Okajima's option picked up for 2009

From redsox.com:

BOSTON -- The Red Sox announced Saturday that reliever Hideki Okajima's option has officially vested for next season.

Okajima's two-year, $2.5 million contract had a $1.75 million option for 2009, but if he pitched in at least 115 games in '07 and '08, the Sox would automatically pick it up.
"In a day and age when it's hard to find relievers," manager Terry Francona said, "he's done a pretty good job."
Entering Saturday's doubleheader with Toronto, Okajima has pitched in 123 games over the past two seasons; his 115th appearance was Aug. 20 at Baltimore. But due to paperwork and finalization on the option pickup, the Red Sox did not officially announce it until Saturday.
Okajima, 32, joined the Red Sox in November 2006 as an amateur free agent. The lefty came to the Major Leagues with a 34-32 career record and a 3.36 ERA in Japan.
He made the American League All-Star team in 2007 with a 3-2 record and a 2.22 ERA. This season hasn't been quite so seamless -- while Okajima harbors an identical record and a 2.88 ERA, he's blown eight saves.
"He set the bar unbelievably high," said Francona of Okajima's first year, when he finished sixth in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting. "This year, I think by his own accounts, it hasn't been as easy as it was last year."
Okajima has pitched 123 1/3 innings in his first two seasons in Boston, and his strength down the stretch in 2007 undoubtedly helped the Sox toward their World Series title.
Now, with the option picked up, Okajima will have the opportunity to make a similar impact down the stretch this year and in 2009.
"He's still a pretty good reliever, and when he has that split over -- or that changeup or whatever you call it -- he can be a dominant reliever," Francona said. "There have been times this year when it hasn't always been there."