A friend has been hired

A friend for Matsuzaka has been hired. The lefty reliever Hideki Okajima was signed to a two year deal. In 439 Japanese major league games, he is 34-32 with a 3.36 ERA and 41 saves.

It's likely that the Red Sox were looking for just about anyone to come in and be the other new guy along with Matsuzaka in an effort to make him more comfortable. But a 3.36 ERA is fairly respectable for a reliever and I'll be happy to see Hideki in the Red Sox uniform.

Conspiracy theories

Who came up with this one?
Red Sox make offer to Matsuzaka - Yahoo! News

Lucchino brushed aside suggestions that the bid was made just to block the
New York Yankees from signing Matsuzaka.

I mean, can you imagine that sort of thing? Really? Why can't it be about the Red Sox trying to improve their own pitching? You do know that their pitching fell apart last year, right?

Hopefully, they can sign Matsuzaka. If they can't, I'm not about to believe this sort of conspiracy theory claptrap.

Is he ready for the spotlight?

Many times, a player comes to Boston and folds under the spotlight. Given that, it's a big concern any time the Red Sox look for new players.

Source: ESPN

I think Daisuke is ready for it. He certainly looks comfortable under the spotlight in this photo. And he reacted well to the scrutiny during the World Baseball Classic.

$51 Million Dollars

At then end of the day, was it worth 51 million? What happened to the cautious approach to paying players what they are worth in the marketplace? What happened to the small market mentality in a big market team? What happened to not spending?

Boston Red Sox - Green light - The Boston Globe

"If they can sign him, they've got the best pitcher in the market, and he may be the best pitcher in baseball when all is said and done," said one American League general manager last night. "He's got five outstanding pitches.

I'd say it was pretty clear what happened.

A few years ago, the Yankees outspent the Red Sox in the bidding war for Jose Contreras. I think the results of that deal are still sitting on Georgie's head, which is why the Sox were able to outspend them. Now let's hope after all the hoopla, they're able to close the deal, making Curt Schillings last season worth while.

Because that's what this is going to be about. Josh Beckett was disappointing (not bad, just disappointing). Wakefield was injured and is getting older. Clement is an unknown. The other pitchers are too young. The Red Sox finished in third last season with these pitchers. Theo and the gang know they need to upgrade, and upgrade now. In a year Curt will be gone. They need a new ace to replace him.

By the way, I hope that Matsuzaka is not the only starting pitcher they're going to go after. They need another pitcher just like him to make things happen in the coming season.