Matsuzaka Again!

Nothing but Matsuzaka news lately. Here's a few choice pieces of his contract:

- Once he spends one day on the Red Sox' roster, he has a no-trade provision.
- The Red Sox will pay the airfare for eight round trips a year between Boston and Japan.
- The Red Sox will not assign him to the minor leagues.
- His salary of $8 million in the third and fourth years, and $10 million in the fifth and sixth years, could escalate to $10 million and $12 million based on his finish in the voting for Most Valuable Player and the Cy Young award.

Nice deal that Boras made for him, huh?

This last bit comes directly from redsox.con (the Mailbag...I LOVE Mailbag Day!)

Is Pokey Reese still in the league? I was looking him up the other day and found nothing. -- Steve S., Ashaway, R.I.

Reese was in camp with the Marlins last year and basically went AWOL. He then let it be known that injuries had robbed him of his love for the game, and he considered himself retired. That's the last I've heard. It's a shame. When Reese showed up to Red Sox Spring Training in 2004, he had boundless energy. I'm not sure what happened between then and now, but he definitely seemed to lose his enthusiasm for the game.

I miss Pokey!