We were confused when we read Dan Shaughnessy's wrap-up of Tuesday's season opener in Japan yesterday afternoon. While we agreed that the return of Red Sox baseball was "fun-filled, action-packed," it felt as Shaughnessy saw something in Japan that we missed back here in the States: title defense from the Sox and "those cardboard cutouts wearing an Oakland Athletics uniform."

We saw occasionally shaky pitching and an Oakland team that could very easily have set us off to a 0-1 start in the 2008 season. So if we're looking for a silver lining after another break of dawn game in the Land of the Rising Sun, it's that Shaughnessy was as off-base as we'd suspected: the Cardboard Cutouts took an early lead against the Title D and went on win, 5-1.

Manny Ramirez delivered a pretty solo shot in the sixth inning to put the Sox up on the board; the left fielder is continuing the habit of admiring his deep shots that he demonstrated with his coulda-been-a-triple double during Opening Day. But otherwise, it was all about pitching: Jon Lester struggled (4 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts), while Rich Harden was looking like an ace (6 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts).

Now the Sox take their depleted Red Bull supply and time-zone-scrambled selves to another plane for another flight. This time? Los Angeles. The "Where In the World Are the 2007 World Champs?" Tour continues.

Also out of the country were the Bruins, although their trip to Toronto was a little easier to work with. The Bs crushed the Maple Leafs, 6-2, on Tuesday night to prove that our hockey team is serious about its bid for a playoff spot. If anyone has tried to forget about the team during its recent rough patch, the scoring breakdown will reintroduce you to a large portion of the team: Glen Murray, Marco Sturm, David Krejci, Shawn Thornton, Phil Kessel, and Jeremy Reich.

Photo by flickr user wili_hybrid