Update from Gordon Edes- Boston Globe

The Red Sox contingent in Southern California is flying back to Boston with pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and his agent, Scott Boras, on board.

"They all took off together," Red Sox owner John Henry said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

“You can assume that a deal is done or close,” said one source with direct knowledge of the talks.

The Red Sox, which flew to California on Monday to talk face to face, essentially created a deadline of their own when they said that their intention was to return home to Boston this morning on owner John W. Henry's private plane -- with Matsuzaka in tow so that he would have sufficient time to undergo a physical, which general manager Theo Epstein described as a nonnegotiable prerequisite to any deal.

In prior days, agent Scott Boras had said he would not allow Matsuzaka to travel to Boston for a physical unless the sides had reached a preliminary agreement.

The Sox made a posting bid of $51.1 million to Matsuzaka's Japanese team, the Seibu Lions, for the right to negotiate with the pitcher for 30 days, a window that ends tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox called a 3:30 p.m. press conference at Fenway Park to announce the signing of Julio Lugo.

Posted By: gedes | Time: 12:27:54 PM

The above was posted on the Boston Globe "Extra Innings" website. It's the first bit of hopeful news we've heard in a long time. I imagine we'll get some more news about this at the Lugo press conference. Stay tuned.