There was a question of whether or not Dice-K would even make the trip to Japan, but with his wife giving birth to a healthy baby boy, he will start the first game of the regular season for the defending champion Boston Red Sox on March 25th. Jon Lester will follow in game two on the 26th to conclude the first half of the four game set against the Oakland A's. The final two games will be played on April 1st and 2nd at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum. Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield will pitch in exhibition games in Japan before the season starts. Congrats to Dice-K and his wife on the birth of their second child.

In related news, there are unconfirmed reports that Scott Boras was in the delivery room and has already signed Dice-K's son.
 
You A Bad Mang is a senior writer for Boston Sports Buzz.