KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- He made it.
The Red Sox waved goodbye to Daisuke Matsuzaka last October, crossing their collective fingers and toes that the pitcher would some day return to their mound intact.
It did, after all, take the better part of two seasons to discover the hurler who finished fourth in the 2008 Cy Young voting while kicking off the American League Championship Series with seven shutout innings. Gone was the endless collection of pitches, replaced by a tidy, three-pitch arsenal. And there was more.
Matsuzaka came to understand the merits of having a ball hit a bat, and accepted that throwing a baseball morning, noon and night might not be a necessity. All of it was part of the evolution, a transformation that would be tempted to head in reverse thanks to a two-month stay with Team Japan while preparing for the World Baseball Classic.
Monday the curtain flew open and Matsuzaka reappeared in his first Red Sox-uniform-wearing game since Oct. 16. And, much to the team's delight, this version was almost identical to the one last seen pitching in St. Petersburg.
"I thought his approach today," said Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell, "was very similar to what we saw at the end of last season."
Yes, that's right, after more than eight weeks of Fort Myers-less spring training, 14 2/3 World Baseball Classic innings that included 249 pitches, Matsuzaka has returned looking comfortably recognizable.
His line was in line with a pitcher who had won 18 games with a 2.90 ERA and 94 walks: five innings, two hits, two runs (one earned), three walks, and two strikeouts, finishing with a perfectly-planned 75 pitches. There was an eight-pitch inning, and a nine-pitch frame, to go along with innings that included 20 and 25 pitches, respectively.
If there was one difference, it was a positive. Matsuzaka pitched at a pace laden with more giddy-up than most of his '08 starts.
"I thought the tempo of his game was good," Farrell explained. "There was a good flow to it. There wasn't a lot of time in between pitches, which to me is an outward sign of some confidence and some relaxation. I thought he pitched to contact very well. There were a couple of pitches he didn't make with 3-2 counts with a cutter and a slider, but overall I thought it was a very good outing for him."
At the very least, it was better than the alternative.
The Red Sox had been holding their breath throughout the spring training separation. Initially they had coach Denney Tomori monitoring those days of Matsuzaka throwing 50-pitch side sessions while his Japanese teammates were tossing double the number. But Tomori left, and the organization was forced to live and die with reports.
The messages were positive, but did nothing to dissuade trepidation. And when Cuba couldn't pull off a win over Japan, it became clear that Matsuzaka's WBC stay was going to go the distance. There was nothing the Sox could do. They were going to have to wait until March 30 to witness the reality that was Daisuke.
Monday they got it, and from stem to stern the Red Sox liked what they saw.
"I thought he was excellent," said Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. "He was very efficient with his pitches. I think sometimes he tries to be so perfect that he gets away from that a little bit. I thought he had as good an outing as you could hope. I've got to believe he's still on a little bit of a jet lag. It was very encouraging. The way Josh (Beckett) and Jonny (Lester) have thrown this spring, you drop Daisuke in there, it's a pretty good front end of your rotation to open the season with."
Things might change. The wear and tear of Bud Selig's creation might catch up to Matsuzaka at some point, forcing a built-in break the likes of which he saw in '08. He has thrown 6,383 pitches in the past two seasons -- the most of any Red Sox pitcher.
But the 28-year-old has returned from Japan, San Diego and Los Angeles with his foundation still branded with a big 'Made In Boston' label. And as of now that is all the Red Sox could ask for.
Rob Bradford is the Site Editor for WEEI.com.
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