OK, LET’S PRACTICE. The name is pronounced Dice- Kay Mat-su-za-ka. Can everybody say that? Dice-kay, not Di-su-kee. Everybody got that? Good.

Daisuke Matsuzaka may well be the Boston Red Sox’s newest off-season addition, but his name is also the one most worth knowing how to say. Not because it’s more difficult to pronounce than J.D. Drew’s or Julio Lugo’s, but because according to those who have actually seen him pitch–and there aren’t many–he’s got the stuff to be Boston’s ace. 

If you ask me, he’d better.

Matsuzaka was named after a standout pitcher his mother saw play while she was pregnant. After what Boston spent on him, he’d better boast top-of-the-rotation type-stuff, and he’d better win a lot of games.

Better yet, the 26-year-old had better terrorize the American League this season, because if he isn’t Beantown’s most valuable pitcher, he’ll be a waste of money. He’s getting ace and all-star money, and the Red Sox are expecting all-star numbers in return.

This guy, who became the first Japanese pitcher to throw a 100-mph fastball in 2000, was Japan’s biggest star since Hideki Matsui. I guess having him on your roster is worth huge money overseas in advertising and various other potential money-making endeavors.

But the only way for this deal truly to work out for the Red Sox is for Matsuzaka to become a front-line starter immediately. I want to see production on the mound, in this country, and I want to see Daisuke win games. And lots of them.

You can do a lot with $103 million, the amount Boston spent to land the deceptive right-hander. They paid Matsuzaka’s former employer back in Japan $51 million for the right to negotiate with the stud starter. Then the two parties, the Red Sox and their newest pitcher, agreed on a contract that will pay Matsuzaka $52 million to play in Boston.

This isn’t Monopoly–that is a lot of cash to pay a guy who never has thrown a pitch in the major-leagues. Sure, Matsuzaka was an all-world starter in Japan. That’s evidenced by the fact that he’s averaged an ERA under 2.50 in the last three seasons.

Adding a pitcher of Matsuzaka’s caliber is a gigantic upgrade to an already stacked rotation. I get that. But while I’ve never professed to be Bob Barker, I just don’t know if the price is right.

The Red Sox could have added Barry Zito (a former Cy Young award winner) or Jason Schmidt, two proven veteran starters, for less than they spent on Daisuke.

But they didn’t.

They could have bought the Tampa Bay Devil Rays or 4 million packs of Juicy Fruit or something. But they didn’t do that either.

Instead they got their man from Japan, and I don’t think they should have. Not at this price.