Fuka Asahayaku!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, that doesn't mean "Play Ball!" or some such thing. Roughly translated, it means "bad, early in the morning". I was all ready to wax poetic this morning, to relay my experience in watching the Red Sox-A's season opener live from the Tokyo Dome. Yes, despite my well documented opposition to this whole trip, I was none the less fascinated to see how the Japanese audience would greet the Sox, and, of course, returning hero Daisuke Matsuzaka. So, even before the Rising Sun, I awoke, ready to catch the 5 AM pre-game on NESN. I turned on the TV, flipped to NESN, and that's when I realized it was going to be fuka asahayaku. Bad, early in the morning.

You see, I have DirecTV. You know, satellite. And this morning, of all mornings, the satellites that support NESN and ESPN2 decided to go dark. I colorfully weathered this Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment, hoping that by game time, we'd have images. At 5:50, I broke out the radio. No offense to Joe C and Dale Arnold, but I wanted to see this game on TV.

So there you have it, what could have been a literary masterpiece has been reduced to a short column centered on my disgust with DirecTV, for failing me at the worst possible time. It really was fuka asahayaku today.

Oh, by the way, while Dice-K struggled, it has been a hell of a game, going extra innings with a Manny Ramirez double in the top of the 10th giving the Sox a 6-4 lead. And as I am about to click "submit", a strange play gave the A's a run and a two out, nobody on situation against Papelbon. Then a runner on, potential tying run. Okajima in line to get the win. Now runners on first and second. Joe C: "This has not been easy!" Papelbon, quite literally, hold this game in his hand. Doesn't it make sense that Kurt Suzuki is the guy who's up (even if he is Canadian)? But this is Jonathan Papelbon, and you know what that means.







We're 1-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome to the 2008 Boston Red Sox regular season.




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