Starting this summer, the Yankees and the Red Sox are hoping fans in Japan will become as passionate about the rivalry as fans back home.

    And with Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching for the Red Sox, and facing pitcher Kei Igawa and slugger Hideki Matsui of New York, Yankee GM Brian Cashman has every reason to believe that will be the case.

    "We have two great organizations that both respect each other and now we'll take that battle overseas," Cashman said yesterday at a press conference in Tokyo. "Bringing the rivalry over here is something special."

    Cashman and Yankee President Randy Levine were in Tokyo on the second leg of an Asian tour.

    The two were in Beijing earlier this week where the Yankees agreed to send coaches, scouts and trainers to China to boost interest in baseball there, furthering a push by Major League Baseball into one of the world's fastest-growing sports markets.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)