Schilling Has Very High Expectations for Dice-K

Curt Schilling is sure taking this whole blogging thing seriously. In a week and a half since launching 38 Pitches, his personal blog, Schilling has written eight posts, including his latest extensive Q&A that runs more than 3,400 words. In it, he was asked about Daisuke Matzusaka:

Q-An "expert" predicts Daisuke for 15 wins and a 3.75 ERA, how do I feel about that?

A-Um, let's see. Not sure how to answer that one other than to say that prediction is probably worth less than the paper it's printed on. I look at him as an unknown commodity, in a great way. This kid is so polished for a 26 year old. He's pitched his best in the biggest games of his life, which usually means predictions about him suck. I think there will be a learning curve but I think his will be less steep than most, he's that talented. I don't think he'll show up and throw 99 his first start out, I don't think he has to. He's got command of 5 pitches, including a 92-94mph fastball, and that's more than enough to win big in this league. He's certainly going to be doing it in the games toughest division to pitch in, in my opinion. I think he's going to have a phenomenal season when all is said and done and those numbers I think are very pessimistic.

Does Schilling realize a 3.75 ERA would have ranked ninth in the AL last year? Heck, for that matter, does Schilling realize he won just 15 games with a 3.97 ERA last year? I'm all for agreeing Dice-K has an amazing upside, but what exactly is Schilling expecting this year? A Cy Young?

For what it's worth, there has been exactly one pitcher to ever to be named the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young in the same season: Fernando Valenzuela. And Valenzuela not only got to pitch in spacious Dodger Stadium but also didn't have to face the Yankees 19 times a year. It could happen for Matsuzaka, but I'd rather wait until seeing pitch in an actual regular-season game before making any bold predictions.