TOKYO — Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki, whose grandparents were born in Japan, is thrilled to be in Japan for Major League Baseball's opening series.

"I came here in 2001 on a high school trip," said Suzuki, a native of Maui and a Baldwin High graduate. "Japanese baseball is great baseball and I'm really looking forward to playing the Giants and the Tigers."

Suzuki has relatives here but doesn't know if the tight schedule the team is on will allow for a meeting.

The Athletics figure they can surprise a few people this season and are hoping it all starts with their two-game series against the Boston Red Sox in Japan.

The A's may not be the main attraction when they face the World Series champion Red Sox in the opening-game series but they didn't come all the way to Japan to lose.

"Obviously, the Red Sox have a great team," designated hitter Jack Cust said today after the team practiced at Tokyo Dome. "But we came over here to win. I think we have a group of players who can surprise people."

The Red Sox and Athletics each play two exhibition games against Japanese teams on March 22 and 23. Then they face each other in the Major League Baseball regular-season opener on March 25, the earliest start in MLB history, and again on March 26.

Oakland almost made it to Japan five years ago. A scheduled 2003 series between the A's and the Seattle Mariners at Tokyo Dome was canceled because of the threat of war in Iraq.

"I'm excited to get another opportunity," said second baseman Mark Ellis. "We were one day away from coming last time. I was all packed and ready to go and was very disappointed when it was called off at the last minute."

Third baseman Eric Chavez didn't make the trip in order to rest his surgically repaired back.

Joe Blanton is the new No. 1 starter in a remade rotation, and the burly right-hander is set to start the opener against Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Right-hander Rich Harden is expected be on the mound in Game 2 against Jon Lester.

The rebuilding A's finished one game out of last place in the AL West last year and manager Bob Geren is hoping the team can start the 2008 season with an upset or two in Japan.

"We had a great spring training," said Geren. "The Red Sox are a tough opponent and we have a tough April ahead of us but we're hoping we can carry the momentum from spring training into the regular season."

The A's will play the Yomiuri Giants on Saturday and the Hanshin Tigers on Sunday before the opening games on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Unlike the Red Sox, who have Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, the A's don't have any Japanese-born players on their team. Pitcher Keiichi Yabu had a brief stint with the team in 2005. Owner Lewis Wolff said the Japan trip could lay the groundwork for future signings.

"I wish we had more Japanese players on our team," said Wolff. "But this is an outstanding opportunity for us. The future of our team is international and we're hoping to strengthen the link between the West Coast and Japan."