FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – It didn’t take Jason Varitek long to see that a Japanese pitcher could excel with the Red Sox.

Boston’s catcher was behind the plate on Apr. 4, 2001, when Hideo Nomo pitched a no-hitter in his first start for the team, a 3-0 victory in Baltimore that ended with Nomo wrapping his arms around Varitek after the final out. “Obviously, things worked out pretty quickly and really well with Hideo,” Varitek said Saturday.

Now he must get used to another Japanese starter. But while Nomo had played six major league seasons before his only year with Boston, Daisuke Matsuzaka is making his major league debut after eight seasons with the Seibu Lions.

In both cases, though, the pitcher and catcher must gain trust in each other.

Nomo, Varitek said, “was very perceptive of what went on with everybody, but he didn’t say a whole lot. We developed a trust between us early. It might not happen right away” with Matsuzaka.

But Varitek, 34, knows he may be behind the plate for many of the starts in the first few years of Matsuzaka’s six-year, $52 million contract.

“We’re going to be in this relationship for a while,” Varitek said. “It comes down to a pitcher’s strengths, what he can and can’t do. And it looks like, in Dice-K’s case, there’s a lot he can do.” The 26-year-old Matsuzaka was 17-5 with a career-best 2.13 ERA last season. He struck out 200 and walked just 34 in 186 1-3 innings.

Today, he’ll throw his first bullpen session on the first official day of training camp. He’s scheduled to throw in a group with another Japanese newcomer, lefty reliever Hideki Okajima, and the other four starters – Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon and Tim Wakefield.

On Saturday, pitchers and catchers took physicals and performed timed conditioning runs. After one sprint, manager Terry Francona tapped Matsuzaka on the left shoulder and smiled. Varitek, a dedicated student of his pitchers and opposing batters, has to deal with new pitchers every season. Last year, it was Beckett when he switched leagues after being traded by Florida.

“If I could tell Matsuzaka anything, I think it would just be, “trust ‘Tek,’ ” Beckett said. “‘Tek spends more time on hitters. I’ve never seen anyone prepare like him.”

But Varitek has some concerns of his own – rebounding from a disappointing season. A left knee injury limited him to 103 games, his fewest in five years. His .238 batting average was his lowest in his nine seasons with Boston, but he said his health wasn’t the reason.

Now, he said, he’s in excellent shape and appreciates the return of the baseball season “even more and more as you get older.” As always, he still considers his most important job to be learning about his pitchers and working to maximize their performances rather than producing at the plate.

This year, though, he has the added challenge of working with a pitching star who speaks a different language.

“If I have to (learn Japanese) I will,” Varitek said, “whatever’s going to help him be comfortable.” He has watched Matsuzaka throw on video but wants to see for himself what Matsuzaka can do and build what he called “a database” as he does with all pitchers. “I’ve got to see him with my own eyes,” Varitek said. “The biggest thing is communicating because sometimes what you’ve been told about somebody isn’t what they feel and isn’t how they perceive themselves.”

And, despite his offensive struggles last year, “I believe in myself and my ability, still,” he said. “I can be part of a championship team taking care of the little things and that’s why I’m here.”

Notes:All the pitchers and catchers were in camp. … In his fifth year as manager, Francona held meetings with each individual pitcher before the first official workout. He said that was the idea of new pitching coach John Farrell, who sat in on the meetings along with general manager Theo Epstein. … Francona said Schilling’s desire to have a 2008 contract settled during spring training shouldn’t be a distraction. “It will never affect him on the mound,” Francona said.