So I was watching highlights the other day, and I noticed something:

Whenever Matsuzaka's slider is working, he pitches well. Coincidence?

My theory:
Slider doesn't work>loses confidence in pitches>tries to nibble at corners with fastball/curve/changeup>ends up walking a fuckton of people cause he doesn't get the benefit of the doubt like he used to in Japan.

Slider works>has confidence in pitches>attacks hitters more>hitter: "Whoa first the ball was there so I swung there and then it was in a different place what happened"

He still has great potential as a pitcher. He has a mid-high 90's 4-seam fastball, a low-mid 90's 2-seam, a low 80's slider, a high 70's curveball, a Josh Beckett-esque forkball, and a screwball-like changeup highly reminiscent of Pedro Martinez back when he was good (this is also often confused with the gyroball).

The thing is, when he doesn't have the slider, he doesn't have confidence in his pitches, he nibbles at the corners, and he walks people.

I could write another term paper on this, but no one will comment on it. Dice-K is fine. Pitched well last year. Stop nagging him, he will be the best #5 guy in all of baseball.

He definitely is and I'm not denying that. I'm just saying that he hasn't lived up to his potential. He has the potential to be a #1 or #2 guy), and if he trusted his stuff more he would be.

People thought that because of what he did in Japan. Japanese baseball is approximately AAA baseball by American standards. Sure, you have some good hitters in Japan like Ichiro, but you also have guys that would not even play at Americas AA team. We all know that just because you pitch outstanding in AAA does not mean that your success translates to the major leagues. Look at Ian Kennedy. Sure, Ian Kennedy did not get paid 50 million dollars plus other talking fees, but it is the price teams have to pay if they wanted a top Japanese prospect. Plus, if I remember right, Dice-K had like a 3.00 era in Japan. And we got him when he was 26? He is entering into his preverbal pitching prime, taking into account the number of innings he threw in Japan, and that he broke into the Jap league in firck'n 1999. He then comes over to America, has to learn how to pitch again and has to abide by a pitch count, which he does not like. No wonder why his ERA is about 4.00. ITS TO BE EXPECTED. He is a very solid number four man on a good team. Its as good as you can expect. But Im stopping now.