Dice-K and Walks

Daisuke Matsuzaka leads the AL in wins with 8 and only 4 starters with at least 5 starts under their belts have a lower ERA than Dice-K's 2.40. You would think everyone would be happy with that performance but you would be wrong.

Dice-K also happens to lead the league in walks with 38 and many people are harping on that figure. I say that the people complaining about Dice-K's walks are the same people who would look a gift horse in the mouth and complain about its bad breath. The fact is 55% of those walks have come with the bases empty. Dice-K sometimes nibbles and that can be frustrating to watch but as Dice-K's record and ERA attest - walks may be frustrating but they are not fatal.

Last year Dice-K's big problem was giving up home runs. He gave up 25 HR in 32 starts (1 HR every 8.2 innings). This year Dice-K has only given up 4 HR in 60 IP (1 HR every 15 innings). Effectively he has cut his HR allowed in half and by doing so he has dropped his ERA by 2 whole runs. Most likely he has accomplished this by not giving players a pitch to hit - especially with the bases empty. Last year 15 of his 25 HR allowed came with nobody on base. This year Dice-K has allowed just 2 HR with the bases empty.

I have yet to hear any of the people complaining about Dice-K's high walk total mention these facts.