Regular-season baseball has started for the Boston Red Sox, and certain sacrifices had to be made to take in all the action.

This year, loyal fans of the Old Towne Team had to be up early to catch all the action because the games were coming from Tokyo, a place the Sox and the Oakland Athletics were visiting, playing exhibition games, and opening the 2008 regular season against each other.

I tried diligently to wake up to see the first game between the Sox and Oakland. All I remember was the first pitch, then, I was out.

Missing Opening Day, regardless of the location, was a sacrilege. I watched the whole thing later on NESN; Sox in 2 – does that count? – but the glitter had already worn off because I knew the outcome.

So, understanding my beloved mother’s adage of “no rest for the weary,” I decided I would do a college habit of mine and pull an all-nighter, tossing in a couple of cat naps and watching the 5 a.m. pregame show, followed by Game 2 of the regular season, again from the impressive Tokyo Dome.

After watching most of the so-called talking heads on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox giving me the political fix I needed for the day – I do wonder if they get tired of it all – I settled in to Tom Caron, Jim Rice and Ken Macha to listen to the pregame.

Caron, a hockey announcer by trade, always speaks too fast for my aging ears. For a while there I thought the Lewiston native was actually speaking Japanese. Macha, the former Oakland A’s skipper, and gentleman Jim were longing for their beds. This was, in fact, a little early for baseball.

Once those festivities ended – yes, I was ready for a nap – the elaborate pregame stuff began down on the field.

My, what an impressive ceremony was held there for the visiting teams. With exchanges of gifts and flowers, it became an international event.

What I don’t understand is this: Next up the Sox and the A’s continued their exhibition season, and tonight – Tuesday – the Red Sox continue their series with Oakland, this time in California.

Game two itself was dominated by A’s hurler Rich Harden, who struck out nine batters.

The only Sox highlight was a Manny Ramirez home run, his first of the season, which he admired for an inordinate amount of time and which we all know is Manny’s style. Other than that, it was a pitcher’s night.

I always get a kick out of Sox color commentator Jerry Remy, who complained incessantly about finding a cab after the contest.

Yes, it’s good to have baseball back on the air. I don’t care where the games come from, I, like a lot of others, need spring, and quickly.

Yes, the 2008 regular season continues tonight for the Red Sox, and if the Celtics keep winning, this could turn into an old-fashioned spring in Beantown.

Now, if we could just keep the Bruins on track, this would truly be like the old days.

30-Second Time Out

Watching Davidson sophomore shooting sensation Stephen Curry during the NCAA tournament reminded me of another Davidson whiz kid, John Gerdy, who toiled in Maine for two years as a member of our Maine Lumberjacks team.

Gerdy, who scored 2,483 points in college and was inducted into the Davidson Hall of Fame in 1979, was also a third-round NBA draft choice of the New Jersey Nets.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net