Welcome back to Mike Scandura, who covers Triple-A Pawtucket for Fire Brand during the season.
Over the years, the Boston Red Sox have established a track record of promoting from within the organization.
That wasn’t the case when it came time to name a new manager for the Pawtucket Red Sox, after the garrulous Ron Johnson was promoted to Boston as the Red Sox’ first base coach.
The Red Sox reached out to the Cleveland Indians and scooped up Torey Lovullo, who was with that organization for nine years.
“His communication ability, his ability to develop relationships with the players and his teaching ability are the three things we feel very strongly about,” Boston’s director of player development Mike Hazen said while explaining the thought process that went into hiring Lovullo. “He’s a very good baseball man.”
“I’ve known him for about 10 years. We feel very confident that Torey’s the right guy to develop our players and help them reach the next level.”
When Hazen says he’s known Lovullo “for about 10 years,” he doesn’t mean on a casual basis.
Hazen worked for Cleveland when Lovullo was managing Indians farm teams. In fact, Lovullo also has a close relationship with Boston pitching coach John Farrell.
As a result, how do you say “Cleveland Indians East?”
“Everyone knows John Farrell’s record as a great pitching coach,” said Lovullo, who for the last four years managed Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate (Buffalo from 2006-08 and Columbus in 2009). “But he started out as the farm director for the Cleveland Indians and I was raised by John Farrell. He was my boss for six years. We had a great working relationship and a friendship outside of that.
“Mike Hazen was the assistant to John Farrell at the time and migrated over here as director of player development. Between those six years of working with John and Mike, we had a great relationship that was built on trust.
“Once the phone call was made,” continued Lovullo, “it was an easy decision for me. It almost was a no-brainer.”
Lovullo’s name may ring a major league bell.
He was Detroit’s fifth-round pick in the 1987 draft and, besides the Tigers, played in the majors for the Yankees, Angels, Mariners, Athletics, Expos, Indians and Phillies.
When Lovullo played for the Phillies in 1999, his manager was — drum roll, please — Terry Francona.
“I learned a lot of great things playing from Tito,” said Lovullo. “He also was part of the player development staff with Cleveland so I got a chance to know him well.
“The one thing that stands out about Tito, and I carry this along with me, is the art of communication. There’s nobody better than Tito whether it was reaching out to Curt Schilling or Torey Lovullo. He treated us the same. And, of course, everybody knows how important Curt Schilling was to Tito.”
Might Lovullo and Francona be a mirror image of each other?
Almost, but not quite, according to Hazen.
“Torey’s his own guy,” said Hazen. “I know in talking to him how much he respects Tito and Tito’s skills as a manager. I think they’ll be a tremendous complement to each other.
“I know that the line of communication between Pawtucket and Boston is so vital. And, obviously, we consulted Tito when we considered hiring Torey. We’re very confident that this relationship already is very well established and is going to help us thrive.”
Lovullo “thrived” as a player and manager in the minors.
He played on three Triple-A championships teams; was named the 2004 Carolina League Manager of the Year while at Kinston; and was voted the 2005 Eastern League Manager of the Year at Akron.
Lovullo leaves little doubt that he knows what managing in the minor leagues is all about.
“Everybody loves to win,” he said. “Because we go out there on a daily basis, it’s part of our DNA. We want to go out there and win baseball games. But as the manager of (Pawtucket), I will never, ever sacrifice player development for a win.
“Granted, they go hand in hand. But I feel like developing winning players at this level is going to help guys go to the next level and expect to win ball games.
“Certainly,” continued Lovullo, “we want to win but not at all costs. My job is to get these guys playing at a level where they can help Boston.”
But before that can happen, there’s one detail that must be attended to and Lovullo made it clear there’s no underestimating its importance.
“First and foremost, you have to earn the players’ trust,” he said. “Whether or not you’re a good baseball guy and you do good baseball things, you can develop trust that way. I believe you can speed up the process by getting to know the guys.
“I’m going to reach out the same way ‘RJ’ did. That’s a huge part of the way I manage — getting to know the players more than watching them play baseball games. I want to know what interests them. I want to know their hobbies. I want to know their families and their parents just to let them know I care – because I genuinely do care.
“I think ‘RJ’ was the same way,” added Lovullo. “He cared so much about these kids and the Boston Red Sox. I want to let these kids know I have their backs at all costs. I want to make sure they go out there and know their manager cares.”
That being said, Lovullo also is fully aware of things a manager can do which would be counterproductive not only to winning but also to developing players.
“There’s a balance with everything,” he said. “If you’re too much and you have too many rules they can choke a team. And you can’t get bogged down with organizational philosophies. You can’t go out there in a robotic state and do it everybody else’s way.
“I’ve also learned that you create problems by not giving equal attention to the 25 guys on your team as well as sending mixed messages and not being organized.
“As an example, I remember when I was a player I would go out and stretch and not know if I was playing that night,” continued Lovullo. “Not having the lineup posted on time can present problems. I want to post it early so guys will know if they’re playing or not. I’m a routine guy and I believe players want a routine.”
Conversely, Lovullo does have expectations which apply to the highest-rated prospect he manages to the last guy on the bench.
“I have certain expectations of every player out there,” he said. “They must be professional and give 100 percent. Those are non-negotiable.
“They have to manage themselves because I can’t watch every thing they do. They have to learn to take care of their own business. They have to be disciplined enough to understand this is their job. They have to follow some of the things I’m talking about.
“They have to believe in me but I know that takes time,” he added. “You have to develop trust and it starts in spring training. I’ll never compromise that. I’ll never compromise the idea that they can’t go out there and give me everything they have on a given night.
“When it’s all said and done, if they believe in that, they’re going to find themselves playing at the big league level.”
When Lovullo played at the big league level for the Yankees, in 1991, he obviously played against the Red Sox– in Fenway Park.
“I don’t want anybody to hold it against me that I played for the New York Yankees,” Lovullo said with a chuckle. “There was something unique about walking into Fenway Park as a New York Yankee. There is a bitter rivalry between the two organizations. The fans are so involved in it but it is fun to be a part of it.
“You can see how people have become very passionate about Red Sox Nation. It’s exploded. I know they’re energetic and follow the ball club.
“Now, working from the other side,” added Lovullo, “I can’t explain what it’s going to be like. I just know I’m here to help as many players as possible get to the big league level and beat the Yankees — as well as every other team they play.”
In addition, Lovullo also remembers what it was like walking into McCoy Stadium as an opponent.
“When I was here as a player, there was nothing better than walking into a dugout,” he said. “These fans are here at 3:30 leaning over with their (plastic) liter bottles asking for autographs.
“It’s just a great tradition that you don’t see anywhere else.”
A tradition that Lovullo now will get a more up-close-and-personal look at when he walks into McCoy Stadium wearing a PawSox uniform.