If you plan on shattering the attendance record for a Major League baseball game, you'd be smart to invite the World Champs, who also happen to have the best traveling fan base in the sport. (Sorry, Hank Steinbrenner, but the numbers don't lie.)

The folks from the Guinness Book of World Records are still tallying numbers to see if this was the largest international crowd to attend a baseball game, but with 115,300 fans crowding the LA Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night, it was the largest gathering ever on US soil.

The Sox won, 7-4, over the host LA Dodgers, who were celebrating their 50th anniversary in impressive style.

Strange to see Joe Torre in a uniform without pinstripes, but he seemed pretty happy in his new digs.

The novelty of watching the Sox play in Japan wore off with my alarm blaring at 5:45 for the second morning in a row. I'd like to see Jon Lester pick up where he left off in Game 4 of the World Series, but I'm afraid he'll revert to finessing the strike zone and averaging 25 or so pitches per inning rather than coming right at the Oakland lineup. Let's hope he can build on his strong '07 finish and keep that velocity up, along with his confidence.

Seems like every start for Daisuke Matsuzaka is the game of his life. If it's not his first start in the majors, it's his first start at Fenway, or his first start against the Yankees, or his first post-season start, or his first World Series start. Now Daisuke, having won a championship in his first year in MLB, gets to open the season tomorrow in Japan against Oakland.

So how much pressure is on the returning Japanese icon?

"I like throwing there (Tokyo Dome), and even though it has been about two years since my last start, I still think I can handle the mound there. But I guess I don't attach too much meaning to each ballpark."

Ah, ice water in the veins. That's a good sign.

Now set your alarms and get ready for some early morning baseball.