"The only member of the Red Sox rotation that definitely won't pitch again this season showed up to catch a ballgame anyway yesterday.

Daisuke Matsuzaka drove two-plus hours from his summer home in Fort Myers to visit with his teammates and have trainer Mike Reinold examine his right elbow, on which he had Tommy John surgery June 10.

Matsuzaka is expected to be out until the middle of next season at the earliest, but he voiced optimism about his progress thus far.

"According to (my physical therapy), it's going really well, as far as (my) range of motion," Matsuzaka said through an interpreter before last night's game against the Rays. "(Red Sox right-hander Junichi Tazawa) did the same thing last year, and as far as the PT looks at it, (my) recovery process is four weeks earlier compared to Taz. So it's gone smoother. (I've) regained (my) range of motion back to almost full."

Matsuzaka said the surgery revealed a surprising twist."