BOSTON –– The forgotten man in the Red Sox postseason was once the talk of the town, and of two countries’ baseball worlds: Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Matsuzaka never got a chance to pitch in the playoffs, and if the Red Sox had gone to Game Four, Jon Lester would have gotten the start over the 29-year-old Japanese hurler.

Quite a fall for a man who it took more than $100 million to sign, between payments to his Japanese club and his Red Sox contract.

Coming into next year, the team will be taking a hard line with Matsuzaka.

Matsuzaka showed up for the season in poor shape, and his shoulder wasn’t ready to bear the brunt of a full season of work, said general manager Theo Epstein. Matsuzaka went 4-6 with a 5.76 ERA in 59 1/3 innings with Boston this year, sandwiched around a long stretch on the disabled list that doubled as extended spring training for the out-of-shape pitcher.

Now, the Red Sox want to make sure they’re getting their money’s worth, Epstein said.

“We want him to have a really productive offseason, and come into camp in the best possible shape, both with his conditioning and then also his shoulder,” he said. [We want him to do] “the shoulder program to such an extent that he’s ready to go out and throw 200-plus innings.”

“Those are things he didn’t accomplish last year. He did accomplish them in the condensed offseason we had — late-summer — but that’s not the time to do it. The time to do it is throughout the winter,” Epstein continued.

Despite winning 33 games in his first two seasons with Boston, it’s clear that there will be no forgiveness if Matsuzaka shows up this season in less than perfect pitching shape.

“That has been clearly communicated, there will be follow-up, and our strong expectation is that he shows up in fantastic shape on day one of spring training this year,” Epstein said. “I see it as a necessity, not really an option.”

Buchholz makes his mark

Nearly lost in the tragic nature of the Red Sox season-ending collapse Sunday was the excellent job Clay Buchholz did on the mound, despite the nervousness he felt making his first postseason start under such harrying circumstances.

Buchholz gave up two runs in five innings against the league’s second best offense, leaving with a 5-1 lead and the bases loaded. Former minor-league teammate Daniel Bard bailed Buchholz out, but Buchholz kept his team in the game long enough to win and proved that he can handle the pressure of the postseason.

He started out nervous, but getting out of the first inning unscathed was a big step for the 25-year-old pitcher.

“I didn’t feel as nervous in the second, third, fourth, or fifth innings,” Buchholz said. “It was a good thing. It was a game that I felt like I could pitch in. I’ve been on this club for parts of three years now, and hadn’t been able to make a postseason appearance, so it was fun for me.”

The outing capped a year where Buchholz has finally proved he belongs in the major leagues, after flashing potential for parts of two seasons. He dominated in the minors all spring, and was finally called up on July 17. From that point on, he was mostly good, occasionally dominant, posting a 4.21 ERA and a 7-4 record despite a long stretch where he was matched up against nearly every opposing ace in the league.

“He wasn’t just a good young pitcher, he was a good pitcher,” manager Terry Francona said. “Not only did it help us win games, but it helped make our organization look a lot healthier. When you can take young pitchers and plug them into your future, it makes the glass look a lot fuller. It’s exciting.

After bursting onto the big-league scene by throwing a no-hitter in only his second start in 2007, Buchholz regressed in 2008, and some of his prospect sheen started to rub off. The team stayed committed to him, however, and both he and the organization should be proud of that, said Epstein.

“There were a lot of points, a lot of low points, where he was someone who could have been given up on, who could have been traded at a low point in his value, or Tito or [John Farrell] could have said ‘We don’t want this guy pitching in our rotation.’ That didn’t happen,” Epstein said.

“Now, he’s someone, unlike last year, who we can pencil into our rotation for next year. That’s a good feeling,” Epstein said.

After years as a prospect, Buchholz feels like he has earned recognition as a major-leaguer.

“I’ll take the job, and be up here all season next year, and actually be a part of the team for a full season, and go to the postseason, and make next year better than this year. That’s my goal.”

That said, his failed season in 2008 taught him not to take any job for granted, and he’ll show up in spring training prepared to fight for his spot, whether he’s “penciled in” or not.

“I’ll never assume again, because that’s what I did last year, two years ago,” he said. “So I’m going to be ready for the job this year in any case.”

Buchholz hopes that the next season will set him up for a long career. He feels he knows what he must do to succeed long term, and is willing to work hard enough to reach those heights.

“This game’s really hard. If it was easy, there would be a whole lot more than 750-or-so players playing it,” Buchholz said. “I feel like I can be really good in this game, but there’s got to be a lot of things that go your way. You don’t have careers like John Smoltz or Wake just because you’re athletic. They made their breaks, and I think that’s what you have to do. It’s definitely going to be a tough road, but that’s where I want to be in 15 years.”

Lost year for Lowrie

From a personal standpoint, Jed Lowrie can take a deep breath that the season is over. From a team standpoint, he’s clearly disappointed the Red Sox’ season ended on Sunday after being swept by the Angels in the ALDS.

Expectations were high for Lowrie coming out of spring training, but he was derailed with a nagging wrist injury that plagued him during the entire season. He had surgery in April and was limited to 32 games and hit .147 in 76 plate appearances.

With the addition of Alex Gonzalez in August, and the expectation that the defensive specialist will return in 2010, Lowrie is planning on competing — once again — for the starting job at short.

“It’s a big offseason for me,” he said. “I need to get stronger. I need to let my wrist get back to neutral and get it stronger. I need to get ready for next year.”

The 25-year-old infielder was the Sox’ fourth pick (45th overall) in the 2005 draft and hasn’t been able to prove his worth at the major-league level due to injury. The Red Sox believe he can, and so does Lowrie.

“Lowrie is an important factor for us,” said Epstein. “He’s a young player we really believe in.”