Video of Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching in the bullpen on Thursday, posted online by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, revealed nothing spectacular or particularly revelatory. If anything, Matsuzaka resembled the pitcher he's always been.
His mechanics weren't drastically different from the form he utilized last year with the New York Mets and his delivery looked typically Matsuzaka, longish and with a slight hitch. He threw again on Friday, working on his balance and form — it was said he might be trying to get back to what worked in Japan the first time around — while pitching coach Yoshinori Sato kept watch.
It was a small, but nonetheless important step for a player making a highly publicized return to Japanese baseball. It's been eight years since Matsuzaka pitched in an NPB game. In the interim, he won a World Series and went through various highs and lows in the majors. Now he's back, in Hawks colors rather than the Seibu Lions uniform he wore from 1999-2006. Matsuzaka will draw a lion's share of attention in the early stages of the spring and the regular season because of his past, but fans would be wise not to set the bar too high on his future.