Matsuzaka!

The Matsuzaka Era begins today. And what better way to mark the occasion than to keep a SportsGuy running diary through the afternoon?

Even if he actually did do a Running Diary himself this afternoon. Oh well.

I (conveniently enough) have the afternoon off and thought it would be best for posterity to keep a running record of my first impressions on this highly-touted import.

And to add a slight degree of difficulty, I'll be watching the Kansas City feed on mlb.tv. What a delight. During last night's broadcast the KC announcers were encouraging Royals fans to come see Matsuzaka's American debut this afternoon, with 8 dollar tickets still available. I think that's all we need to know about KC baseball "fans."

2:09 - And we're off. The KC announcers are beside themselves with all the media that are in the building; its quite a change of pace from the coverage they'd usually get for this game (i.e. Zach Greinke's dad filming the game on his videocamera from behind home plate). There is no doubt in my mind that more people are watching this game in Japan than in Kansas City.

2:11 - So Greinke suffers from social anxiety syndrome. I'm sure the 650,000 cameramen pointing at the pitcher's mound are really helping him through this start.

2:16 - It looks like Manny hired Jeff Hardy circa 2001 as his personal stylist.

2:17 - And he drops an RBI double into right. One of the things you realize when you listen to the out-of-town announcers is just how terrifying the Ortiz-Ramirez combination really is. We take it for granted, but it is mentioned without fail every time by these guys every time they come through the order. We've come a long way from the Boggs-Clark combo.

2:23 - Here we go!

2:24 - Dejesus tags him for a single. Tom in Boston just gave up on the Matsuzaka Era.

2:30 - And he wraps up his first half inning of work by sawing off the batter and starting a nifty little double play. That'll do, kid. That'll do.

2:33 - Brian Stokes Lowell starts off the second inning with a sharp single. Let's see if the bottom of the order can get something going today.

2:35 - I love Jason Varitek, but he has to be the #9 hitter on this ballclub by the end of the summer. Because we all know how well Francona is at dropping those veterans down in the lineup.

2:38 - Though Coco may give him a run for his money. At least he's applying the Mark Bellhorn principal of "if I'm going to strike out, I'll at least make the pitcher throw five or six pitches."

2:43 - Nothing makes me more angry than when sports announcers refer to players by their first name as if we're all buddies. It sounds stupid. That's what last names are for. All I'm asking for is a little professionalism from these pink hat markets. No wonder you have no fans.

2:46 - There's our first K of the season. He's on cruise control, and I'm digging that.

2:53 - Papi gets punched out on the second questionable call of the afternoon. He's not happy, and as a general rule an unhappy Papi will make for an unhappy pitcher later in the game.

3:00 - KK

3:02 - Daisuke grabs a grounder and flips to Youk with a little miscommunication, and in the next shot they're laughing with each other. This guy's English must be way better than he's letting on.

3:04 - The KC announcers just made the first suggestion that Matsuzaka is a Rookie of the Year candidate.

3:08 - The announcers went on to mention Greinke doesn't throw his slow Eephus-esque curveball anymore. That's a shame, because it was an absolutely filthy pitch back in MVP 2004 for Gamecube. I used to hustle people by saying I'd let them be anyone and I'd be the Royals, and then shut them down for seven innings with his looping 52mph curve. But now, why would anyone be the virtual Royals?

3:14 - If Pedroia wants to be embraced as the New Dirt Dog, he's gonna have to rock the high socks. Having pants all the way down to the cleats just does not add up here.

3:19 - KKK

3:20 - Everybody run to the Royals website to sign up for "Meet Mark Teahen on T-Shirt Tuesday!"

3:22 - KKKK

3:24 - KKKKK, struck out the side. I think this kid may make the big club.

3:28 - Lugo steals third and scores on a wild throw from the catcher. He must think he's still in Tampa Bay - we don't do that minor league stuff like "stealing third" in Boston.

3:31 - Ortiz strikes out for the third time? Is everything okay?

3:36 - "Daisuke Matsui is throwing very well today."

3:40 - KKKKKK. Matsuzaka takes a quick lead over Ryan Shealy in the ROY voting.

3:49 - Varitek just went out to have a chat, and they seem to be able to communicate comfortably. That is very reassuring.

3:50 - And Matsuzaka gets out of a first-and-third jam by inducing a little nubber out in front of the plate and making a nice play on it. He's at 80 pitches through five full innings. How long do you think Tito will let him throw?

3:56 - Coco is being noticeably more patient so far, looking at a ton of pitches. However, he also keeps striking out. At least he's not at the top of the order anymore.

4:00 - DeJesus takes Matsuzaka deep. Tom in Boston gives up on the season.

4:05 - KKKKKKK on a strike-'em-out-throw-'em-out double play. Thanks for the out, meatheads.

4:06 - And the next batter promptly doubles, scoring the runner from first...oh no wait, they lost the baserunner on the stolen base. Thank God for old-time baseball decisionmaking.

4:10 - KKKKKKKK on a filthy pitch on the outside corner. He's at about 97 pitches, and I'm guessing that's going to be the end of his afternoon. We'll see how much of a leash the front office gave Tito this afternoon.

4:15 - mlb.tv is starting to play games with me. Everyone back home count your blessings that you get the games on cable with red sox announcers without any hassle.

4:17 - Matsuzaka back out there for the seventh. Hmm.

4:19 - KKKKKKKKK. Double barrelled action in the bullpen.

4:21 - KKKKKKKKKK. Wow.

4:23 - Gets the side in order in the seventh. That's gotta be it for today - 7 innings, 1 run, 10 Ks, 650,000 cameramen. Not a bad little debut. Can't wait to see how he deals in his first Fenway start.

4:27 - Ortiz greets the relief pitcher with a double. I think he's not a Zach Greinke fan anymore, which is good for Zach because it will relieve his psychological problems a little bit. Also, the Sox have had the leadoff man on in all but one inning today - this is a good pattern that we should try to uphold.

4:31 - Drew takes the intentional walk. Uh oh. If the bottom half of our order doesn't come to life soon, we may see a lot of that.

4:32 - Ortiz shows off the wheels and steals home on a wild pitch. MVP! MVP!

4:38 - Paid attendance for todays game: 23,000. Imagine?

4:51 - Romero comes on and looks pretty good. If both he and Okajima can keep it together, I'm pumped about having two solid lefties in the pen for the first time in my life.

5:01 - 4th K of the day for Ortiz. Tom in Boston is exploring trades for him.

5:04 - Thank God we have Jon Papelbon to come on here for one inning to protect this precarious three-run lead over the ever-dangerous Kansas City Royals. Surely we have no one else in the bullpen who could take care of this. On a completely unrelated note, who do we have starting on Saturday?

5:11 - So Paps closes the door and picks up his first completely meaningless three-run save of the season. But hey, I like padding the stats too.

So there you go, straight into the history books. He lived up to the hype - for one day, at least. Here's hoping he can keep up the pace throughout the rest of the season.