Looks like Christmas came a bit early for Red Sox fans (for me, it was a nice Hanukkah gift).

The present? Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Sox gave themselves a nice gift as well. Not only will they gain a foothold in Japan with merchandising and potential games there, they can now unload all the #18 jerseys that have been in storage for a year. And they can now sell "MATSUZAKA" nameplates that can be sewn over the nameplate of SOMEBODY ELSE that used to wear #18 in Boston. Oh, I guess I did forget to mention the road crowds that will show when he pitches (home games are a given no matter who is pitching).

You think The Trop draws well when The Sox normally come to town? They'll draw more...besides the usual Sox fans that'll pack Section 141 in LF (including Yours Truly), Rays fans will come out just out of curiosity...believe me, they will. It will have been a wise $102 million investment.

And I don't believe the naysayer's who will paint Dice-K as a potential flop. In International contests alone, this guy has been impressive. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Matsuzaka was 0-1 with a 2.33 ERA. He pitched 10 innings in a no-decision vs the USA (his opponent was some guy named Ben Sheets), scattering 8 hits, walking 2 and fanning 5. He had another no-decision against Korea where admittedly he was a bit sub-par, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits with 5 walks but he did strikeout 10.

He faced the Koreans again in the Bronze medal game, but the 3 runs he allowed were unearned and he went all the way, walking only one batter and fanning 10.

In 2004 in Athens, Matsuzaka went 1-1, striking out 20 in 16 IP with a 2.25 ERA. He surprised Cuba, the eventual gold-medalists with 8 1/3 innings of 7 hit ball and allowing a pair if runs in a 6-3 win. Dice-K had 7 whiffs. He shone even brighter in the semi-final to Australia, losing a 1-0 game but looking beyond the box score, he scattered 5 hits and had 13 Ks. I remember watching that game at 4 am (thanks NBC) and saying to myself "if only he was in Fenway." Little did I know.

His MVP performance at the World Baseball Classic opened more eyes to this kid, a 3-0 record, 1.38 ERA in 13 innings; his second lifetime victory over the Cubans in the Championship game; wins over those grown-up Little League champs from Taiwan and Mexico (one hit and no runs in a 5 inning stint against them).

If you didn't know of Matsuzaka then, you knew of him now. And it looks like the AL East is going to know him very well in 2007.

Last season, the Red Sox made a blunder trading away Bronson Arroyo but looks like they have made up for it by signing Dice-K. And what a rotation: Beckett. Dice-K. Schilling. Papelbon and Wakefield. I hope THEY are shaking now.

In fact, it'll be a moment to remember when Dice-K pitches to somebody who USED to wear #18 in either The Bronx Zoo or at Fenway.

The Sox have had mixed success with pitchers from Japan. Tomo Ohka (who also wore #18 for the Sox) had mixed results with them before being dealt away in 2001. One of his teammates that year was a guy named Hideo Nomo...went 13-10 4.50 but led the AL with 220 strikeouts in his only year in Fenway. Naturally I'm, hoping he does a bit better than that.

I'm not expecting Dice-K to be perfect. Nor am I asking for a 20 win season. If he wins 16-17 games and gets us into the post-season, I'll be satisfied.

Now all we have to do is convince him that the Yankees are the equivalent of Cuba.