Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com is reporting Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka left a bullpen session after five pitches with a stiff neck and is unlikely to travel back to Boston with the team after spring training wraps up.
Expect an update here from Terry Francona after today’s game.
UPDATE: “We’ll go kind of day-to-day on it,” Francona said. “We’ll wait and see how he shows up tomorrow, and when he feels good, we’ll repeat what we were going to do.”
The Red Sox rotation may be deep, but I’d say the Yankees’ rotation is just as deep and far more durable. Below is a comparison without Matsuzaka.
| Yankees Rotation | Red Sox Rotation |
| CC Sabathia | Jon Lester |
| A.J. Burnett | Josh Beckett |
| Andy Pettitte | John Lackey |
| Javier Vazquez | Clay Buchholz |
| Phil Hughes/Joba Chamberlain | Tim Wakefield |
Cliff Corcoran of Bronx Banter, a source I’d definitely recommend following, made a very interesting observation on the two rotations yesterday.
I think they're pretty similar. Young lefty ace? Check. Fragile ex-Marlin with great stuff? Check. New arrival who has been asked to be an ace in the past? Check. Elite prospect hoping to finally shake the prospect tag? Check. What worries you more, Matsuzaka's conflicts with the team and 2009 injury/conditioning issues or the mileage on Andy Pettitte's elbow? I think there's enough talent in both rotations that fortune will tip the balance.
Like I said, Cliff knows what he’s talking about.
