July 28, 2009 | 04:59 PM

That's Just Dice-K Being Pedro

Team Japan's starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka walks to the dugout after he was pulled from the game in the fifth inning against Team USA during the semifinal game at the World Baseball Classic in Los Angeles, California March 22, 2009.

(Reuters)

We Haven't Seen a Prima Donna Punk Like This Since the Malcontent Pedro Martinez Shot His Way Out of Town

Dice-K Slams Sox Program, Farrell, Francona Disappointed
Funny, He Looked Just Fine Pitching for Team Japan, Sincerely Bud Selig
'Dice-K, Theo, and the President Need to Sit Down and Have a Beer' -- WEEI Whine
Thanks for Injecting Some Excitement Into This Dull-Ass Team Dice...
Sincerely, Fans Who Dearly Miss the 2004 Free-Spirited Trouble-Making Red Sox
The Red Sox Ruined Korean Pitchers Too, Sincerely Byung-Hyun Kim
When Does Scott Boras Come In To Pour Us a Drink and Tell Us Some Lies?
BDD Archives: It's a Hara Show, Let Japan Pay His Salary

"If I'm forced to continue to train in this environment, I may no longer be able to pitch like I did in Japan. The only reason why I managed to win games during the first and second years [in the United States] was because I used the savings of the shoulder I built up in Japan. Since I came to the Major Leagues, I couldn't train in my own way, so now I've lost all those savings." --Matsuzaka's comments according to WEEI.com's translation

Farrell Questions Whether Fatsuzaka Worked On His Foundation

"In hindsight, there might not have been the work that he needed to put in on his own time during the offseason to build the foundation that every pitcher requires to withstand the workloads that a major league starting pitcher is going to go through here in the States." -- Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell

File Under: He Don't Know When to Quit ...
Special-K Blames US Training Programs on Other Japanese Failures

"I know that there are Japanese starters who came to the United States before me only have two or three successful years. I now believe that it is because of a difference in training and conditioning methods." -- Matsuzka according to the Globe's translation

Tito Strikes Back and Is Right on the Money

"We had made huge strides [in communicating] during our meetings. So to hear him say that -- to have him air it out publicly -- I�m disappointed. ...For $102 million, if [Red Sox owner John Henry] came down and asked, �What�s going on?� and we said, �We�re letting [Daisuke] do it his own way,' he probably wouldn�t like that very much... I know there�s frustration, but it�s unfortunate for [Matsuzaka] to say that. I thought everybody was on board with what we were doing.� -- Red Sox manager Terry Francona

Farrell Says Fatsuzaka Has to Be Accountable at Some Point

"If you're going to throw 115 pitches, you've got to go out and be effective. At some point there's got to be some accountability and responsibility from the player." -- John Farrell, back for more

Mazz Takes Dice to Cleaners for Airing Dirty Laundry

"The truth is that the Red Sox were tired of Matsuzaka's high-maintenance act a long time ago, but they kept their mouths shut and put up with it because Matsuzaka won games... What Matsuzaka did not say, of course, was that he showed up in camp this year looking like the Sta-Puft marshmallow man. (What's the Japanese word for doughboy, anyway?) Asked about Matsuzaka's strength when the pitcher returned from the World Baseball Classic, Farrell said at the time that Matsuzaka graded out well when the club tested the pitcher's shoulder. In retrospect, what Farrell did not say was that Matsuzaka looked like he spent the winter eating dumplings and bonbons, which the Red Sox believe contributed to the pitcher's problems." -- Tony Massarotti on Boston.com

Just Call Him Daisuke Martinez or Pedro Matsuzaka

"...In the end, they [Red Sox front office] scraped and bowed and gave [Pedro] the perks he requested, all proof he is different from the other players on the Red Sox... In Boston, Pedro was allowed to do whatever he wanted -- show up whenever and take vacations. The Boston media were easy on him for what he had done. They gave him a mulligan for not attending Game 6 in New York..." -- 12.14.04, Peter Gammons, ESPN.com