Matsuzaka a major attraction

"He looked pretty good to me," said Palmer. "I told John Henry that if you knew he was going to win 18 games, you would have had to have paid him more."

The first three innings were telecast live in Japan (NHK), where it was 3:05 a.m. Wednesday when the first pitch was thrown. According to Red Sox publicist John Blake, 14 million Japanese fans watched Dice-K's first inning last Friday against Boston College.

"I think my degree of readiness is very difficult to judge," Matsuzaka said (through interpreter Masa Hochino). "I'm about 40-50 percent there."

"He looked good," said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein. "He's got a full arsenal. He's going to be very unpredictable. He can throw any pitch in any count. He's got a lot of different looks."

"His stuff was good," added catcher Jason Varitek. "He's progressing like all the other pitchers. He threw a lot of changeups and sliders today. He didn't throw any splitters."

The first batter Matsuzaka faced was former Sox prospect Hanley Ramirez. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year grounded to Matsuzaka on the second pitch. After Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla singled to right-center on a 1-and-2 breaking ball, right fielder Jeremy Hermida popped to short on an 0-and-1 pitch, another breaking ball. First baseman Jason Stokes fouled off a two-strike pitch and worked the count to 3-and-2 before whiffing on a slider.

"A quality pitch," said Palmer. "He hung a couple of high sliders to Stokes which he fouled back, then he got him on the 3-and-2 pitch. What I noticed was the way he warmed up. He started off with a curveball. Then fastball, slider, change. Very few Americans will warm up that way."

Matsuzaka got into a jam in the second inning. After walking leadoff hitter Joe Borchard and fanning Miguel Olivo, he surrendered a ground-rule double into right-center by John Gall ("2-and-0, fastball away to a hitter we don't know," said Varitek). Bouchard certainly would have scored if the ball hadn't bounded over the fence.

"I can feel Red Sox Nation shuddering," Parcells quipped after the double.