He has yet to throw a pitch in America, his first big appearance was at a hockey game and already has a fat bank account and an Americanized nickname.

 

Daisuke Matsuzaka has already been dubbed Dice-K and probably doesn't have a clue who (Andrew) "Dice" Clay is. Maybe a youngster like Theo Epstein, the Red Sox general manager should clue him in.

 

Clay, whose career got a big boost from the 50's style police drama Crime Story portraying Max Goldman, went Mad Max to comedy replete with leather jacket, cigarettes and language usually heard around Fenway Park at an opponent or an underachieving Red Sox player.

 

Say what you want about Philadelphia or New York sports fans, they can't hold a candle to Bostonians when they get in a foul mood. Cram 38,805 disgruntled patrons on less than eight acres of land and it can make for a very long career in one season.

 

If you think there is pressure on J.D. Drew to perform in 2007 and beyond, try pulling on the #18 uniform that will be worn by what many in Beantown are calling their savior.

 

He better after John Henry and Company invested a grand total of $103 million to bring the Japan import to the states.

 

Drew will make more than twice that of Matsuzaka but of course he is slated to play four times as many games as the pitcher.

 

The hitter, always prone to some sort of malady during his on-again, off-again eight-year career, will hear his share of expletives if he gets off to a slow start. Down in that corner of the park near the now officially named Pesky Pole, you feel like the fans are standing right next to you.

 

He will hear every word.

 

Matsuzaka, on the other hand, would only hear it once every five days.

 

If I was his agent the first thing I would tell him is never, ever learn our language because you might be tempted to tune into WEEI or one of those other New England sports outlets where you get hammered 24x7.

 

Boston doesn't care if Henry is spending his money, their money or the President's money. All you have to do is look at the ticket prices at the smallest yard in the American League and they still can't add enough seats to satisfy their hefty baseball appetite.

 

However, dog it and the dollar signs become very relevant.

 

Manny can be Manny but go into a slump and he is becomes the 98-pound weakling for every bully that owns a telephone or buys a ticket.

 

Matsuzaka's agent, Scott Boros, was right. He was a $100 million pitcher. Only his cut is from about half that. But what happens if his client is more Tsuyoshi Shinjo than Hideo Nomo?

 

We'll just have to wait until Las Vegas posts the over-under on him begging out of his contract to return to the Land of the Rising Sun.

 

*************

 

You have to wonder what Toby Hall was thinking.

 

The former Rays' backstop recently found himself unemployed after the Dodgers non-tendered him, a move that was not surprising after Mike Lieberthal was inked to a one-year deal and an option to back up their budding star Russell Martin.

 

There was speculation that the Rays were willing to bring him back into the fold, specifically with a minor league deal because there just wasn't enough room on the 40-man roster to get him anything else.

 

But instead of simply saying he was not interested in returning, he trashed his former employers calling the team, "minor league."

 

Hall, in a matter of less than a year, has gone from a favorite son of sorts in Tampa Bay to a chronic complainer and crybaby, upset that the Rays would dare trade him like he was Johnny Bench or something, then requesting for a trade from Los Angeles when he found himself as a backup.

 

Now he is looking for a job and the last time I looked there aren't many teams willing to give a guy a number one with a resume that includes 44 career homers and 239 ribbies in 2,107 at-bats and runs like a tropical storm is hitting him square in the face.

 

There is a feeling around these parts that Dionner Navarro still has not shown enough to convince the brass he is ready to assume the number one catcher's spot so the Rays interest might have been well founded.

 

When you are out of work, beggars cannot be choosers and Hall should have put his brain in gear before engaging his mouth.

 

Someone should have reminded Toby of that.

 

*************

 

Tropicana Field may not resemble Safeco Field, Yankee Stadium or now, Fenway Park when it comes to media from Japan but it will be nice to see that they will be covering someone we have as opposed to those who come just for visits.

 

We had our brief press fling with Hideo Nomo and Shinji Mori but the signing of Akinori Iwamura makes the Rays a little more relevant on the other side of the world because he is an every day guy.

 

Talk about expanding the market ........