As I watch. . .the Boston Red Sox in Japan for the season opener

I was so looking forward to watching the Boston Red Sox battle the Oakland As in Japan in what is the earliest opening season game in MLB history and figured that down here in North Carolina, I'd be less apt to hear about the score before I was able to watch a replay later in the day (I'm a fan, but 6 a.m. is just insane). Anyway, I stepped in to talk to my significant other around 9 a.m. and first thing, she tells me that according to Regis Philbin, the score is 4-4. Less than two hours later, I get an e-mail from a Sox fan down here, who tells me that they won, 6-5 in 10 innings. . . Grrrrrrr!

Ok, so stifling my frustration, I get to watch the game around 8 p.m. this evening. The MLB TV archive function doesn't make the game available until then, but as soon as I see it posted, I'm there.

And of course, Dice K opens with a miserable couple of innings in front of a full house crowd of over 55,000 in the Tokyo Dome, throwing 60 pitches in the first two innings, giving up a home run and facing bases loaded situations twice. In the third, the announcers are talking about it being his last. He almost retires the side in order, though and gets out of it. It really sucks knowing that the Sox are going to win this no matter what happens with Dice K. Really does take most of the fun out of watching.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig joins the announcers in the booth in the midde of the fourth. He mouths the expected platitudes about how much fun it is to play in Japan, etc. "We were a little slow internationally. . the World Baseball Classic was terrific, etc., etc." Selig talks about how he'll tell people at a conference about the sport, say what a success it is and blah, blah, blah. . ." They talk about steroids ("we've got work to do but we've made progress"; later, "enormous progress" "We've done everything we've said we're going to do and we're going to do more.") and blah, blah, blah. . . OK, enough of him. Back to the game; still 2-0, going into the 5th.

Sox have four hits so far. Selig is still talking (predicting 2.2 million average attendance for every team this year). They reach the midway point of the game and Dice K is stlll in there and certainly settling in (Ugly and painful start, Steve Lyons calls it), striking out the first two batters. At this point, you gotta give Dice K credit for hanging in there, making do with less than his best. He'll be over 90 pitches, but he'll have retired the last 7 batters he faced.

So Manny does the trick in the top of the 6th, driving in Pedroia and Youkilis with a double and the score is suddenly tied. The As Blanton is looking human, finally. Brandon Moss follows with a double that scores Manny. With the runs, Dice K now has the chance to be the winning pitcher. Former Sox pitcher Alan Embree comes in to presumably 'save the day,' facing, first, his old battery mate, Varitek, whom he strikes out.

In the bottom of the 6th, Hannahan hits a 2-run homer to put the As back on top, 4-3. It's now a bullpen game for both teams.

Interesting to see Keith Foulke come to the mound in the 8th for the As.

The Sox tie it up as Brandon Moss hits a home run in the top of the ninth.

And at this point, my MLB TV connection goes whacky and it sits there for an hour 'buffering'. I give up, content to know that the Sox will score two in the top of the 10th and that the As will score only one in the bottom of the 10th to seal the deal at 6-5.

Tomorrow, I'll either wake up and watch it at 6 on ESPN or watch the rebroadcast at around 2.