Hardball Heaven

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched an absolute gem in his major league debut yesterday -- that's his pitching line to the right. Seven innings, scattered six hits, one walk, 10 K's. Sox take 2 of 3 from KC with a 4-1 victory.

I didn't get to watch live, but the highlights were impressive. Daisuke doesn't get rattled, he keeps batters guessing, and he's constantly changing his arm angle and his odd little delay-like gestures, similar to how Hideo Nomo used to pause in his delivery. Just like Pedro was appointment TV for those few years, the same for Dice-K this year. We're going to make sure we're watching every time he pitches.

Nice to see Papelbon come in and get the save with his usual dominating stuff. A comforting sight to say the least. With Jon Lester pitching well on his rehab tour, the Sox could still have a superb starting five (Dice-K, Beckett, Schilling, Wakefield, Lester) and a lights-out closer at the end. The bullpen through the first three games has been solid, giving up only one run. Some dude named Curt sums up the first week of the season pretty well here.

The Sox are spending Easter weekend in Texas with games tonight, tomorrow and Sunday against the Rangers. Wakefield goes today, Julian Tavarez Saturday and Curt Schilling tries to redeem himself on Sunday. Point worth noting: the Rangers signed former Blue Jay Frank Catalanotto during the offseason, and old Frankie has just worn out Red Sox pitching through the years. He's got huge career numbers against Wake - 15 for 45, 3 HR's, 9 RBI. Look for him to figure prominently at some point.