What an international baseball news week we had with the Daisuke Matsuzaka posting won by the Boston Red Sox and the rather surprising news the highest bid for Akinori Iwamura was submitted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

It had been expected the Yakult Swallows third baseman would be negotiating with the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians or possibly the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Tampa thing came like a bolt out of the blue.

The American League East may soon have a huge Japanese fan following.

The media in New England has already begun calling the Seibu Lions' "Boy Wonder" by the nickname "D-Mat" -- following the trend of major league star player nicknames such as the one given to Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod).

The Nikkan Sports here on Nov. 15 predicted Matsuzaka will be given uniform No. 18, the same numeral he wore for eight years with Seibu and the one considered in Japan to be the symbol of a staff's pitching ace.

Some papers in the U.S. are starting to call Boston's home stadium "Yen-way Park."

Meanwhile, Hanshin Tigers lefty pitcher Kei Igawa is expected to be posted on Monday, so we'll see what happens with him during the coming week.

The most likely player to fill the void to be left by Matsuzaka on the Seibu pitching staff is righty Hideaki Wakui.

Only 20 years old and going into his third professional season, Wakui was 12-8 with a 3.24 ERA in 2006.

Like Matsuzaka, Wakui is said to throw the "gyroball" -- a mystery pitch that totally confuses opposing batters.

I began receiving e-mails from fans and media people about this in July but was reluctant to write anything, as it seemed to be a joke or some kind of a hoax.

However, some interesting comments emerged during the recent MLB-NPB All-Star series after Wakui struck out Atlanta Braves slugger Andruw Jones with the baffling delivery in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the Nichibei Yakyu.

Specifically, Milwaukee Brewers southpaw hurler Chris Capuano said he wants Wakui to teach him how to throw the "gyro."

Capuano described it as starting out like a slider and, when a right-handed batter picks up the spin, moves his body toward the plate in anticipation of the break to the outside, and begins his swing, the ball supposedly reverses course and cuts down and in.

"Wakui made Andruw look silly," said Capuano, who sought to meet and talk with Wakui prior to the tour finale at Yahoo JAPAN Dome, but the Japanese star had already finished his pitching for the series and was not in Fukuoka.

Wakui fanned four of the seven MLB hitters he faced in two innings of work in that Nov. 3 game in Tokyo, getting Rafael Furcal, Jermaine Dye, Jones and David Wright.

It is likely the "gyroball" was thrown more than once.

One of the rumors going around is the possibility the Yomiuri Giants may try to get Bernie Williams to play a year or two at Tokyo Dome.

The longtime New York Yankees star outfielder is 38 but could probably still have a productive year for the Kyojin.

Recall another Yankees veteran switch-hitter who transferred to Yomiuri -- Roy White, who came here in 1980 at the age of 36, and played three years, batting .283 with 54 home runs and 172 RBIs over his Japan career.

He helped the Giants win the 1981 Central League pennant and Japan Series.

Where will Michihiro Ogasawara play next season?

Will he go to the Giants or decide to remain with the Japan (and Asia) champion Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters?

Following the Nov. 12 Fighters 1-0 victory over the La New Bears of Taiwan in the 2006 Konami Cup Asia Series championship game, fans of Ogasawara were stopping other supporters outside the Tokyo Dome.

They were armed with petitions and ball-point pens, asking passersby to sign their names in an effort to convince "Guts" to stay in Sapporo.

Yomiuri may or may not be offering more money to the reigning Pacific League homer king, RBI title winner and MVP, but don't underestimate the influence of fan power.

The scene by JR Sudobashi Station, adjacent to the Big Egg, was similar, though on a smaller scale, to the summer of 2004 when fans throughout the country set up petition-signing efforts to protest the then-planned merger of the Orix BlueWave and Kintetsu Buffaloes and to support the continuation of Japanese baseball's two-league, 12-team system.

As we now know, the merger went through but, in large part because of the fans' persistence, we got the expansion Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, kept the 12-franchise lineup and saw the inauguration of interleague play.

Another example of a strong fan voice helped Hiroshima Carp ace right-hander Hiroki Kuroda make up his mind to stay with that club.

He could have filed for free agency and probably would have gotten more money from a team such as the Hanshin Tigers or the Giants.

Kuroda reportedly caught the eye of a few major league teams as well, but he appeared touched when Carp fans gave him a huge banner with signatures and messages urging him to stay in Hiroshima.

He was apparently so moved, he is not moving.

Finally this week, you won't have to worry if you can't pronounce the last name of Adam Hyzdu, the new Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks outfielder. The Hawks are going to register him as "Adam."

Contact Wayne Graczyk at: [email protected]