Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka walks across the outfield at McAfee Colisum in Oakland, where the teams resume the season tonight.

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

OAKLAND — We now return you to your regularly scheduled season.

After the earliest — to say nothing of the most far-flung — season-opener in their history and the interruption caused by a weekend’s worth of exhibition games — one of which took place on a makeshift field before the largest crowd to ever watch a baseball game — the Red Sox get back to a sense of normalcy tonight.

For the first time since last fall, they’ll play a game of consequence in the continental United States.

What a concept.

“I don’t think we’ll really feel [that things are normal] until we get back home to Boston,” said outfielder J.D. Drew yesterday as the Sox undertook a casual workout at McAfee Coliseum.

But it’s a start. The last 10 days have seen the Sox: threaten a last-minute boycott, fly to Japan, play four games in the span of five days in Tokyo, return to the U.S. a day before they actually departed, and take part in a game in which Pamela Anderson sat distractingly close to home plate and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sky-hooked a ceremonial first pitch.

Other than that, it’s been business as usual.

“It’s been … different,” said Jason Varitek, taking a stab at diplomacy.

Some Sox players are still trying to get past the jet lag and get adjusted to West Coast time. Sleep patterns have been upended and appetites have been compromised. But when the Sox play the Oakland A’s tonight in a continuation of the series begun last week in Japan, they’ll be getting back into the rhythm of the season.

“Hopefully,” said Varitek, “by then, everybody will be acclimated.”

“It’s been a little tough,” added second baseman Dustin Pedroia. “We had all that adrenaline going [in Tokyo], then we had a little bit of a letdown [with the games in L.A.]. But it was good to relax and have a little recovery time.”

Now, however, the Sox are eager to get back to playing games of consequence and in more familiar surroundings — even if they’re still a week away from playing at Fenway.

“We knew coming in that it was going to be the longest road trip we’ve ever had,” Pedroia said. “I know that I’m still a little messed up [when it comes to] sleep. One night I’ll sleep four hours, then the next night it will be nine or 10. It may take a few more days, but we’ll be fine.”

As the Sox dressed in the visitors’ clubhouse yesterday, players watched with interest as other teams began their seasons. The Tigers-Royals opener in Detroit was on several monitors, helping to set the Opening Day atmosphere.

“Seeing everybody else open up,” said Varitek, “[reinforces the notion] that it’s Opening Day. There’s that excitement.”

Tonight will serve as the A’s home-opener, and there will be the usual ceremonies before the start of the game. Of course, the games last week in Tokyo included pregame events and player introductions.

“This will be like another Opening Day for us,” said Varitek, “but we’ve already had ours.”

By this time next week, the Sox will have had their fill of Opening Day. After this series concludes, the Sox will be the visiting opponent Friday when the Blue Jays have their home-opener at Rogers Centre.

Then, four days later, the Sox will host their own home-opener at Fenway.

“This is the beginning of the grind,” said manager Terry Francona.

Players are creatures of habit and thrive on routine. But with all the transoceanic travel, time changes, sleep deprivation, strange food, foreign language, frequent substitutions and circus-like atmosphere of the last week, it’s been hard to get into a regular-season rhythm.

That changes tonight.

Recounting the team’s long and winding road trip to date, Francona added: “I think we desperately need this.”

smcadam@projo.com