NewsLovullo interviews to be Indians skipper
Tribe's Triple-A coach looking to make leap to Majors
By Steve Herrick / Special to MLB.com
10/23/09 5:06 PM ET
CLEVELAND -- Torey Lovullo has managed at every level of the Indians' Minor League system. He's now ready to take the next step. Lovullo, 44, was the third candidate to come to Cleveland to interview for the managerial job and met with the club's executives on Friday. Former Washington manager Manny Acta was in town Tuesday and ex-Major League manager Bobby Valentine came in on Thursday."I'm a manager that's been in the system for eight years," Lovullo said. "I'm somebody who has dreamed of this opportunity and has prepared for this opportunity. I want the fans of Cleveland to understand I'm ready for this opportunity should it arise."
The Indians are expected to continue the interview process next week. Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly is another finalist. General manager Mark Shapiro had said earlier that two unnamed candidates may also be considered and it was announced on Friday at that Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke would be one of the two. The Indians have received permission from the Angels to talk to Roenicke. Unlike the other candidates, the Indians didn't have to conduct an extensive background check on Lovullo, who joined the organization in 2001 as a roving coordinator and began his Minor League managerial career the following season. "One might say I was groomed in this system," Lovullo said. "I was groomed by the people who just sat with me and talked baseball with me. There's a great level of comfort in a lot of different areas." So what would Lovullo bring to the Indians if he gets the job? "What I think I'll bring to the team is some young, enthusiastic energy," he said. "I enjoy the art of teaching. I enjoy the idea of going out and being a leader. All managers possess the same qualities and have the same ideas. There are certain things you can do in the structure of being that leader that can help a ballclub. That's what my intentions are." Lovullo's first managerial job came in 2002 when he led the Class A Columbus RedStixx to the second-half championship in the South Atlantic League. He spent the next two seasons as the manager at Class A Kinston, leading the Indians to a Carolina League title in 2004 in addition to being named Manager of the Year. Lovullo was promoted to Double-A Akron in 2005. The Aeros finished with an 84-58 record and won the Eastern League championship, which again resulted in Lovullo being named Manager of the Year. Lovullo has been the manager of the Indians' Triple-A teams for the past four years. He managed for three years at Buffalo, finishing with winning records each season, before the organization moved the team to Columbus, where the Clippers finished last in the West Division of the International League with a record of 57-85 in 2009. While he has never been on the hot seat in the big leagues, Lovullo realizes there are differences between managing in the Minors as opposed to the Majors. "I can only speculate," he said. "I do know there are demands on your time. I know it's challenging to deal with a lot of different people pulling you in a lot of different directions. I had that in some sort in a small-scale way at Triple-A. I think it's about managing your time wisely. I don't think it changes more on this stage. I think you need to be prepared and give yourself some time to learn about the new ideas." Lovullo has managed many of the players on the Indians' roster, which may give him an edge over the other candidates. "I think that's a built-in advantage I might have," he said. "That's something I have going for me, but when it's all said and done, how much is that going to impact their decision? That's for them to decide." This isn't the first time Lovullo has been a candidate for a Major League managerial job. He interviewed with the Dodgers following the 2005 season, a process which helped him this time around. "I was familiar with some of the questions that were going to be asked," Lovullo said. "In preparation for that day four years ago, I talked with [Shapiro] and [assistant general manager] Chris Antonetti, as friends and mentors, as to what I should be ready for. They almost over-prepared me. Sitting with them today, I felt like I was prepared. I've grown. I know they prepared themselves much in the same way I did." As a player, Lovullo spent parts of eight seasons in the Majors as a utility player for seven different teams, including the Indians -- for whom he appeared in six games in 1998. He was a career .224 hitter and also played for the Tigers, Yankees, Angels, Mariners, A's and Phillies.Steve Herrick is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
