By Zach Freeman Fantasy Sports 101 Baseball This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | Writer Profiles

March 26, 2008 - The 2008 Major League Baseball season opened in Japan with games on Tuesday and Wednesday and Manny Ramirez proved once again that he is one of the best players in baseball. Ramirez’s two-run double in the 10th inning on Tuesday gave the Red Sox a 6-4 lead that was preserved by closer Jonathan Papelbon, who didn’t have his best stuff. With the 6-5 victory, the Red Sox began their World Series title defense on a positive note.

In the decisive 10th inning on Tuesday, Oakland manager Bob Geren made the decision to walk David Ortiz, who was 0-for-4 at that point, in order to pitch to Ramirez. Ramirez made him pay.

“They are both great hitters and you have to pick one or the other,” Geren told The Associated Press. He (A’s closer Huston Street) got 0-2 and then got a pitch over the plate and Ramirez took it deep.”

Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched five innings, allowing only two runs on two hits, but walked five and gave up a home run in the first inning.

Matsuzaka told The AP through a translator that he was nervous before the start and apologized to Japanese fans that wished they could have seen him go deeper into the game.

The A’s earned a split of the series in game two, as Emil Brown made up for his costly base running blunder on Tuesday by hitting a three-run homer in the third inning on Wednesday. Brown crushed a 1-0 pitch from Jon Lester over the left-field wall that scored Mark Ellis and Mark Sweeney.

Oakland’s starter Rich Harden went six innings, allowing only one run on three hits, while striking out nine. The only run came on a homerun by Ramirez in the sixth inning.

“I want to give Rich credit,” Ramirez told the Boston Globe. “He pitched a great game. He has a nasty splitter. His slider was working. He was 95 (miles an hour). He’s got it all.”

Ortiz was hitless for the second straight game. He drew another walk, but has reached base only twice in nine plate appearances. Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell had two hits on Wednesday, while outfielder Brandon Moss, who had the game-tying homer on Tuesday, was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.

My Take
The opening series in Japan seemed to be a success. Both teams got a win and fans and players alike had a great time. Players could be seen on TV taking pictures of the dancers on Tuesday and the crowd went crazy for every hit. Baseball wise, the games were good ones. Both clubs got timely hitting and good pitching from their players and generally took away lots of positives from these games. It’s interesting that both teams will go back to the U.S. and play exhibition games now, but nevertheless, it was a great two-game series and a success for Major League Baseball.

Fantasy Spin
I think it would be foolish to take too much from these games. The players flew across the Pacific Ocean to play in two games that were more for show than anything else. However, the way Ramirez played on Tuesday shows that he isn’t slowing down anytime soon. His three hits, including a home run and five RBIs are good signs for the Red Sox.

For the A’s, Harden’s performance on Wednesday was a great sign for fantasy owners who took a chance on him. He’s battled injuries in the past, but if he can put a full season together, this is exactly what he is capable of. A’s closer Huston Street’s performance was lackluster on Tuesday and for those who own him (yours truly), panic not, but monitor his progress closely.