Hideki Okajima didn't come with a nine-figure price tag or the international intrigue of Major League Baseball's (MLB) posting process. His signing wasn't broadcast live on two continents. And while reporters tracked the private jet bringing Daisuke Matsuzaka to town, Okajima came in under the media radar.
The left-handed reliever was only the second-most coveted Japanese pitcher signed by the Boston Red Sox in the offseason, largely written off as a babysitter who could ease Matsuzaka's transition to the major leagues.
He's making things easier for Matsuzaka, all right, and in just the way the Red Sox had hoped -- by mopping up for Matsuzaka and the rest of the Red Sox starters with inning after scoreless inning and helping Boston take an early lead in the American League East division.
PHOTO: EPA
"He comes with a pedigree of pitching in big markets and pitching on big stages," said Craig Shipley, who handles international scouting for the Red Sox. "This had nothing to do with Daisuke. I don't think teams are in the habit of signing this player to help that player's adjustment."
When the Red Sox arranged a media lunch with the two new Japanese pitchers, Okajima garnered barely a line or two in most stories -- and usually to quote his opinion on Matsuzaka -- as if the elder pitcher were the little brother who tagged along.
"That doesn't matter at all," Okajima said this week through a translator. "In Japan, I'm used to being surrounded by media also and it didn't make any difference to me."
Very little has made a difference to Okajima so far. He was picked as the top AL rookie last month with a streak of scoreless outings that reached 14 heading into Thursday's game against Seattle. After he earned his first major league save against the New York Yankees, the Boston Herald joked that the Matsuzaka deal was an elaborate smoke screen to land the pitcher the Red Sox really wanted.
"Obviously, I couldn't anticipate how well he's going to do here," Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui said. "I'm not surprised with the results he's had so far, knowing him and knowing what kind of pitcher he is."
Matsui, who played in Japan with Okajima, is one of the few major leaguers who knew what to expect.
Boston manager Terry Francona admits he needed some time to figure out what do with his new lefty.
"When you're just looking at him ... he doesn't throw real hard. His fastball is kind of straight, he said.
Fundamentally, he does things you wouldn't teach to a young pitcher," Francona said.
"We didn't really see it. We saw a guy who was turning his head into the ground and said, `How's he going to command?' But he does. You can't see how a guy's going to compete until he does."
The 31-year-old Okajima made a similar first impression on opposing batters, allowing three homers in 11 spring training appearances. When the regular season started, it was more of the same -- he gave up a homer on the first pitch he threw in the major leagues, to Kansas City's John Buck.
And Okajima hasn't allowed another run since.
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