Not a dicey deal

BOSTON — Hideki Okajima didn't come with a nine-figure price tag or the international intrigue of baseball's posting process. His signing wasn't broadcast live on two continents. And while reporters tracked the private jet bringing Daisuke Matsuzaka to town, Okajima came in under the media radar.

The left-handed reliever was only the second-most coveted Japanese pitcher signed by the Boston Red Sox in the offseason, largely written off as a baby sitter who could ease Matsuzaka's transition to the major leagues.

He's making things easier for Dice-K, all right, and in just the way the Red Sox had hoped: by mopping up for Matsuzaka and the rest of the Red Sox starters with inning after scoreless inning and helping Boston take an early lead in the AL East.

"He comes with a pedigree of pitching in big markets and pitching in big stages," said Craig Shipley, who handles international scouting for the Red Sox. "This had nothing to do with Daisuke. I don't think teams are in the habit of signing this player to help that player's adjustment."

The pursuit and signing of Matsuzaka was an international sensation that birthed new nicknames, marketing campaigns and breathless explanations of the "gyroball" mystery pitch and whether it really exists. A doughnut shop welcomed him to Fenway with a billboard in his native tongue; the mayor of Boston brought over a street sign in Japanese and the consul general from Japan threw out a ceremonial first pitch.

When the Red Sox arranged a media lunch with the two new Japanese pitchers, Okajima garnered barely a line or two in most stories — and usually to quote his opinion on Matsuzaka — as if the elder pitcher were the little brother who tagged along.

"That doesn't matter at all," Okajima said this week through a translator. "In Japan, I'm used to being surrounded by media also, and it didn't make any difference to me."

Different role, different league, different country — very little has made a difference to Okajima so far. He was picked as the top AL rookie in April with a streak of scoreless outings that reached 14 heading into Thursday night's game against Seattle. After he earned his first major league save against the New York Yankees, the Boston Herald joked that the Dice-K deal was an elaborate smoke screen to land the pitcher the Red Sox really wanted.

"Obviously, I couldn't anticipate how well he's going to do here," Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui said. "I'm not surprised with the results he's had so far, knowing him and knowing what kind of pitcher he is."