Red Sox Form Alliance With Japanese Team

TOKYO (AP) _ The Boston Red Sox have formed an alliance with Bobby Valentine's team, the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League. <br/><br/>They'll share player evaluations and statistical

Wednesday, July 4th 2007, 9:22 am

By: News On 6

TOKYO (AP) _ The Boston Red Sox have formed an alliance with Bobby Valentine's team, the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League.

They'll share player evaluations and statistical analysis.

The Marines are managed by Valentine, a former manager of the New York Mets and Texas Rangers.

Craig Shipley, vice president of international scouting for the Red Sox, says that Boston will be able to take advantage of Valentine's knowledge of Japanese baseball.

The Red Sox already have tapped into Japanese baseball's talent pool, signing pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima.

Besides sharing scouting reports, the clubs will exchange coaches, training staff and front-office personnel.

Developing baseball in China and other Asian nations also will be part of the program.