In some ways, Daisuke Matsuzaka was defeated on Sunday afternoon by an enemy of his own creation. In 2007, C.J. Wilson -- then a reliever with the Rangers -- commenced a quest to become the first American practitioner of the gyroball.

He had become aware of the fascination about whether Red Sox starter Matsuzaka (then in his first year in the U.S.) threw the so-called "demon miracle pitch," and the left-handed Wilson wanted in. Wilson encountered Japanese trainer Kazushi Tezuka -- one of the authors of the book describing the theory and practice of the gyroball -- in spring training prior to the 2007 season, the result of a friendship beween Tezuka and former Rangers reliever Akinori Otsuka.

A 90-minute session resulted in the pitch being taught to Wilson, and the results against left-handers were almost instantaneous. As Wilson said for a story at the time (late June 2007):

“That's one of the reasons why I think I've been so successful against lefties this year. They can't hit (the gyroball),” Wilson said. “Anything that will help me get out guys like David Ortiz and Ichiro, I'll throw it. There's plenty of incentive. You can never be too hard to hit.”

The pitcher suggests that he is still working to gain command of the pitch, and so only uses it in situations where he is ahead in the count. All the same, his enthusiasm for its results is unbridled. Wilson notes that left-handers react to the pitch as if it's a slider, but then bail out when it doesn't break. To date, Wilson says, no left-handers have put a gyroball in play.

“Ichiro has fouled it two or three times, Prince Fielder fouled it off once, but no one else has touched it. Everybody else who swings at it misses it, and guys who take it look at it weird,” said Wilson. “(Hitters) probably just think, 'What the (expletive) was that?' I see guys lean into a pitch and then they buckle and fall over. It's pretty funny.”

Members of the Sox at the time were skeptical, a fact that was relayed to Wilson. In response, in an effort to show that this Baseball Big Foot was real, he cued up video in the Fenway Park visitor's clubhouse of at least three instances where he threw a pitch and left opposing hitters with a vexed smirk on their faces (including one of a punchout of Alex Cora, then of the Sox).

It was a fascinating novelty, but ultimately, for much of 2008 and 2009, it proved little more than that. Wilson's career had been up and down over those seasons, as had been his use of the gyroball, which he said in 2008 and 2009 that he was still using, albeit infrequently.

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This year, however, Wilson has enjoyed a breakout as a member of the Texas rotation. With Sunday's victory in the Rangers' 7-3 beating of the Sox (recap), he is now 11-5 with a 3.19 ERA.

His excellence, appropriately enough, has been Matsuzaka-esque: though he has walked more batters than any other American League pitcher (70), he is holding opponents to a .213 average (second lowest among AL pitchers who qualify for the ERA title). Whether because he is the sole self-declared practitioner of the gyroball or because he just throws a bunch of nasty pitches, Wilson has held lefties to a .106 average, the lowest in the majors.

He has become a pitcher this year who changes lineups. The Sox were no different on Sunday, trying to stack their lineup with right-handers. The decision to do so was not enough.

Wilson was dominant against the Sox on Sunday, claiming the victory against Matsuzaka by allowing just one run in 7 2/3 innings while striking out eight. In the process, Wilson saw his ERA against the Sox this year rise to 0.86. That is the lowest single-season ERA by any pitcher (min. 20 innings) against the Sox since 1991.

On a day when Matsuzaka was very good for most of his outing, he was bested by a pitcher whose repertoire he influenced. If Wilson is indeed still throwing the gyroball, then he is making a compelling case that the Red Sox starter -- and others -- might do well to follow suit.