Roll the dice on Daisuke

Daisuke Matsuzaka is finally throwing pitches this spring after a back injury derailed his schedule. His role is hardly defined with the Red Sox in 2010.

There’s no such chance, but Red Sox manager Terry Francona said with a smile that Dice-K is getting closer to at least throwing from a live pitcher’s mound, a first step toward getting him into what figures to be a healthy competition for the fourth and fifth starters’ jobs with Tim Wakefield [stats] and Clay Buchholz.

“Dice had a great day,” Francona said. “It was as good a day as he’s had. Toward the end of the week we’ll get him some mound work. What we’re trying to do is get him ready properly (for the season) and not have artificial deadlines.”

Fantasy Impact: Matsuzaka may be fighting for a rotation spot, but if he's right, he's almost certain to win a job. The 29-year-old right hander owns a 37-21 career record. He gives up base runners, and when he's off his game as he was in 2009, that can spell trouble. He may not open the year a part of the Red Sox rotation due to his slow start this spring, but he's still worth a sleeper pick in the middle to late rounds of any fantasy draft.

After all, Wakefield is only as good as his knuckleball and Buchholz has yet to put it all together for more than a short stretch at the major league level.