Daisuke Matsuzaka, all things considered, is recovering extremely quickly from Tommy John surgery. He underwent the surgery less than a year ago, and he's already made five minor-league starts. His latest start came on Thursday, when he allowed two home runs and four earned runs in 6⅔ innings against the Durham Bulls.

Sounds good(ish)! Call him up, right? Hold on just a bit. From the Boston Globe:

‘‘I feel the same way as Bobby. I’m not ready to pitch in the majors yet, especially after an outing like my previous outing,’’ Matsuzaka said. ‘‘But if I’m able to consistently pitch like I did today, then I don’t think my return to the majors is that far away.’’

Nice and prudent. Matsuzaka is running out of time, though. From MLB.com:

Matsuzaka will pitch next for Pawtucket on Tuesday. After that, the clock will run out on his 30-day rehab assignment.

At that point, the Red Sox might have to get creative and find a way for the righty to get some more tune-ups in before returning to the Majors.

If Dice-K figures that he's still not ready, getting creative shouldn't be a problem.