Starting Pitchers for the Tokyodome

Yesterday's game didn't go exactly as planned (8-4, Yanks), but that's alright--we'll win the games that count.

Dice-K has been having a pretty great week with the birth of his son, and it's only getting better for him because, according to redsox.com, "Daisuke Matsuzaka will start his second season with the Red Sox by getting the honor of pitching Opening Day in his native land."

He sounds really excited (just like all of us!), "I'm very honored to pitch Opening Day. Although I'm replacing Beckett, I feel very lucky to be able to pitch. It's the team's ace's job to do it, so I want to do my best for both Beckett and myself...The first game is important because it's not just for me, I have to pitch for the team. With what Opening Day represents, you have to show fighting spirit for the team."

Jon Lester will pitch the next day for Game #2, and I'm sure he's just as happy.
Also from here, "Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield will pitch the exhibition games against the Hanshin Tigers (March 22) and Yomiuri Giants (March 23), in that order."

Aside from the insane starting times for these games, I'm really excited about having the Sox play in Japan, and I'm sure everyone else is, too!