Dice Relaxed, Colon Progressing

Most of the media frenzy surrounding Daisuke Matsuzaka has subsided and the pitcher is glad:

Being watched all the time is a source of stress. Knowing that the pairs of eyes that are on me at all times has been reduced makes me a lot more comfortable.

Terry Francona: "Last year, if he gave up a hit, the free world was going to come to an end. Everything he did was dissected."

Before his start, Matsuzaka said: "My overall condition is very good right now, and in comparing it to where I was last year at this time, definitely better." Dice threw only 12 pitches in his two innings last night, so he threw another 52 in the bullpen.

Bartolo Colon remains on track for a 35-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday. John Farrell:

He projects right now to meet that easily. To walk out the first day and carry 120 feet on a line takes some arm strength, and the fact he had no ill effect going out the next day and repeating that intensity (was encouraging). ... Any time you take a starting pitcher who has not been on the mound in 21 days, you're typically going to take a program that will take another 21 days to get to the mound - that's a general rule of thumb. ... There's no pain on any part of his body. These are all encouraging signs, albeit very early.

Colon is targeting March 9 for his exhibition debut, though the team says it may be more like March 15.

Don Orsillo talks about NESN's spring training programming and obsessive Red Sox fans:

One of the new things we did this year was kind of a test run on [airing] the first workouts of spring training. It's the first of its kind in the major leagues, which is pretty amazing. When you think that fans would watch virtually two hours worth of drills ... they did and they want more.

Vince Doria, ESPN's senior vice president and director of news, on Mr. Hankee's comment that ESPN is stuffed with Red Sox fans: "My e-mail from viewers indicates that a lot of people out there think we favor the Yankees over the Red Sox."

The Red Sox have seven players on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list: RHP Clay Buchholz (#4), CF Jacoby Ellsbury (#13), 1B Lars Anderson (#40), RHP Justin Masterson (#63), 3B Jed Lowrie (#73), RHP Michael Bowden (#94) and CF Ryan Kalish (#96). It is the most of any team (Tampa Bay also has seven.)

Terry Francona says Coco Crisp "looks pretty hungry" and Ococ says he hasn't felt this good in two years. "It feels like night and day compared to last year."

Morley Safer and a "60 Minutes" crew were in the Sox camp this week for a profile of Bill James.

David Ortiz, on eating granola for breakfast: "If you want to play this game longer, you've got to eat what you don't like. What you don't like is what keeps your body in shape and makes you be able to play the game."

Sean McAdam got his history wrong when he wrote:

When Clemens left the Sox after 1996, Dan Duquette's indifferent pursuit and infamous kiss-off — the pitcher was said to be in the "twilight of his career" — he was livid.

Clemens may have been livid, but Duquette never claimed Fat Billy was in the twilight of his career. Duke's comment has become part of Red Sox history; sportswriters should strive to report the facts.