Matsuzaka Mania already reaching full frenzy

Farrell, Francona and Co. will watch Matsuzaka and monitor how he adjusts to a slightly heavier workload. But the working plan is not to pick spots to scratch him to keep him fresh. While other clubs often skip their fifth starter early in the season when off-days come more frequently, the Sox intend to keep their five-man rotation intact and use the days off in April and May to push everybody back a day.

Aside from that, most scouts and people who have seen Matsuzaka think that his wide range of dominating pitches -- a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, split-finger fastball, curve, change-up -- will translate just fine into the majors. Over eight years in Japan, he went 108-60 with a sparkling 2.95 ERA and an attention-grabbing 1,355 strikeouts.

Schilling compares Daisuke to another former Boston ace, Pedro Martinez, in that he can use any number of pitches as a strikeout pitch.

"I don't think it's going to be anywhere near the adjustment that people off the field think it will be," Schilling said. "This kid is a phenomenal talent. He's an ace-in-the-making. Make-up wise, he competes. He's a mature 26-year-old kid.

"I don't think this experience will touch what he had back home. I think he's pitching in the toughest division in baseball, in the world, but I think he's ready."

This "experience," while rare, is not wholly unprecedented. Right-hander Joel Pineiro, who hopes to emerge from camp as the new closer, was pitching in Seattle when another rock-star persona, Ichiro Suzuki, blew in like a storm.

Pineiro remembers that no matter how early he and other players arrived, it was impossible for them to beat the Japanese photographers to camp.

"This is exactly the same thing," Pineiro said. "It's just amazing. They'd try to get him walking in, walking off the field. They're taping his life story. It's amazing how many reporters there are."

A handful of the Japanese reporters in camp already have approached Pineiro, greeting him like an old buddy. Hey Pineiro, how are you doing? And though he doesn't know names, he'll look and immediately feel a sliver of recognition. Hey, I've seen you before!

Unfortunately, Pineiro -- who also has been a teammate to catcher Kenji Johjima and pitchers Kaz Sasaki and Shigetoshi Hawegawa -- hasn't even reached Schilling's Japanese-for-dummies level.

"All the Japanese I know is the bad words," Pineiro said, laughing. "That's not good. I learned a little from everybody."

So they will live and learn, all of them, together, as Boston's most audacious experiment yet takes root here under among the snowbirds and satellite trucks.

"What I find fascinating is that all we know about him so far, aside from what he's done in Japan, is that his eyes light up when he smiles, and people see he's respectful and warm and friendly, and that's all without a word being spoken," Steinberg said.

"There are some lessons in there."

Yes, there are.

Despite the $103 million price tag -- $52 million in salary, and the $51 million Boston paid his Japanese club for negotiating rights -- Matsuzaka didn't balk over the tote-Varitek's-bag rite of initiation.

"My rookie year in Japan, maybe," Matsuzaka said when asked the last time he was used as carrier service. "Maybe I carried some bags then. I don't remember.

"'Tek told me Pap (Papelbon) also carried his bag one time. So I said, 'Sure, I can do it once or multiple times.'"

Why not? He's accustomed to carrying an entire team on his back. That's the heavy lifting that will come later.