Seems like a lifetime ago that I was watching Hideki Okajima give up a home run in his first-ever pitch in the Major Leagues. I shrugged, figured, “well, this is what we had to do to get Daisuke Matsuzaka,” and climbed back into my hot tub filled with cheap wine.
Fast forward to now. Okajima is 2-0 with a 0.88 ERA and four saves. A critical component of a bullpen that lost Brendan Donnelly and is still trying to figure out Mike Timlin. Dude gets voted to the All-Star team. An announcement is made at Fenway. The crowd goes nuts. Hideki-san bows in appreciation. Happiness is king.
Man, I couldn’t fit another ounce of joy in my heart.
