There’s no doubt that 2009 represented a major step back
There’s no doubt that 2009 represented a major step back for Dice-K, as he was very poor out of the gates (8.23 ERA through his first eight starts) and ended up spending nearly two months on the DL with a tired shoulder. It’s clear that the heavy workload -- both mental and physical -- he endured in the World Baseball Classic seriously affected his preparation for the season. With that said, he came back from his stint on the shelf a different pitcher, going 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA and 20/12 K/BB ratio over four starts and looking much more like the guy who won a combined 33 games in his first two years a big leaguer. Considering he’s opted to more strictly adhere to the strength and conditioning program advocated by the Red Sox, a big comeback could be in store for the talented righty in 2010.
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