Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka will need surgery to fix a torn right elbow ligament and at least a year of recovery to have any hope of resuming his Major League Baseball career.

The Red Sox placed the Japanese ace on the disabled list and the operation is expected to take place in California later this week. The surgery requires another tendon to be transplanted in place of the one in his throwing arm.

“It’s my first time to get an operation and all I can say is I’m very shocked when it comes to this result,” Matsuzaka said through a translator.

“I was told the ligament is torn and to fix it perfectly I need to have surgery.”

Because the recovery time is between 12 and 14 months and Matsuzaka’s six-year contract worth $52 million expires next year, “Dice-K” might never pitch again for the Red Sox.

“I don’t think of it that way,” Matsuzaka said. “I hope I come back to the game again in a Red Sox uniform.”

The Red Sox paid Matsuzaka’s salary plus $51.1 million in negotiating rights to Japan’s Seibu Lions in order to simply talk with the former Japan League star, a stalwart for two-time champion Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

Matsuzaka was 15-12 for Boston in 2007 and helped the Red Sox sweep Colorado to win the World Series. He followed in 2008 by going 18-3 with a 2.90 earned-run average.

But Matsuzaka went a combined 16-15 the past three seasons with a 5.03 earned-run average and nagging injury problems.

This season, Matsuzaka was 3-3 with a 5.30 earned-run average.

Overall with the Red Sox, Matsuzaka is 49-30 with a 4.25 earned-run average.

What do you guys think about this.

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AFP) – Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka will need surgery to fix a torn right elbow ligament and at least a year of recovery to have any hope of resuming his Major League Baseball career.

The Red Sox placed the Japanese ace on the disabled list and the operation is expected to take place in California later this week. The surgery requires another tendon to be transplanted in place of the one in his throwing arm.

“It’s my first time to get an operation and all I can say is I’m very shocked when it comes to this result,” Matsuzaka said through a translator.

“I was told the ligament is torn and to fix it perfectly I need to have surgery.”

Because the recovery time is between 12 and 14 months and Matsuzaka’s six-year contract worth $52 million expires next year, “Dice-K” might never pitch again for the Red Sox.

“I don’t think of it that way,” Matsuzaka said. “I hope I come back to the game again in a Red Sox uniform.”

The Red Sox paid Matsuzaka’s salary plus $51.1 million in negotiating rights to Japan’s Seibu Lions in order to simply talk with the former Japan League star, a stalwart for two-time champion Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

Matsuzaka was 15-12 for Bostin in 2007 and helped the Red Sox sweep Colorado to win the World Series. He followed in 2008 by going 18-3 with a 2.90 earned-run average.

But Matsuzaka went a combined 16-15 the past three seasons with a 5.03 earned-run average and nagging injury problems.

This season, Matsuzaka was 3-3 with a 5.30 earned-run average.

Overall with the Red Sox, Matsuzaka is 49-30 with a 4.25 earned-run average.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

There is the quick update of the day.

Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka watches a game against the Angels in Anaheim. (Stephen Dunn / Getty Images / April 24, 2011)

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

The Boston Red Sox placed pitcher Rich Hill on
the 15-day disabled list Friday with a left elbow sprain.

Hill, 31, has not allowed a run in eight innings over nine relief appearances
this season for the Red Sox. Hill has 12 strikeouts, while only allowing three
hits and three walks. Hill began the 2011 season with Triple-A Pawtucket of
the International League, where he went 1-0 with a 1.13 earned run average,
one save and 18 strikeouts.

To fill the roster spot, the Red Sox have selected the contract of left-hander
Tommy Hottovy from Pawtucket.

Hottovy, 29, has yet to appear in a major league game. The southpaw compiled
a 1.67 ERA with 28 strikeouts between Pawtucket and Double-A Portland this
season.

To clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Hottovy, the Red Sox transferred
pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka to the 60-day disabled list.

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A long time ago, baseball players used to barnstorm after the season, picking up some extra dough after the major league season had ended.

Now, teams do it practically up to the time they are asked to line up along the foul line for Opening Day. This explains the Boston Red Sox stopover in Houston, where they initially were to play the Astros twice for no reason, before Thursday’s exhibition game was dropped.

A long Grapefruit League season is over, and we are wiser now. The 2011 Red Sox are very good, possibly the best team in baseball.

But possibly not. The runaway expectations of winter need not be discarded, only modified to reflect an awareness that questions do exist.

Josh Beckett. J.D. Drew. Jonathan Papelbon.

The catching, at least from a defensive standpoint. These are my questions; maybe you have others.

Maybe they will all work out in the positive. No doubt, challenges will crop up that we cannot imagine or predict now.

We have 162 games to find out.

In February, I was asked how many games I thought the Sox would win. After due thought, I said 98.

That’s a lot. The Red Sox haven’t won 100 since 1946, yet I was asked, why so low?

It’s because baseball is such a grind that nothing goes perfectly. Best-case scenarios are alluring but misleading.

The 10-game Grapefruit League losing streak that ended Monday means nothing. Except as a reminder that as the only sport contested every single day, baseball is the most unpredictable sport of all.

The starting pitching falls into that category. There is no reason to think Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz won’t be outustanding.

I’ll willing to believe John Lackey will be better than in 2010, however marginally. And count me a member of the Daisuke Matsuzaka defenders’ club, as long as he’s a No. 4 or 5 starter and not a 1 or 2.

That leaves Beckett. He’s healthy, but he’s struggled. We’ll see.

We will see about Papelbon as well. Plan B is probably Bobby Jenks (though the Red Sox purport not to think in such negative terms), but Jenks’ ERA was half a run higher than Papelbon’s last year.

Daniel Bard had a 6.75 ERA this spring. We’ll see.

Drew is a mystery. Mike Cameron looks so spry that a platoon in right seems appealing.

Is Cameron really a young 38, and what can we expect from Drew? We’ll see.

The Red Sox will score a lot of runs. The defense ought to be all right now that the regulars are on the field.

So I stand by my prediction of 98 wins, which is high considering the division offers the prospect of 72 tough games.

Every AL East opponent is a handful. That includes the Orioles, who are putting their house back in order, the pesky Rays and the revamped Blue Jays.

A very special year could be in store. But be happy with 98 wins from a Red Sox team that spent the offseason, looking for solutions but opens the chase with a fair number of questions as well.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

BOSTON — Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is donating $1 million to the team’s official charity for victims of the earthquake and tsunami in his native Japan.

The team said Friday the right-hander’s gift to the Red Sox Foundation will be sent to the Japanese Red Cross Society to aid response to the March 11 disaster.

Boston’s other Japanese pitchers — Hideki Okajima, Junichi Tazawa and Itsuki Shoda — also have made personal donations and joined Matsuzaka, team captain Jason Varitek and others in collecting donations from fans at two spring training games in Florida.

The Red Sox Foundation has raised more than $1.3 million for relief in Japan.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

Posted: Friday, March 25, 2011 10:56 pm | Updated: 1:09 am, Sat Mar 26, 2011.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka donated $1 million to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami in his Japanese homeland, the team announced Friday.

“Our efforts on the field are dedicated to all who are suffering from this catastrophe,” Matsuzaka said in a videotaped message released by the Red Sox earlier this month. “We are in this together, so we must overcome tragedy together.”

Fellow Japanese Red Sox pitchers Hideki Okajima, Junichi Tazawa and Itsuki Shoda also made donations. In total, the Red Sox said they raised $1.3 million for the relief effort, which includes Matsuzaka’s sum.

“Red Sox fans share a common language with the people of Japan through our shared love of baseball,” Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said, via a news release. “We are grateful for the many gifts Japan has given to our team and to baseball here in the United States. We are proud of our veteran pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka who, through this extraordinary donation also shows he is a charitable champion.”

Earlier this month, Matsuzaka, Jason Varitek and other Red Sox staffers stood at the gates of City of Palms Park before a spring training game collecting donations from fans.

A native of Tokyo, Matsuzaka is making his donation to the Japanese Red Cross through the official team charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Red Sox Foundation. The donations will go to support the Japanese Red Cross Society’s relief efforts.

That’s all for today.

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, right, of Japan, throws a pitch to Detroit Tigers’ Scott Sizemore in the fifth inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in Lakeland, Fla. Boston won 2-1. Photo: David Goldman / AP

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, right, of Japan,…

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) walks to the dugout after being relieved in the sixth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, March 15, 2011, in Lakeland, Fla. Boston won 2-1. Photo: David Goldman / AP

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) walks to the…

Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera tosses the ball to pitcher Justin Verlander for the out on a ball hit by Boston Red Sox’s Nate Spears in the sixth inning of a spring training baseball game, Tuesday, March 15, 2011, in Lakeland, Fla. Boston won 2-1. Photo: David Goldman / AP

Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera tosses the ball to…

Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera hits a home run in the seventh inning of a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in Lakeland, Fla. Boston won 2-1. Photo: David Goldman / AP

Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera hits a home run in the seventh…

Detroit Tigers’ Victor Martinez laughs while talking with Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, not pictured, during an at-bat in the second inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in Lakeland, Fla. Boston won 2-1. Photo: David Goldman / AP

Detroit Tigers’ Victor Martinez laughs while talking with Boston…

Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek (33) talks with pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka (18) in the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in Lakeland, Fla. Boston won 2-1. Photo: David Goldman / AP

Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek (33) talks with pitcher…

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander throws a pitch in the fifth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, March 15, 2011, in Lakeland, Fla. Boston won 2-1. Photo: David Goldman / AP

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander throws a pitch in…

Boston Red Sox’ Jacoby Ellsbury hits a home run in the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in Lakeland, Fla. Photo: David Goldman / AP

Boston Red Sox’ Jacoby Ellsbury hits a home run in the fourth…

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander throws a pitch in the fifth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in Lakeland, Fla. Boston won 2-1. Photo: David Goldman / AP

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander throws a pitch in…

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka realized something was wrong when he awakened Friday morning and saw the number of missed calls and e-mails that were on his phone.

He then learned, he said, of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck northeastern Japan and spawned a tsunami.

“It was definitely shocking waking up and hear the news,” Matsuzaka said. “Once I turned on the television and saw what was going on, it was very shocking, very scary to see that.”

Matsuzaka said he has been in e-mail contact with his family and numerous friends, all of whom reported they were safe, though they reported some damage. “My parents are fine,” Matsuzaka said.

Pitcher Hideki Okajima also reported that his family was safe. Mikio Yoshimura, the team’s Japanese media liaison, said he also checked with pitcher Junichi Tazawa and new Japanese minor leaguer Itsuki Shoda, a left-handed reliever, and they, too, said their families were safe.

Matsuzaka and Okajima’s immediate family members — wives and children — are all in the United States.

Matsuzaka’s parents live outside Tokyo, about 200 miles south of the area most directly affected, while Okajima’s parents are in Kyodo, well south of the area directly hit. Matsuzaka said the relatives he was most concerned about were on his mother’s side, including his grandmother, many of whom live in Aomori, which is in the northern Tohoku region. Matsuzaka said he had not yet been able to contact them.

Phone contact was very difficult, he said, though he had more success with e-mail.

“There’s no time to alert people,” he said of the earthquake, “which is what makes it so difficult and scary.”

Okajima is scheduled to pitch out of Boston’s bullpen Friday.

Gordon Edes covers the Red Sox for ESPNBoston.com.

Follow Gordon Edes on Twitter: @GordonEdes

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