Athletics to Open 2008 Season in Japan

[Big_E]

At least it's not against the Yankees.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hcu-so...,5706117.story

The World Series champion Boston Red Sox will open the 2008 season with a two-game series in Japan against the Oakland Athletics it was announced today.

The Red Sox and A's will play March 25-26 at the Tokyo Dome. Prior to the regular-season games, each team will play exhibitions on March 22-23 against Japanese teams.

[nnysiny]

this is great news. hopefully the Yankees can take advantage of this early in the season

[Dannman103]

Wouldn't it make more sense for them to pick two west coast teams to play over there, so the time difference wasn't quite as drastic? Why not have it by A's and Mariners, if they want a team with a Japanese player.

That said, I'm not complaining that the Red Sox have to play over there

[BRNXBMRS]

Wouldn't it make more sense for them to pick two west coast teams to play over there, so the time difference wasn't quite as drastic? Why not have it by A's and Mariners, if they want a team with a Japanese player.

That said, I'm not complaining that the Red Sox have to play over there

Of course it makes sense, that why Selig didnt do it. At least its not the yanks.

[Sam18]

This is no advantage. The Yankees started off slow because of Torre, not Japan.

[NavyTim]

I too agree that if they are going to do this - it would be better for two Left Coast teams. That being said, the obvious draw here is with Dice K and Oki playing back in Japan, as the ratings were through the roof during the WS.

[BillBuckner]

Enjoy the jetlag fools.

[frostdude1]

Japan is red sox country !!!11one

[JDPNYY]

This is excellent news.

[RhodeyYankee2638]

I remember getting up at 5 to watch the Yanks in Japan. Poor west coasters rooting for Oakland

[jimmyclark]

Will the Red Sox or A's whine and pout if they get off to a slow start like the Yankees did in 2004? Funny how they got off to a slow start in 2005 and 2007 without any trips to Japan. Will Selig have these teams wear uniforms filled with advertising in kanji and tell us how respectful it is to do that?
It least it's not the Cubs. When they played over there the games wear on at 7 AM Chicago time when the bars were closed. Imagine having to watch a Cubs game sober. The pain, the pain.

[Casey37]

I remember getting up at 5 to watch the Yanks in Japan. Poor west coasters rooting for Oakland

I remember that game. My wife thought I was nuts for getting up that early in the morning to watch a game. I distinctly remember the monster shot Giambi hit to RF too.

[a-RobinsonCano-Fan]

I too agree that if they are going to do this - it would be better for two Left Coast teams. That being said, the obvious draw here is with Dice K and Oki playing back in Japan, as the ratings were through the roof during the WS.

haha, left coast teams

[Tabata]

I'm going to get flamed for saying this but I don't think the Yankees will like how the Red Sox are taking over the Japan market.

[Y4L]

dice-k sure did make a big effect on that

[Tabata]

dice-k sure did make a big effect on that

Um yes I know that but now their going to play games there.

[CTSoxFan]

I'm going to get flamed for saying this but I don't think the Yankees will like how the Red Sox are taking over the Japan market.

Not really sure how true this is...but even if it is (for the moment) true, I'm really dubious as to what advantages this carries for the Red Sox. Even if the entire nation were to turn Red Sox (as opposed to the Red Sox turning Japanese...whole other story), what practical advantage does that give the Sox? No real revenue streams, as merchandise sales get divvied up equally among the MLB teams. No serious advantage in terms of access to free agents or posted players; the team spending the most yen carries the day, it seems, regardless of previous player signings (Ichiro, Matsui, etc.).

Unless the Sox figure out a way to get NESN over on Tokyo Basic Cable, this is something of a Pyrrhic victory at best.

[Tabata]

Not really sure how true this is...but even if it is (for the moment) true, I'm really dubious as to what advantages this carries for the Red Sox. Even if the entire nation were to turn Red Sox (as opposed to the Red Sox turning Japanese...whole other story), what practical advantage does that give the Sox? No real revenue streams, as merchandise sales get divvied up equally among the MLB teams. No serious advantage in terms of access to free agents or posted players; the team spending the most yen carries the day, it seems, regardless of previous player signings (Ichiro, Matsui, etc.).

Unless the Sox figure out a way to get NESN over on Tokyo Basic Cable, this is something of a Pyrrhic victory at best.

I thought teams that had their players showen on TV got a piece of the deal? I always heard that there was something in for it for the teams, I guess I was wrong.

[VanHalen5150]

Wouldn't it make more sense for them to pick two west coast teams to play over there, so the time difference wasn't quite as drastic? Why not have it by A's and Mariners, if they want a team with a Japanese player.

That said, I'm not complaining that the Red Sox have to play over there

The time difference is more drastic for West Coast teams to Japan. They have a 17 hour time zone difference, while Eastern time has a 14 hour time zone difference.

[Carbon Fiber]

The time difference is more drastic for West Coast teams to Japan. They have a 17 hour time zone difference, while Eastern time has a 14 hour time zone difference.

It looks more drastic, but it isn't .... It really means with a 24 hour day, the West Coast is off by 7 hours and the East Coast is off 10 hours. (and you're off by a day in both cases by crossing the dateline)

Think of it this way --- if you live near the dateline and fly one time zone back, you don't say you're off by 23 hours! You're off by an hour and the day flipped.