Is Dice-k overrated?

Question

im a yankees fan and i want to know if dice-k is for real, or overrated. usally in japan the hitters arent as good, so when pitchers come from japan, there not always as good as they were over seas.

Answer 1

He is for real, shame he is getting any run support or he would easily be 3-0. Right not he has an ERA of 2.7 with 24 strike outs in 3 games, he is second in the league in strikeouts and averaging 8 strikeouts a game really isnt to bad. He has thrown two 10 strikeout games already which really impresses me. Also just watching him pitch is really impressive also, if you have the chance to watch him pitch I highly recommend checking him out. I think he is defiently going to be the real deal for the Sox.

Answer 2

I don't think he is overrated at all. He was the best pitcher in the Japanese leagues and has a live arm and great movement on his pitches. I like the way he changes speeds on his pitches plus he has a very deceptive delivery as he changes the speeds. I think he is a victim of media over exposure more than anything and it was the 51.2 million negotating rights that got the ball rolling with the media. I think over time he will prove to be a very worthwhile investment for the Red Sox.

As for the other Japanese pitchers, most come here only knowing how to throw a few pitches, they don't have a variety of pitches like Dice-k does, it's his, like I said, the different speeds and angles he uses that sets him apart, he's a student of the game.

I am not a Red Sox or Yankees fan, just a Baseball fan!

Answer 3

He's pitched VERY well in 2 of his 3 decisions thus far. And his other outing was about average. He's for real for now, it depends on how well scouts figure him out.

It's the same thing people asked about Ichiro when he had great success in his first year. Japanese players are very good, and the level of play over there is much better than most think.

At the same time, EVERYONE is overrated in baseball. Nobody is worth 250 million dollars, I don't care what they do. I am a baseball fan though and that is the nature of the beast (NYY). Dice-K is good, but once hitters figure him out I think he'll be just another number 2 starter.

Answer 4

No, Dice-K is not overrated (overpaid MAYBE)... BUT, his run support stinks right now. He definately has the Clemens bug... For the Astros, on days when Clemens pitched, they were shut out about 8 times... No matter how good you're pitching, if your team doesn't score runs for you, you're not gonna win. And, I think that could be a contributing factor as to whether or not Clemens will re-join the Astros... or the BoSox for that matter... if those two teams are not scoring runs for guys like Dice-K, then why should he go there? As an added bonus in Houston, we have a closer that can't close right now (Lidge). And, I know this has nothing to do with answering the question, but one would be inclined to believe that rignt now, the Yankees have the upper-hand in the Clemens sweep-stakes.

Answer 5

So far so good for Dice-K... He seems to have caught the Roger Clemens bug- he pitches well but gets outpitched by the other team's pitching staff or his team can't score any runs. We'll see how he pitches against teams the second and third time around, but it is a very long season. You can't make too much out of Dice-K yet.

The Yankees paid a lot of money to get Kei Igawa... Do you give up on him now after his first 2 starts (over 7.00 ERA)? It's too early...

MLB is the best baseball league in the world. Most players do not perform as well as they did in the minors or other leagues until they have a few years of experience.

Answer 6

this topic just isn't gonna go away it seems.

the guy threw 10 strikeouts in 2 of his first 3 major league starts, how many guys can say they've done that? i forget the exact stat they gave on espn last night but i'm pretty sure it hasn't happened since the 80's.
he's given up 6 runs in 3 games, and the sox have only scored 5 runs in those 3 games. he's suffering from tim wakefield syndrome (boston doesn't score when he's on the mound)
wait untill he starts losing games when ramirez (mainly him), varitek, crisp and pedroia actually get some hits. this lineup will be very dangerous once they start hitting like they are capable of.

he has more pressure on him than 90% of major league players will ever feel. no matter how clutch a player you are, your not going to win every game. look at david ortiz, how many games has he won with a walk off hit? enough to be considered one of the best clutch hitters in the game. has he done it every time he's had the chance? of course not.

Answer 7

No one can live up to the media hype this guy got prior to entering the major leagues. The fact is he has never faced this quality of opposition in his life. Japan's baseball leagues are either double or triple A caliber at best. Over the length of the entire season Dice-K will find that he will not be as over powering as he was in Japan. After he goes around the league once or twice and specifically the AL East, he is going to find that life isn't so easy as he and the Red Sox thought.

Answer 8

Too early to tell, but the early returns are excellent. I know he's 1-2, but that's due to run support, not anything he's done wrong. But a 2.70 ERA, a WHIP of 1.10 and a 24/5 strikeout to walk ratio are very impressive.

It will be interesting to see what happens as he begins to face teams for a second and third time, but I'd expect him to win the Sox somewhere between 13-16 wins assuming they score some runs for him. He looked against my Jays last night, too, although they are missing some of their key offensive players.

Answer 9

He is really good.... if you watched the world baseball classic you would have seen how he can dominate... the one problem is how much money the bosox paid to negotiate and sign him.... really, he is an unknown to the US and the is a lot of cash.... so pressure and expectations are high.... but he will end up being a very solid pitcher

Answer 10

Japanase hitters arent good?
is Ichiro French???