At a total cost exceeding $100 million, Daisuke Matsuzaka is anything but a bargain for the Boston Red Sox. Oh, they are happy with their winter coup of the 
Japanese ace, to be sure. Despite a couple of rough starts, Matsuzaka is 6-2 with a 4.06 ERA and a team-leading 62 IP, marks that rank well above average in the AL East.
Now consider what Hideki Okajima, the other Japanese pitcher the Red Sox signed, has done while working for a bargain-basement deal of $2.5 million over two years: 21 2/3 IP, 11 hits allowed, 24 strikeouts, four walks, 0.42 ERA and a peace of mind for manager Terry Francona and Red Sox fans everywhere that you literally can't put a price on. (Francona's approval ratings in the Nation haven't been this high in years.)
The signing of Okajima was so eclipsed by the Matsuzaka hype that you may think he came out of nowhere. In fact, Okajima was the setup man for the Japan League champion Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters last season, posting a 2.14 ERA. Stateside, he has not been scored on after giving up a home run to the first batter he faced in his major-league career, Royals catcher John Buck on April 2.
Since then, Okajima has emerged as a lockdown setup man who, in tandem with closer Jon Papelbon, effectively shortens the game to seven innings for Boston's opponents. Far from being a Mike Myers-style LOOGY (Left-handed One-Out GuY), Okajima uses a devastating changeup -- the "Okie-Dokie" -- to put away both left-handed and right-handed hitters. Check out his splits:
Okajima vs. Righties: 47 PAs, .174 BA.191 OBP, .239 Slg.
Okajima vs. Lefties: 31 PAs, .107 BA, .194 OBP, .107 Slg.
It's this versatility that makes the 31-year-old veteran of the Japanese major leagues invaluable to Francona. Consider that the Boston skipper hasn't had to worry about overworking his ace closer, Papelbon, who had a shoulder injury last season; Papelbon hasn't had to pitch in the eighth inning since April 13, and hasn't been asked to record more than three outs in an appearance since April 8.
Okajima also has proven to be a reliable sub for Papelbon, saving games on April 20 against the Yankees and on May 17 against the Tigers, the latter appearance being the second game of a doubleheader in which he had already pitched the eighth inning of the opener. Put it all together and you get one of the best relief performances in the American League this season.
According to FanGraphs.com, which ranks relievers according to a wonderful and aptly-named statistic called "Win Probability Added," Okajima ranks as the fourth most effective reliever in the AL, behind Papelbon, Seattle's J.J. Putz and Tampa Bay's Al Reyes. Baseball Prospectus has a similar statistic for relievers called "Win Expectation above Replacement," which is adjusted for difficulty of lineups faced. BP has the same top five, though it puts Okajima a tick ahead of Papelbon.
That's not a bad return so far on a $2.5 million investment.
Melanie Fitzpatrick
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Okajima has been sensational so far, but it'd be a bit too presumptuous to assume that he will be able to maintain a 0.42 ERA throughout the season.
Matsuzaka, on the other hand, got through those three rough starts, and won two of them to go along with a no-decision, so the momentum he has garnered from the worst of games can only be of benefit to him down the road.
And, even more telling is the idea that Matsuzaka, at his most ineffective, still accomplished what folks in the media praddled on about from the moment the ink dried to the paper of his contract...supposedly the one thing that absolutely, undoubtedly, unequivocably, undeniably MUST happen in order for this investment, without ANY shred of doubt, to be of even the slightest bit of relevance to the Boston Red Sox.
The one thing that supposedly will be THE determining factor as to whether Matsuzaka will be an eventual success story, or a colossial failure SO massive that CNNSI and the rest of it's cronies will not hesitate for a nanosecond to harp on over and over again...
He defeated the Yankees. Twice. And at his worst.
adams300
West Palm Beach , FL
Total Comments (643)
What impressed me was, in that double header against Detroit when he pitched the eighth in game one, and closed game two, he came in to face the exact heart of the Detroit lineup both times. Kid's fearless.
jmanboston
Newton Upper Falls , MA
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One of the most glaring weaknesses the Red Sox had last year was poor bullpen performance - with the exception of Papelbon, of course. They re-vamped the bullpen in the offseason and the others - Brendan Donnelly, Joel Piniero, Kyle Snyder, J.C. Romero, Javier Lopez - have been pretty good with occasional lapses, but the Okijima-Papelbon comb for the 8th and 9th have been, far and away, the best in baseball. Even better, they haven't been needed all that often, so they have not been over-used the way Paplebon was last year. The Sox will also be able to make much more effective use of Mike Timlin when he returns from the DL. Timlin pitched far too many innings over the last few years for a hard throwing aging pitcher. He should still be very effective if used more sparingly.
JimD in FL
Jacksonville , FL
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With all of the attention currently being provided to Japanese Major Leaguers including Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, I hope that the great international contributions to baseball of Hideo Nomo are adequately appreciated.
The "Tornado" courageously retired prematurely from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 1995 despite intense hostile criticism to become the first East Asian star player to migrate to Major League Baseball (MLB), and dramatically succeeded, globally internationalizing baseball by paving the path to MLB for countless other East Asians to follow, and undoubtedly contributing to the eventual staging of the extremely popular World Baseball Classic initially won by Japan. In addition, ???Nomomania??? significantly contributed to salvaging the popularity of MLB following the near-fatal 1994-1995 players??? strike. Furthermore, Nomo is one of only four pitchers in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in both leagues and five pitchers to lead both leagues in strikeouts, as well as earned numerous awards of achievement in NPB, and led Japan in winning the Silver Medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. As a result, Nomo has won a total of 201 professional games, 78 in NPB and 123 in MLB. Nomo also has purchased and inaugurated non-profit Independent League and Industrial League teams in the U.S. and Japan to further promote the internationalization of baseball.
I believe that considering 300 wins as an absolute requirement for starting pitchers to be inducted into the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame is illogical, and that Hideo Nomo should be highly considered for his great contributions when he retires.
Britt Casteel
Goodlettsville , TN
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I'm pretty surprised having seen Okajima pitch in Japan before. His motion is very deceptive and I think hitters will start to do better off him the second or third go-round. We shall see but thus far he looks to be the best bargain ever for a Jpnse player.
rhymeister
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Okajima has the eyes of a Samurai warrior; Matsuzaka has the eyes of an infant.
Tom Six
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Tom Six
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