Matsuzaka won’t distract Sox

The Chinese New Year may be the year of the rat, but the Japanese new year, at least in Boston, is the year of the Matsuzaka.

The arrival of Daisuke Matsuzaka to the Red Sox training camp puts an end to the endless winter of “what ifs” regarding the most highly touted signing in baseball this past off-season.

The Sox are now discovering what other teams who have signed Japanese stars found before: If you think the attention to major league baseball in this country is great, just wait till you see the frenzy created in Japan whenever one of their stars is signed.

That frenzy happened and goes on in Seattle with Ichiro Suzuki and in New York with Hideki Matsui.

The excitement includes a horde of media folks from Japan who hang on every word and move of their stars. It is vital for them to get something the rest of the competition doesn’t have.

That is mighty tough when the attention given to Japanese players is akin to the paparazzi attention to a movie star in the British tabloids.

It is also initially tough on teammates who have to snake their way to their lockers and onto the field, all the while circling media types like cars around pylons – media types who could care less about them.

That could create problems with teammates. Not so in Boston.

Peter Gammons, the longtime baseball writer, ESPN broadcaster, and Red Sox chronicler, told me last week that what has impressed him most being in the Sox camp is the desire of Matsuzaka to become part of the team.

“He really wants to be a teammate and he is making a special effort to fit in. That is important and he understands that,” said Gammons.

That effort will also go a long way to providing breathing room for the new member of the Sox with his teammates.

Just how that translates into production on the mound remains to be seen, but it won’t hurt.

And, thank goodness, Matsuzaka has added some fire to that always blah rivalry between the Sox and the Yankees.

The Yanks’ Matsui was asked in the Tokyo press what he thought about facing Matsuzaka.

His reply was that he would hit the pitcher’s fastball hard and deep into the Red Sox bullpen.

To that Matsuzaka replied, “Bring it on, dude.”

Oh, yes, just what the baseball world needed – another reason to watch the Red Sox and Yankees.

Sox fans will find this year that from time to time they will be going online to search English versions of Japanese sports pages for just such meaty interplay.

Hey, and it’s only March 6.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and ABC sportscaster.