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Sore Back Slows Japanese Ace’s Red Sox Return
Amalie Benjamin | February 18, 2010

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Fort Myers, Florida. Coming off a year of injury breaks, frustration and exile in extended spring training, Daisuke Matsuzaka already has had a pause put on this year’s preparation.

Having injured his upper back while training at Athletes’ Performance Institute, Matsuzaka was stopped after playing long toss on Thursday and will not resume throwing at least until having his spring physical.

Manager Terry Francona said the pitcher is “sore in his upper back on both sides from something he did at API.” That injury was first revealed on Tuesday, when Matsuzaka made mention of the issue to Japanese media.

“He played catch and was thinking about throwing a pen and said he felt it a little bit in his mid-upper back and decided not to throw the pen,” general manager Theo Epstein said. “Our trainers took a look and we just decided, ‘Hey, let’s slow this down and do it conservatively.’

“Given what he went through last spring, trying to do too much too soon with the WBC [World Baseball Classic] — we’re two months away from needing his rotation spot anyway, so slow it down and let our doctors look at him. We don’t want to make something small into something big by trying to stay on a set schedule.”

The Red Sox won’t need a fifth starter until April 18, based on the early-season days off.

The decision has set back Matsuzaka’s schedule slightly, given he would have thrown with the other pitchers this week. He has not done so, and may be further delayed, depending on what doctors find during his physical.

Sore back or not, it seems Matsuzaka was going to be dealt with differently this spring. Francona said the Sox already had decided to alter Matsuzaka’s preparation this spring, slowing it down, based on his trouble last season.

“Last year he revved up so quickly and we saw what happened,” Francona said. “I’ve probably used the word ‘gas in the tank’ with him more than once. That’s a big goal. ‘Slow’ is probably not the right word, but ‘patient’ maybe is a better word.”

It was less than three months ago the Sox finally discovered what was at the root of Matsuzaka’s unfortunate 2009 season, in which he started only 12 games. He had injured his groin before the World Baseball Classic, proceeded to play in the tournament and didn’t let the Sox in on his health status until after the season. The Sox were frustrated and disappointed, as the communication between the sides continued to be troubled.

But it appears that, on this issue, Matsuzaka was forthcoming.

“It was good,” Epstein said. “He was open with us, full disclosure. As I said the other day, his attitude’s been great. He was very accepting when we told him we wanted to treat it conservatively, slow it down for a couple days until we get the doctors down here and get physicals.”

Baseball

The Boston Globe