After a hot-stove season where I had to sometimes really search for things to post about, today is opening day and I have so many things to touch on that I had trouble figuring out where to begin. But after the lackluster start that Lester had last week and the poor showing of Buchholz over spring training (10.03 ERA) I decided that the Red Sox picking up another hurler was probably the biggest news of the weekend. The newest bit of Japanese for Sox fans to learn is Teramasu Matsuo, the free agent that the pick-up from Independent Shikoku League.

Matsou was the league MVP last season, posting a 15-3 record over 30 starts. He boasted a 1.72 ERA and 159 strike-outs, and his '06 season wasn't shabby either!

Matsuo is reporting to extended spring training in Florida and we'll just have to wait to see when and in exactly what capacity we get to see his first pitch in a Sox uniform.

Labels: baseball, Japan, pitching, Red Sox

(PRE-GAME NOTES) What can I say... The Lord giveth and then he taketh away.

Manny hit his 491st jack in the sole bright spot in today's Red Sox loss. The low? Well, today's three strikeouts for Tek makes him zero for eight with 6 k's! Moss was nowhere near his second home run in the majors today, as he had three k's of his own. Lester gave up 6 hits and 4 earned runs in 4 innings. Also, Tito showed some questionable logic when he put Lopez in to face a left-handed Jake Cust (who drew a walk.) So, not a lot to focus on for a positive spin, you know.

Hey, at least this Japan trip is officially over.

Labels: Athletics, baseball, Japan, Red Sox

Everyone else in my house was in bed last night when I sat down in front of my laptop to watch the Red Sox take on the Hanshin Tigers. I must say, it was an interesting experience.

On MLB.tv, there was no English play-by-play. Listening to the Japanese announcers was fun bordering on hilarity! Even the between pitch banter was funny to listen to, given the fact that I understood almost none of it. It was a little bit of a pain trying to follow the game because the on-screen graphic for score and count was on and off throughout the time I watched. I finally fell asleep about the 7th inning, but found out this morning that the Sox held on to win, 6 - 5.

Some noteworthy points. Buchholz looked a little less that impressive, giving up 4 of the Tigers 5 runs. I still believe that there is some correlation to this and the fact that the Japanese baseball is smaller that the MLB official size. Buchholz has several balls in the dirt and at least one wild pitch that moved runners.

Papi and J.D. Drew didn't seem to mind the difference in ball size, both hitting jacks in the first inning. Another cool thing to see was Dusty Brown gunning a speedy Fujimoto in the bottom of the ninth to help Papelbon get the save. But where is Cash? After all that news about Mirabelli being released because Cash can handle the knuckler, I don't even seem him listed on the 40-man roster. He came into pinch hit for Ortiz in the game (more confusion) but is still listed as a non-roster invitee? What's going on there?

As much fun as it was to watch the Sox in a game where there was a bit more emphasis on winning than in the Spring Training games, I'll still be very glad when this Japan trip is over and we can all concentrate on April.

*Translation: "Hello, Tigers!"

Labels: baseball, Japan, Red Sox