Circe de Sox continues: 115k watch exhibiton game vs LA

As if a trip to the Far east weren't punishment enough, Boston had to play an exhibition game in a Coliseum with Little League dimensions in front of an MLB-record crowd in Los Angeles yesterday.

Does Bud Selig have pictures of Theo, Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino and John Henry in a foursome with Eliot Spitzer's mistress or what?

Whatever the reason it seems that MLB is doing everything in its power to prevent the Sox from successfully defending their championship. I mean has anyone ever heard of a defending champ opening the next season with two regular season games in Japan, then coming back to the states to play three spring training games 3000 miles away from home, followed by two more regular games against the team it played in Japan, followed by a trip to Toronto for a three game series, all before stepping foot on home soil?

Save the thinking cap, the answer is no.

On the heels of that travishamockery that was the goodwill trip to the land of the rising sun to play regular season games comes this preseason spectacle. Over 155,000 fans packed the LA Coliseum to witness a glorified softball game between the Sox and Dodgers in honor of the team's 50th anniversary of bolting New York for LA.

With the distance down the left field line a mere 201 feet and a 60-ft high net atop the stands, the field looked more like an MTV Rock & Jock set than an actual major league game. Safe to say this one took the word 'exhibition' to a whole notha level.

The Sox would end up winning this dog & pony show, in which there were 5 homers hit, 4 to the Williamsport Porch, but that really doesn't matter. What matters is MLB is treating this team like its very own personal teacup chihuahua, wanting to prance it around and show it off to anyone and everyone who wants to fawn over it, or comment how disgusting it looks up close.

When you throw in the fact that half the team has bad backs, Dice K looks about as stable as a wind sock, and the team is going to rely on young players at key positions, all this nonsense adds up to make it look like a near impossible mission for Boston to become the first team to repeat as champs since the 1999-2000 Stankees.

But if they should happen to survive this early season circus and weather the storm, hang around near the top of the division until mid season and shake off all the early season adversity to win another title, well then this team would go down as possibly the greatest Sox squad of all time.

Or at the very least of all time zones.

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Good news: Dice is a daddy, Becks' back's better

In this abbreviated spring filled with more bad news than good, the Sox get a couple of encouraging signs heading into the opener in Tokyo

First Dice-K's wife had the couple's first child on Saturday, 10 days ahead of schedule, enabling the Japanese starter to return to his homeland and pitch in the opening series against the A's in Tokyo. Then word came that Josh Beckett's back has gotten exponentially better, and that even though he will not make the trip overseas, he should be able to start in the team's first series back on the mainland against the A's on April 1-2.

Matsuzaka's wife Tomoyo was scheduled to give birth on March 25, Opening Day, but even though she insisted her husband make the trip back home with his team, Dice, ever the gentleman, decided to stay behind with her for the birth.

Luckily, as all the parents out there know all too well, the baby was not born on time, probably due to the prayers of millions of fans from both nations, so the issue became moot. Matsuzaka will now make the trip and start the opener in what should be a raucous Tokyo Dome, while Jon Lester will most likely get the start in Game 2.

So for at least one day Boston got some encouraging news to help brighten up what had been shaping up to be a depressing start to their title-defense season.

Now as long as they survive the grueling schedule of the first few weeks, maybe they will actually be able to defend that title.

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Beckett's bad back=bad news for Bosox

It was one thing to have the defending champs open the season 6000+ miles away from home in what promised to be a most untimely road trip, but now it appears they will have to do so without the services of their number 1 starter, ace Josh Beckett.

Talk about things going from bad to worse.

The Red Sox righty and reigning Cy Young winner (shut up, I know he didn't win, we're just ignoring that small fact) tweaked his back while warming up for a Grapefruit league start on Saturday, and after initial diagnosis downplayed the significance of the injury and an MRI confirmed no serious damage to the area, the last couple of days have only seen his condition improve mildly, therefore putting his opening day start on March 25 in Tokyo in jeopardy.

According to a report in today's Globe, Tito and co. have not ruled out Beckett making the Tokyo trip, where the Sox will play two exhibition games and two regular season games against the A's before returning to the country, but as ESPN.com's Jayson Starke put it, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that a 17-hour plane ride is not the best therapy for an ailing ace with a balky back.

Combine that bad news with the fact that Dice K was already doubtful for the trip back to his homeland due to the impending birth of his child (anyone else see the irony in that?),and what you have is a team trying to defend its title by travelling halfway around the world to play 4 cash-grab, errrr, goodwill games without its two best starters.

Sounds like a surefire recipe for a repeat to me.

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A "shaky" Dice-K gives up zero hits and fans 6 in 5 innings

After the Sox finished its game against the Reds late this afternoon, a 5-0 loss thanks to Craig Hanson's implosion in the 8th that turned a shutout into a blowout, a disappointed Daisuke Matsuzaka spurned the American & Japanese media assembled at Ed Smith Stadium and issued this statement:

"This time of the year I think the content of my pitching is more important than the result on paper. I am not happy with the content of my pitching today. I threw a lot of walks and wasted balls. And it was tough for my fielders to defend and to get into a good rhythm on offense. It's something I'll want to pay attention to in the regular season."

What's the big deal, you say? Major leaguers often take this type of stance after a rough, particularly troubling outing.

Oh yeah, did I mention the guy threw 5 innings of no-hit, 6-strikeout ball?

And so begins the first "controversy" of the Dice-K Era, as media outlets are already trying to blow this story up into the next Anna Nicole fiasco because it was the first time since joining the team that the calm, cool Diceman has shown any signs of impoliteness or refused to speak with members of either media contingent.

I say "good for him." He's obviously showing his dissatisfaction with having a rough start and he didn't want to convey those feelings with members of the press- so what? I think it shows how focused and driven the kid is to feel disappointed with a performance that 300 MLB pitchers would kill to have, spring training or otherwise.

Dice-K was most definitely not in top form like he was last Wednesday when he gave up 1 hit and no runs with 1 walk and 7 Ks vs. the Pirates. He started by getting behind hitters and ended up walking 5 Reds batters while throwing 102 pitches and never really had total command over his full repertoire of pitches. Yet for all this hand wringing Dice-K still gave up zero hits, fanned six Reds in 5 innings, including Ken Griffey Jr. three times, and would have gotten a win under normal circumstances. The line score for his last 2 starts: 10.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 6 BBs, 13Ks.

But the media has found something to pounce on and now they're going to run with it, at least until Dice-K's next start, when he'll probably pitch 6 innings of 1-run ball with 7 strikeouts and no walks.

If they really want a story, how 'bout focusing on Hanson. The kid the team has been high on for years and was envisioned as this year's closer got lit up like a celebutard at an after party, lasting just 2/3 of an inning while racking up this horrific line score: 2H, 5ER, 2BB, 2K, 2HBP-L.

As for Dice-K, if he wants peace & quiet after a start when he strikes out 6 and allows no runs and no hits, for crissake let the guy have some peace & quiet. It's stupid situations like these-creating controversy where there is none- that help perpetrate the myth that players don't want to come to Boston.

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Dice-K dazzles in ESPN game against Pittsburgh

I'm back.

Sorry I've been gone so long, but a lot has happened in the last week & 1/2. I got an HD TV. Went to a spring training game. Took my son to the doctor. Watched a ton of college basketball.
Went to see "300". Stuff like that.

But what have I really missed- it's spring training? The roster is basically set, except for a few bullpen scrubs, bench players, oh and that pesky situation with having to find a closer. Other than that it's been a pretty tame spring, not counting Matsuzaka mania and a couple of episodes of Manny Being Manny. The biggest stories have come from ex-Sox: Pedro could miss 3/4 of the season, Judas Demon declared that the Stanks are the best team (ooh, really sticking your neck out, Judas) and David Wells has to give up booze and fried foods.

Speaking of Matzsuzaka mania, today I had the chance to finally watch Dice K pitch with my own eyes as the Sox/Pirates game was broadcast on ESPN HD, and boy was I impressed. The brilliant colors all around the field, the crispness of the picture and the sound all combined to make for a very pleasurable viewing experience.

Oh, I'm sorry, I was supposed to be talking about Dice-K and I got carried away. I was impressed with Matsuzaka as well, although his shaky first inning had me questioning my whole "this guy's gonna help send the Sox back to the series" hysteria.

He allowed a run in the first after plunking leadoff hitter Chris Duffy, and after two groundouts moved Duffy to third, a bloop hit to right by Adam LaRoche landed in front of J.D. Drew ( I can hear the Nation now, and its not screaming "Droooooooooo!") and scored Duffy easily. Like I said, shaky, but not awful.

Sox fans are quickly learning never to fear when the calm & cool Diceman is on the hill, though, because he has the composure and discipline to shake off bad innings as easily as he laughs off the crushing media attention. After coming out for the second inning Dice K quickly got into a groove, retiring 11 in a row and striking out Pirates batters by using his full repertoire of pitches.

By the end of the outing Matsuzaka had thrown 92 pitches in 5 2/3 innings of work, allowing just the one run and one hit with a walk and seven Ks. Of his 92 pitches, 62 were for strikes, and after that first inning he was ahead of nearly every other batter he faced.

In short he looked very strong, displaying a number of quality pitches that continually baffled the Pittsburgh hitters, and showed a tenaciosness that will be needed to make it through the season. The best part of his outing might have been his final batter. After retiring Duffy to start the 6th, Dice-K engaged in a 12-pitch battle with Pirate SS prospect Don Kelly. After fouling off pitch after pitch with the count at 2-2, Matsuzaka threw his final pitch, which Kelly tipped into Varitek's glove for another strikeout.

Legend has it that he got him with the gyroball.

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This just in: Dice-K is human; Matsuzaka roughed up in 3rd start

Baltimore 5, Sox 3

Despite this picture, Diceman did not lose face after his rough outing vs. Baltimore (Globe/AP)

Well nobody said he was going to be perfect, did they? Wait, some did?

Even so, Red Sox Nation got a heaping slice of humble pie, the first bit of sourness from the Dice-K Experience so far, other than having to deal with Scott Borass.

Matsuzaka had what could be described in any language as a terrible outing against the Orioles at the Fort on Sunday, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits in 4 rocky innings of work. The Master of Control didn't walk a batter and struck out 3, but he gave up two long balls, made a throwing error, and was behind the Baltimore batters all day long.

Okay. So what.

So what if all the Stankee lovers are laughing their asses off right now, slapping each other on the backs and exclaiming "boy, am I friggin' glad Steinbrenner didn't waste $100 mil on that lousy import"? Go ahead, yuk it up,haters. Did everyone expect this kid never to have a rough outing? Didn't everyone see this coming?

Yes and no. We might have known that a bad performance was inevitable from the man who has the hopes, and eyes, of 2 nations pinned on his right arm, yet that doesn't make the pill any tougher to swallow.

The D-man gave up home runs to Jon Knott and Jason Dubois, for crissake, two guys who could be leads in a new NBC comedy, Scrubs: The Minors. He was behind half of the batters he faced, and he needed 63 pitches to get through 4 innings. Rough stuff from a guy the Sox paid $50 million just to negotiate with, numbers comparable to a 5th starter candidate on the Devil Rays.

But this is spring training, after all. A time when Patriots brass like the Hooded Genius and personnel guru Scott Pioli can schmooze in the Sox dugout pregame, opponents can proclaim that Dice-K is 'from another planet", as the O's Melvin Mora did after striking out twice against him, and where Matsuzaka can blow off the outing by saying "it's not something that I'm particularly concerned about."

Maybe so, Diceman.

Just don't have one of these outing in September, m'kay?

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It's spring training? Screw it, let's brawl!

Hit batters lead to benches clearing as Sox overcome a shaky effort from Beckett.

Gotta love Tito's & Coco's expressions in this pic; BTW, I would NOT f**k with Demarlo Hale! (courtesy of the Globe/AP)

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that it was 80+ degrees and sunny on this gorgeous early spring day in F-L-A that got temperatures rising between the Sox and Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium in beautiful, desolate Lakeland.

Or it could have been that Sox gopher ball specialist Josh Beckett turned into the second coming of Nuke LaLoosh, nailing new Tiger Gary Sheffield with a pitch in the first inning and then catching Mags Ordonez with a breaker to the helmet in the 3rd. Neither pitch did much damage to the batters, although Ordonez was down for a bit and removed for precautions, but neither sat too well with the Tigers players & staff.

Needless to say hot-headed Detroit skipper Smokey Jim Leyland didn't take too kindly to Beckett using his players as target practice while he worked on his breaking ball, so nobody in the stadium was surprised when Detroit reliever Todd Jones attempted to hit J.D. Drew in the 5th. I think it was more that Jones attempted twice, throwing behind Drew on the second try, that got Leyland and Jones ejected (both sides had already been warned due to the three prior HBPs), and caused the benches & bullpens to empty, culminating in a shouting match between Smokey Jim and Maddog DeMarlo Hale.

Cooler heads ultimately prevailed, and it's a good thing, too; Leyland may be an ornery, chain-smokin' old S.O.B., but DeMarlo would snap that geezer in half like a Nicorette user snapping a Malboro.

Beckett ended up allowing 5 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits in 3 2/3, with 1 walk and 1 strikeout, a less-than-stellar outing, according to Captain Obvious. On the bright side Eric Hinske slugged a 1st-inning grand slam off Tigers playoff hero Justin Verlander, five Sox had 2 hits apiece (Coco, Drew, Hinske, Cora and Joe McEwing) and 4 relievers combined to throw 5 1/3 innings of 1-run ball.

And the Sox won, 7-6.

The Tigers visit Fenway April 14-17th for a four game set.

Better bring a bodyguard, Marlboro man.

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Sox split squads split twin bill

GM1:Boston 3, Toronto 2
GM2:Minny 1, Boston 0

The Sox split its squads yesterday, playing two games at the Fort, but one of the 2 had a decidedly regular season, Fenway feel to it.

Curt Schilling took on Minnesota's Johan Cy-tana yesterday afternoon at City of Palms Park in a duel that takes center stage no matter what time of year it is or where the venue is. Schill worked on his developing slider again, throwing 14 of them out of his 60 pitches, and allowed one run on two hits and a walk in four innings of work. Cy-tana was in mid-season form as well, tossing 3 shutout innings while giving up one hit, two walks and three Ks.

The real positive sign here is that Schill is getting more comfortable with his new "out" pitch, at one point throwing three in a row to Matt LeCroy before striking him out on a fastball, causing the non-roster invitee to do a little double take. "I was like, 'What in the world?" LeCroy said.

In the other game Kyle Snyder got tagged early, allowing homers to 2 of the first 4 batters he faced, but the righty settled down to toss 2 1/3 innings, giving up just the two runs on 5 hits, a walk and two Ks. Snyder is making a pitch for the remaining spot in Boston's pen, but getting outpitched by fellow retread Tomo Okha, who pitched 3 innings of shutout ball, is no way to go about it.

Other notes from the game: JD Drew's triple drove in ManRam, who had singled, and tied the game at 2 in the 4th; Boston won it on a 9th inning RBI double by Jeff Bailey.

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Another good outing for Paps

Wake & Paps combine for 6 scoreless innings

Although Boston still does not have a closer for the upcoming season, its former closer continues to progress quite nicely in his new role as a starting pitcher.

Mind you Jonathan Papelbon has yet to start a spring training game (that might come next, according to the Globe), but his spring work so far has proven that the shoulder trouble that sidelined Paps at the end of last season and forced him top forgo the closer's spot seem to be a thing of the past.

After Tim Wakefield pitched the first three scoreless innings, Papelbon took over and matched the knuckler with three scoreless of his own. Paps allowed one hit and one run while striking out four in his second impressive outing of the spring since relinquishing his closer role. Maybe.

No one in the organization is absolutely ruling out a return to the pen for the 26-year-old, but unless something drastic happens (like, say potential closers Pineiro getting lit up the other day and Brandon Donnelly allowing 4 runs on 2 hits & a walk in 2/3 of an inning in today's 9-5 win over the Mets), look for Paps to start the season in the starting rotation.

All we here in the Nation care about is that the kid is healthy again and showing his dominant, early-2006 form, no matter where he pitches.

Oh, by the way, the Sox won the game on a 9th inning, walk off grand slam by former Orioles infield prospect Ed Rodgers off the immortal Ambiorix Burgos. ManRam also got his first hit of the spring (finally!); the mercurial one had been 0-6 coming in before singling in the 4th.

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SOX NOTES: and Judas Demon wonders why The Nation despises him?

Just checked out this piece from Boston Metro, via Globe Sports Online, which is an interview between BM reporter David Sandora and former Commonwealth Idiot, Judas Demon.

In the brief piece Damon gushes about his playing for the Yankees and living in the Big Apple in general, things he would have been loathe to do just two short years ago. A few of the comments struck me as quite amusing, if not for their idiocy then their sheer assholeishness (I can use that word here):

-On his first year living in New York, Captain Caveman says "It was incredible. After a night game, you’re able to go and find something to eat. Every other place I’ve played, you couldn’t do that."

Ah, I know I've been a Floridian for 14 years now, but last time I was home I remember that most restaurants/bars/clubs were open until at least 2:00 a.m., and after that everyone knew where to go for after hours carousing. Night games are over by 10-10:30, plus an hour & a half for post-game bullshit still leaves you on Yawkey Way by midnight with a smorgasbord of options for your wining & dining pleasure. In other words, what the hell is he talking about?

-Asked if there was anything that surprised him about playing for the Stanks, CC replied "I think just the way they do stuff, it’s incredible. How the simplest things — having two buses before a game on the road, two buses after the game — we’re the only people who did that."

Note the disgusting use of the word "we", and also chuckle at how a former self-proclaimed idiot who enjoyed long hair, Jack Daniels and sluts thinks so highly of the fact that his new team has two buses for the players' royal pampered asses.

-But the kicker had to be his response to the inevitable query about his long-lost shaggy mane; did he miss his hirsute visage? "No. Actually, the hair was going to come off regardless of what team I signed with."

And that's why we hate you, you f-ing traitor. Keep your shorn locks and double-bussed ass in the Big Apple, and may an enraged former fan serve you an extra "special" pot of cold tea next time you're looking for a late night snack in Chinatown.

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Matsuzaka impressive against professional hitters, too

It's fitting that today's 14-6, 10-inning Sox victory over the Marlins took place in Jupiter because the way Daisuke Matsuzaka has been pitching hitters are going to start thinking he's from another planet, never mind another country.

Matsuzaka tossed three innings of 2-hit, shutout ball against Florida, allowing one walk while striking out three. He needed 47 pitches, 31 of which were strikes, and he threw first-pitch strikes to a stellar 10 out of 12 batters faced; talk about getting ahead of the hitters. Oh, and his fastball topped off at 94 mph.

Now can we please cut the bullshit about "what if this Matsuzaka guy can't pitch as well against major leaguers as he did against Japanese players and college kids"? Because the Diceman proved today that there aren't any hitters on the planet that he won't gladly attempt to dice-sect (sorry) with his nasty array of fastballs, curves, and mystical gyro balls.

It was Matsuzaka's first MLB action against actual major leaguers (although scrubs with names like Stokes, Gall, Seabol and Borchard aren't exactly the Fearsome Foursome), and the debut was a rousing success. Many people have argued that although Dice-K is a phenom in his native land, they are dubious that his rare abilities will translate here in the toughest hardball league in the world.

A start on Friday against the bright-eyed Boston College Eagles did nothing to prove or dispel the argument, although his 25-pitch, 19-strike scoreless outing certainly didn't hurt his confidence. Today was the real test, though, one that Boston ownership, media and fans had been waiting a whole winter for. And the Diceman did not disappoint.

Photos courtesy of REUTERS

Luckily the high-five knows no language barrier

The best part of the outing wasn't the fact that he threw an an impressive 90% of his pitches for strikes, or that the first batter he faced was former Sox property and reigning NL ROY Hanley Ramirez, whom he retired on two pitches. No, it was the fact that he had to work his way out of a legitimate scoring jam in order to keep his 0.00 ERA intact. After allowing a walk and ground rule double, Dice-K was faced with runners on first & second with one out. Here is where his mental toughness & discipline pays off for him as much as his psychical talents. Matsuzaka fanned the next batter and got the following to pop out on a bunt, and the Diceman escaped the inning unscathed.

And Red Sox Nation breathed a little easier, secure in our knowledge that this happy-go-lucky hurler from the Far East may just take our beloved Sox back to the top of the World.

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Spring Training Notes

We savvy baseball fans here in The Nation all know that the scores & stats from spring training games are about as meaningless as a as a claim of paternity in the Anna Nicole case. That's why we must read between the box scores to see what's really going on with our Sox as the spring heats up and the starting 25 rounds into shape.

Here's a rundown of some Grapefruit League goings on as Boston sports a 1-4 record (who cares?!)after today's loss to the Dodgers:

-Schill's experiment with new pitch looks good in his second outing
The Globe's Nick Carfado reports that Shill threw 9 or ten of the "new change ups" the 40-year old is experimenting with in yesterday's 3 1/3 innings of work in a 6-1 win over the Twins. Schill is learning the new pitch in an effort to broaden his pitching repertoire as he advances in age, a la Pedro Martinez or Roger Clemens. And it probably won't hurt Curt's efforts to enhance his chances of signing one more big contract before he retires, whether it's with Boston or elsewhere.

-Future (?) closer hammered while former closer excels

Free agent acquisition Joel Pineiro, a.k.a The Man Who Could Be The Closer, got roughed up by the Phils Saturday in his second appearance for the Sox, while last year's stopper, Jonathan Papelbon had a stellar debut as he prepares for his new role as a starter.

Pineiro faced 10 batters and allowed four runs on four hits and two walks, including a 2-run homer to the immortal Greg Dobbs and an RBI double to Aaron Fence Face Rowand. The interesting part about the former Seattle starter's situation is that he can make some serious cash in Boston if he becomes the team's closer; the scenario is detailed in this Gordon Edes piece.

Another interesting tidbit gleaned from the article is the part where Pineiro raised a question about why Francona threw him for more than one inning, believing the tobacco-free skipper was going to "build up his arm strength". My initial impression of this situation: Pineiro is too thin-skinned to make it as a close in Boston, and the complexity of his incentive-laden contract could serve as a detriment to his development in the role.

Meanwhile Papelbon showed no ill effects of last year's season-ending shoulder injury in his spring debut. He pitched two innings, the 3rd & 4th, and allowed no runs while striking out 4 of his 6 opponents, including reigning MVP Ryan Howard in the 3rd with some nasty high cheese.

The 26-year-old has started previously in his baseball career, in high school college, and even early on with the Sox, so his transition to the rotation is more based on the health of the shoulder than his ability to adjust to the change.

But the development of these two hurlers, both central figures in Boston's bid to find a new closer, will be one of the biggest stories to keep track of in the weeks and months to come.

-Lester pitches today for the first time since cancer diagnosis
On a back field in a "B" game against spring training scrubs in front of 200 or so non-paying customers, one of the greatest stories of the season had another chapter written.

In what has to be THE best story of the spring & the regular season for any team anywhere, Boston's Jon Lester took the mound today for the first time since being diagnosed with large-cell lymphoma last August.

After six rounds of chemo, Lester was declared cancer-free by his doctors in January, and the 23-year-old lefty reported to training camp two weeks early to get ready for his return to action.

Today that return was completed as Lester started the "B" game against the Twins in The Fort.The fact that Lester threw only eight pitches, six fastballs for strikes and two curves in the dirt, while facing just three batters in reaching his 1-inning limit was inconsequential. The fact that Jon Lester was able to stand on a ball field under the South Florida sun and enjoy doing what he does best while his friends and family are able to watch him do so is something that transcends wins, losses, and stats.

Welcome back, Jon.

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...and on the 80th day, the Diceman pitches

Matsuzaka throws 2 scoreless innings in first mound action since signing his mega deal

What better way to kick off the launch of this ground-breaking new blog than to report on the premiere of Boston's newest $103 million Asian import, Daisuke Matsuzaka?

The long-awaited MLB debut of the man known as Dice-K was a rousing success, if you consider shutting down the Boston College Eagles varsity squad an impressive barometer for future major league domination. Of course no one's claiming that based on a 7-batter outing in which the 26-year-old phenom threw only 25 pitches, 19 of them for strikes. Especially after the first batter of the game, junior Johnny Ayers, smacked Matsuzaka's first official major league pitch for an official solid double, a disheartening start for the man who had the eyes of two nations, Japan and Red Sox, scrutinizing his every move.

More than 100 media credentials were issued for this historic event, and everywhere the doughy hurler went he was observed with the intensity of paparazzi outside of The Ivy.

But the good-natured Diceman appears to be either oblivious of, or unbothered by, all the attention, and his initial performance on the mound backs up that assertion. Although it was against a bunch of wide-eyed kids, many of them not old enough to drink the beer that Matsuzaka hawks in his homeland.

Boston won the game, 9-1, but the score, stats, and sentences do not begin to tell the story of this game. No, the sight of Boston's $103 million dollar investment throwing strikes, soaking up the environment, and pleasing Boston's management, fanbase, and a country of millions was all anyone needed to see to realize the Matsuzaka Era was off to a terrific start...

...versus frat-party-attending panty-raiders, but still.

Read some professional reactions to Dice-K's debut here, here, and here.

*Photos courtesy Getty Images

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