The Chiba Lotte Marines said Wednesday they have signed a tie-up deal with the Boston Red Sox in an effort to promote personnel exchanges and share baseball information between the clubs. The deal, which will run through 2010, enables Lotte and Boston to send players as well as front-office and coaching staff to each other's training camps under what a senior Lotte official called a strategic agreement. Both clubs are also setting their sights on developing baseball in China and other countries through the deal. The Red Sox have two Japanese rookie pitchers this year — right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka and left-handed reliever Hideki Okajima.
