The Red Sox, with ace pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, could start the 2008 season at the Tokyo Dome, the No. 2 official of the players' association said today. The Los Angeles Angels or Oakland Athletics are the most likely opponent, with the Seattle Mariners also a possibility, several people familiar with the discussions said.

"It's going to be exciting," Boston third baseman Mike Lowell said. "We've got some marquee names that are going to bring a lot of attention over there. So in that sense it's great, but I don't think guys are too happy to go 22 hours on a plane to play games that count. It's not the game itself. It's the aftereffects."

The Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets started the 2000 season with a two-game series in Tokyo, and the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays opened the 2004 season with two games in Japan. A 2003 series between Seattle and Oakland at the Tokyo Dome was scrapped because of the threat of war in Iraq.

Gene Orza, the union's chief operating officer, said that players did not want to disrupt spring training, making exhibition games in Beijing unlikely next year. Major League Baseball has been hoping to stage preseason games at the stadium that will be used for next year's Olympics.

"Going to Beijing would be nice, and we're going to still try to work through that, but I just don't think it fits in with the concept of spring training," Orza said. "The two are at odds with each other given the routine that spring training represents."

Officials from Yomiuri, which hosts the games in Japan, are to meet with baseball officials in New York on Friday.

"I have only briefly spoken with the Red Sox players, so I don't know what their view on the matter is. But the Red Sox are a logical choice given Matsuzaka," Orza said.

If the Red Sox open in Japan, that likely would be followed by a series on the West Coast against the same club they play in Tokyo.

"Any comment would be premature," Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said.

While veterans such as the Yankees' Mike Mussina squawked about past Japan trips, younger players were thrilled.

"We're excited about it." Oakland closer Huston Street said. "I've talked to most of the guys about it, and they all think it's a good thing. It just recently came to our attention, and I know the league has some decisions to make, but if we get chosen we'd love to be a part of it."

Lowell said the distance was the problem for him.