Time Machine: Cracks appear in the relationship between Matsuzaka and the Red Sox

This story originally appeared in the Japanese newspaper Yukan Fuji in 2010.

TOKYO — The Boston Red Sox cannot be happy Dice-K’s confession to a Japanese magazine that the real reason for his horrific slump in 2009 was a groin injury he incurred last winter while training hard for the WBC. This, despite the fact that the Sox had asked him repeatedly last if he was hurt and repeatedly Matsuzaka told them he was okay.

The fact that the Sox were unaware of the injury not only raises questions about the authenticity of Dice-K’s injury, it also puts yet another strain on a relationship between the star Japanese pitcher and the Boston team, which turned antagonistic last summer when the Sox sent Matsuzaka, who had been ineffective all year, to their Florida training facility in Fort Myers, adjudging that his poor pitching was due to his being woefully out of shape.