, can'd do any worse. I really see the starting rotation as being a large improvement over last year. Replacing Papelbon with Bailey and Melancon was a very smart move. On the field it may be a slight downgrade, but it never makes sense to overpay for relievers - particularly closers.

I like the optimism! Getting excited for the season to start...

Daisuke Matsuzaka and Bobby Valentine

When Bobby Valentine was hired as the Red Sox skipper, a lot of folks speculated that he just might be able to rehabilitate Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Apparently, the logic is that because Valentine spent time in Japan, he understands the "Japanese mindset" and can thus fix a Japanese player.

Which strikes me as a little bit racist.  When Venezuelan players struggle, noone suggests that they all think alike so they just need to spend some time with Ozzie Guillen.  Nor did Lackey and his American mindset benefit from Francona's best efforts.

Ultimately, if Matsuzaka is going to make a comeback, it is on his shoulders.  And according to the Boston Herald, he sure is trying:

Matsuzaka has been throwing three times a week in Boston, and according to a source, is in excellent shape.  He looks like someone "on a mission" to re-prove himself after losing most of 2011 to injury.

Well, he sure doesn't look like the old Matsuzaka, that's for sure.  Check out the new look Matsuzaka in the below video, courtesy of NESN.  I'd say he's lost some weight, but maybe I'm just distracted by his hair.

If your time is short, skip ahead to about 4:30 in the video, when he is asked what he thinks about Bobby Valentine as a manager.  After his screwing up his face into a number of oddball expressions, the nicest thing he can come up with about his new manager is that he is, "really interesting to watch."

Related posts: What Can You Buy for $103 million?

And this is why you keep Wakefield

Because now both Lackey and Matsuzaka are on the DL. While it sounds like Lackey might be due back relatively soon (this DL stint is probably just a head-clearer), the Globe sez that Daisuke "...has a sprained elbow, which likely means there is some degree of ligament tearing."

There are other reasons for Keeping Wake, of course, but the main one is that he's a known commodity: if his knuckle ball is dancing, he'll give you a shot at a win every time.