Japanese superstar Daisuke Matsuzaka brought plenty of big-game experience to the major leagues and he'll need it today when he is thrown into the fire of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.
Matsuzaka is scheduled to start today in the finale of a three game series between the American League East rivals.
"The litmus test for him is, he's pitched his best in the biggest games of his life," said Curt Schilling, who got the start in Friday's opening game of the series.
"This is going to be fun for him," Schilling said. "I've talked to him. He is looking forward to this."
Matsuzaka said the challenge reminded him of his arrival in Japan's pro league as a young star fresh out of high school.
"It is a funny thing to say that I've experienced a similar thing when I started playing in the professional baseball league in Japan right out of high school with a lot of expectations placed on me," Matsuzaka said.
"Maybe it is too much to say that I am used to it, but I definitely don't feel too much pressure, and more importantly, I think that I want to respond to those expectations by performing well on the field," he said.
Expectations have been high ever since the Red Sox shelled out more than US$100 million to get his services, including US$51 million just for the right to negotiate with him.
Their bid for negotiating rights topped that of the Yankees by nearly US$20 million and Boston manager Terry Francona acknowledged that the club's determination to get Matsuzaka was at least partly motivated by a desire to keep the rival Yankees from getting him.
"I understand now exactly why sights were set on Daisuke and why he was viewed as the one way to get our team right back to where it needed to be ... after a disappointing season," Francona said this week.
"There are guys who can throw six pitches, but have command of none of them," he said. "He's the complete opposite. I've never seen a guy with this much repertoire and able to command all of it.
"We also knew that if the Yankees got Daisuke, we'd be in real trouble," Francona added.
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