AMERICAN LEAGUE: INSIDE THE A.L.: SUZUKI SLIPS INTO MATSUI'S SHADOW.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

As the East Coast and Japanese press corps went ga-ga over Godzilla last week, the player who helped pave his way to the major leagues now goes about his business amid relative calm.

Hideki Matsui's arrival in New York already claimed a major share of the Japanese press that once fawned over Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki. Now, after hitting a grand slam in his first game at Yankee Stadium and later in the week hitting a game-winning RBI double, Matsui's profile will only continue to skyrocket.

Meanwhile, Suzuki has more freedom than ever, a direct result of Matsui absorbing much of the attention that once went his way.

``It is not easy on me anytime,'' Suzuki said this week. ``There is always some kind of pressure for me, I think. But it is getting better and better.''

The Ichiro Press Corps once swelled so large, they had to arrange for a pool reporter to interview him in the Mariners clubhouse. But only about 15 Japanese reporters showed up for Seattle's home opener this week. It's obvious where the attention has shifted.

``Matsui played for the (Yomiuri) Giants, the most popular team in Japan, which means he has more fans than Ichiro, potentially,'' Masayoshi Niwa, who works for Major League Baseball's Japanese Web site, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. ``People are just more interested in Matsui right now. --Are Royals for real? How much can be made of Kansas City's 8-0 start? Well, not much, given that most of the victories came against the Detroit Tigers, who have done nothing to suggest they'll be anything more than dreadful.

But the solid starting pitching the club has gotten from Runelvys Hernandez, Jeremy Affeldt and Miguel Asencio shouldn't necessarily be underestimated, and hard-throwing closer Mike MacDougal looks like a keeper.

In a division as weak as the American League Central, a hot start can sometimes be enough to propel a previously ordinary team toward the playoffs, as the 2000 White Sox and '02 Twins proved.

--A future in doubt? Boston ended the game of chicken that it played with pitcher Pedro Martinez, picking up the right-hander's $17.5 million option for 2004. Martinez, upset the Red Sox waited until after spring training to pick up the '04 option, said he was pleased with the effort, but also sounds ready to at least test the free-agent market in November after the sides couldn't reach a long-term agreement this spring.

Boston is in an unenviable position, not wanting to alienate a fan base already upset with previous defections from Roger Clemens and Mo Vaughn. But Martinez's occasional bouts of arm trouble make a long-term financial commitment a risk.