Idle Time

Anyone have Hassenpfeffer yesterday?

Tomorrow morning at 6AM EST, ESPN will broadcast the Oakland Athletics vs. the Boston Red Sox to open the season a full five days before the rest of the league. The reason for the early date and milkman hours is the game is being played in Japan, namely the Tokyo Dome. I'll set my TV to turn on at 5:55AM so I can catch a few innings before work.

I've been to Japan a few times for work, and it is like landing on another planet, but some of the signs are in English. It's almost like being in a cartoon. And in this cartoon, I'm a large invader, hellbent on destruction. Well, almost. Last time there, I couldn't sleep more than 2 hours a night, which made functioning a bit of a challenge. They have these drinks called Boss Coffees that you can buy for 100yen. Great deal for a kick.

Anyway back to MLB - why is it that MLB opens the season in the Land of the Rising Sun? Bud (the Owner's butler) Selig claims it is to broaden the appeal of baseball globally. But we would never have a team in Japan or anywhere else that would take 12-14 hours to get to since that would seriously disrupt the game. Is it to move merchandise? That may be part of the reason, but I find it hard to believe that there are millions of Japanese people and other cultures clamoring to wear a Big Papi jersey. Is it for Bud's legacy? Ahhh, now we get to something interesting. Bud Selig, Lord of the Steroid era, could go down in history as making the game international. Big deal.

Anyway - Go Red Sox.

Play ball!