Would you take Matsuzaka over Liriano?

Question

Considering Matsuzaka pitches like he does in Japan, and Francisco Liriano pitches like he did before his injury.

Answer 1

Liriano. Younger and already Major League Proven. Al Leiter says it the best..."All pitchers are injury prone, it's a result of the un-natural motion that the arm is forced to move to throw certain pitches." Proof of that statement would be the fact that D-Mat had elbow surgery in 2002.

Although D-Mat has great upside I need to go with

A) Pitching 13 innings in the WBC does not equal Pitching a Season in the AL East.

B) Other than Nomo what Japanese pitcher has made it in the MLB? And was Nomo ever worth (key word "worth) the top pitcher salary?

I don't know I maybe wrong, D Mat might be the next coming of the Rocket, but man I just like that Liriano kid a little more.

BTW some of you need to know what the hell your talking about prior to posting:

1) D-Mat has had elbow surgery before (2002)
2) He led the Japanese Pacific leaugue in losses(2001)
3) He has not had a Rookie season in the MLB yet
4) The "gyroball" does indeed exist and there are links out there that actually show him throwing it.
5) the "gyroball" is an offspeed pitch NOT a fastball

Answer 2

Big Sox fan over here. (dionnesdugout.webs.com) that will prove my knowledge making my answer the best one. Fantasy guru as well. Let me say this, while Matsuzaka is unproven in the major leagues, Liriano is a risk because he got hurt last season, and he will not be ready at the beginning of '07. Any time when you can take a guy who you know has the chance to pitch you a full season, over a guy who won't be pitching the entire season, go with the full year one. Matsuzaka over Liriano, though had Liriano not got hurt last season, he would have won this debate.

And yeah none of those people know what they're talking about: he doesn't throw a gyroball it's a myth and defies the laws of physics, and also that Twins guy who said Daisuke had a bad rookie season? What the hell is he talking about? He hasn't even had a MLB rookie season yet.

Answer 3

I'd take Francisco Liriano any day.

First of all he's better than Johan Santana, which is saying something right there. He is left-handed which is a major boon over Matsuzaka. He is a proven commodity in American baseball. Whereas D-Mat's success has come in Japan where pitchers go on six days rest and he didn't have to face lineups like he will in the AL East.

Liriano flat-out dominated and when he comes back from surgery he will continue to do the same.

Answer 4

I would take Liriano every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Why do baseball fans buy into the hype of Asian pitchers that never pan out?

Hideo "Nomo After the fifth Inning"
Hideki "The Fat Toad" Irabust
Kazuhisa Ishii Era got worse each year in the league
Chan Ho Park My balls in the stands
Add Matsuzaka to this list. He's pitching in the AL East. I don't care what kind of pitch he throws, MLB players will tag it. They simply don't possess over powering arms.

Chien-Ming Wang has been the only exception and that's because he has a good sinker pitch.

Good luck all you Matsuzaka owners.

Answer 5

Matsuzaka of course. Liriano, even if he isn't injured does not have as much throwing ability as D-Mat. Dice-K has a powering gyroball and can throw at very fast speeds. So many teams were bidding high on Matsuzaka, but for Liriano, not many teams were interested.

Answer 6

I would take Liriano, he has proved he can pitch and dominate in the big leagues. Matsuzaka faced Chinese Taipei, Mexico, and Cuba in the WBC, only Mexico had any Major Leaguers, and Jorge Cantu was the best. That says how much major league experience Matsuzaka. I'd take a proven player over a hyped up player any day.

Answer 7

Nobody knows how Liriano will recover so I would take a chance on Matsuzaka

Answer 8

I don't think that twins guy knows what he is talking about when he said that Matsuzaka had a rookie season. Matsuzaka I would much rather have because of that killer gyroball which is the name given to a breaking baseball pitch purported to be used by players in Japan, although if it were invented in the United States it would probably be called a sinker. The pitch was developed by two Japanese scientists, Ryutaro Himeno and Kazushi Tezuka, who used computer simulations to create a new style of delivery intended to reduce stress on the pitcher. They published their work in a book, currently available only in Japan, whose title is roughly translated as, "The Secret of the Miracle Pitch". According to Himeno and Tezuka, a gyroball is thrown so that, at the point of release, instead of having the pitcher's arm move inwards towards the body (the standard method used in the United States), the pitcher rotates his arm so that it moves away from his body, towards 3rd base (for a right-handed pitcher). The unusual method of delivery creates a bullet-like spin on the ball, like a bicycle tire spins when facing the spokes or a perfectly thrown football. When thrown by a right hander, the pitch moves sharply down and away from right handed batters and towards left handed batters. In baseball, most pitches are thrown with backspin, like the fastball, or with a more forward spinning motion, like the curveball and the slider. Batters use the arm speed of the pitcher and the spin on a baseball, highlighted by the seams, to judge the speed of the ball. The gyroball is thrown with the arm speed of a fastball but goes much slower, and since it has a bullet-like spinning motion, on occasion (perhaps when the seams are hidden from view of the batter) it will make experienced batters swing wildly ahead or behind the ball. Even though D-Mat would be turning 27 at the end of the season, he will give the Red Sox a huge threat in the lineup whereas Liriano has a great fastball but is injury prone.

Very good question

Answer 9

Liriano. he is a great pitcher and matsuzaka although you said if he pitches like he did in Japan he has yet to prove himself and liriano has.

Answer 10

Liriano