[Sportsbstn]

MLB is looking into having 2 teams play exhibition games in 2008 in China, and then opening the season in Japan. Given the noticable hangover the Yankees suffered a few years back from starting their season abroad, its a bit of mixed feelings, but overall I think this would be terrific for the Sox and Yankees.

Quote

Major League Baseball has entered preliminary negotiations with several teams, including the Yankees and Red Sox, about playing exhibition games in China next March and opening the regular season in Japan, according to a report in Saturday's New York Times.

The Times reported that the Yankees and Red Sox would be favored candidates to open the season in Japan, given the native stars that comprise their clubs. In a telephone interview, Howard Rubenstein, the spokesperson for Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner, confirmed the Yankees' interest.

MLB Link

[smackdown924]

Didn't the Yanks and Rays open up in Japan a few years back? IIRC, the Yanks were in a jet-lag induced slump for the first week or so.

I hope the Sox don't have a regular season game in Japan. Exhibition, sure. Regular Season? No.

[twoBshorty]

Not a fan of this at all. From a financial/PR standpoint, a series of international exhibitions is probably a good thing, but from a baseball standpoint, I can't see any benefit to be had:

1) Trans-Pacific flights and double-digit time differences make jet lag a given, as the Yankees have already experienced. With the regular season schedule laid out the way it is, it will take much longer for the players to recover than your average traveller.

2) When I went to China, it took me exactly 3 days to get violently ill. I spent two days in bed with a raging fever feeling like my stomach was being ripped apart with pitchforks, a week being unable to handle anything except crackers and Coca Cola, and three weeks with vicious diarrhea and random cramping. Of course, this is merely an anecdotal criticism, but I would say that if you take 25 players to China, the odds of one of them getting sick there are pretty high. All it takes is one bad ice cube melting in your drink or one unwashed vegetable, and it's hard to monitor everything.

The business side usually trumps the baseball side when it comes to decisions like these, but I'll still hope that the Sox won't agree to this.

[Manchild84]

Posting from Japan right now, and I gotta say... Yanks/Sox here would be hiiiiiuge. If I wear my Sox tee around, everyone wants to practice their english with me and talk about Dice K. Matsui tends to lead off any baseball highlights. It would be a madhouse.

But from a baseball perspective, I think it would put the Sox at a disadvantage for the next couple weeks what with the jetlag and such.