FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka woke up Friday morning to the news that Japan had been rocked by the largest earthquake in his nation's history. He believes that his parents are doing OK, but it was still tough news to digest from so far away.
"It was definitely shocking waking up and hearing the news," Matsuzaka said, through interpreter Jeff Cutler. "But just receiving an e-mail and reading it, I wasn't able to take in exactly what it was. But once I turned on the television and saw what was going on, it was quite shocking and very scary to see that."
Before Friday's workout at City of Palms Park, the clubhouse television was on CNN, with continuous coverage of the disaster.
Fortunately, the spouses and children of Matsuzaka and lefty reliever Hideki Okajima are currently in Boston.
With the disaster obviously derailing phone communication throughout Japan, it wasn't easy for Matsuzaka and Okajima to reach their relatives.
"I woke up in the morning and tried calling them, but I wasn't able to get through," Matsuzaka said. "But I e-mailed them and was able to get through from that, so I contacted my family and a few of my friends, and they all seem to be all right. I haven't been able to get in touch with my grandmother, who lives in Aomori, which is close to where the earthquake was."
Okajima's family lives in Konsai, which is south of where the earthquake hit. But he expressed concern for his wife's family, which live in Kanto, which was a bit closer to the quake.
"I'm not sure, but they are probably OK," Okajima said, when asked about his relatives. "There's probably some sort of damage to [the] house or living situation. I'm also concerned for my house in Japan."
While Matsuzaka and Okajima have been based in Boston since 2007, it is never easy to be far away when a crisis hits home.
"You can't control nature, but when something like this happens, you really realize the power of nature," Okajima said.
Okajima was scheduled to pitch on Friday afternoon against the Twins.
