Wooing of pitcher was wowing

Sox had bases covered while chasing, landing Matsuzaka

December 17, 2006|Gordon Edes, Globe Staff

The wooing of Daisuke Matsuzaka began with a small dinner party on a Saturday night at Tom Werner's house, a Cape Cod-style home overlooking the green at hole No. 5 at the famed Riviera Country Club, in the shadow of the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles. Theo Epstein, the Red Sox general manager, had called Matsuzaka's agent, Scott Boras, ahead of time, to make sure the player had no dietary issues. He was told Matsuzaka loved seafood and vegetables.

So when they sat down together for the first time -- Werner, the Hollywood producer and team chairman, who had volunteered his West Coast home for the occasion, principal owner John W. Henry, CEO Larry Lucchino, Lucchino's friend, Dan Akimoto, a professor at Stanford and unofficial adviser, Epstein, and manager Terry Francona from the Red Sox side, and their guests, Matsuzaka, Boras, and two translators -- the menu prepared by Werner's personal chef was a blend of the two cultures represented.

Organic yellow miso soup with wild mushrooms. Mixed baby green salad with mint, pomegranate, and ginger soy dressing. Pan-seared Chilean sea bass with spicy lemongrass gastrique and jasmine rice. Filet mignon with red onion confit and wok-seared sesame haricot verts. Coconut macaroons with wild berries and satsuma tangerine coulis.

Werner, a 9-handicap golfer and a member at Riviera, learned that Matsuzaka loved to golf, and told him of how well Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield played and the terrific courses in the Boston area. Epstein tried to engage Matsuzaka in light conversation about the Red Sox, but felt that Matsuzaka's enthusiasm was tamped down in translation. He was struck by Matsuzaka's confidence -- Werner felt he was mature beyond his years -- but suspected he had been coached in some of his responses.

Francona, in his usual fashion, tried joking with Matsuzaka, but he seemed ill at ease, perhaps because in Japan, the relationship between player and manager is typically more distant and formal.

Werner walked into his living room and came back with a replica of the World Series trophy the Sox had won in 2004. We hope, he said to Matsuzaka, that you can help us win another of these. Matsuzaka smiled.

There were gifts for Matsuzaka, his wife Tomoyo, and young daughter. Most had a Red Sox or Boston motif. One was a children's book written by the Red Sox wives.

There also was a gift for Boras, who later would describe the gathering as almost quaint. Werner presented him with a clock.

"We wanted to remind him that time was ticking on our negotiations," Werner said. "Before I handed it to him, I put it to my ear, to let him know that it wasn't a time bomb.

"Scott laughed."