Today the Red Sox officially annoucned its plans for it’s Spring fling in Japan this March. The trip includes exhibitions against the Hanshin Tigers  and Yomiuri Giants, followed by a couple games against the (Triple) A’s on March 25th and 26th in Tokyo. Here’s the official announcement. If you’re in the Boston area, for a cool $4,999 you can get your hands on the Red Sox Destinations package which includes:

• Tickets to three (3) Red Sox games
• First class hotel accommodations
• A VIP tour of the visiting ballpark
• A pre-game reception with a current Red Sox Player (autographs, photos, Q&A session) with food and beverages provided
• A MLB game ball
• A Majestic Athletic Replica Red Sox jersey of choice (size, color, player)
• Unlimited prints of photos taken and a digital archive CD
• 24/7 concierge services

I don’t know if that includes a white knit Tommy Hilfiger sweater to tie around your neck at the game or not. Maybe you can swap the replica jersey out for one.

Ealier today while working on a piece for this site I found myself writing that the Houston Astros would be the worst team in major league baseball this year, but I was forgetting the A’s. I’m having second thoughts. Every once in a while you’ll hear someone pop off that a college sports champion could give the worst team in sport X a run for its money. I remember people used to say that about Notre Dame in football or Duke in basketball. Of course the argument is ridiculous, the gap between college and professional sports is much larger than people sometimes think. But I honestly wonder how Yomiuri would fare in MLB this year. The Giants have a stacked lineup and the Astros and A’s look that bad.