A year ago, a huge disconnect existed between manager Bobby Valentine and his bench coach, Tim Bogar. By the second half of the season, the two went weeks without talking to one another.
That won't happen again in 2013. Newly-hired manager John Farrell and his appointed bench coach, Torey Lovullo, have known each for 20 years and have played or worked together in three different organizations.
Farrell knew as soon as he was hired that he wanted Lovullo on his staff as bench coach. Lovullo was officially introduced Friday afternoon on a conference call with reporters.
"Three things quickly jump out to me," said Farrell of Lovullo's suitability for the role, "and that's the knowledge that he has. And that comes from his playing and coaching and managing experience. It became even more clear over the last two years, working in Toronto that his ability to communicate with players is a strong one. And what fits most well in this role as a bench coach is the decision-making that he has, in terms of both non-game setting, but also in-game setting, which is critical for this position."
The two were teammates with the California Angels in 1993, and again in Buffalo in 1994-95. When Farrell was hired as the Cleveland Indians' farm director from 2002-2006, Lovullo was a manager at Single A, Double A and Triple A. And when Farrell was named manager of the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2011 season, he hired Lovullo as his first base coach.
"There's a lot of experience and a lot of interaction along the way," said Farrell, "that make this a very comfortable and natural relationship that I think is going to be important in that dugout."
Asked if he envisioned one day working with Lovullo in a managing or coaching capacity, Farrell joked that "in 1993, I was just trying to survive as a pitcher for the Angels . . . But I do recall a conversation we had in Kingston (home of the Cleveland Single A affiliate), probably in '03 or '04, and I remember saying to him, 'Hopefully, I'm one day your pitching coach, or we're doing something together at the big league level.' And here we are today, talking about that very situation."
Boston Red Sox
Farrell and Lovullo connected first as teammates, but watching, in a supervisory capacity, Lovullo manage the Indians affiliates, Farrell became impressed.
"You see how people react to different challenges," said Farrell. "Watching Torey handle his own team, through the number of years, gave a lot of those examples. And I can tell you, they weren't always the easy ones. Whether there were issues that arose with a given team, whether they were things inside the framework of a team -- at Kingston, Akron or Buffalo. There were fires that we had to put out along the way and you see how people act toward adversity and different challenges.
"It started from a personal level, but then on a professional level, we were fortunate to be on the same spot and I think that just strengthens that overtime."
"The relationship we formed is pretty unique," added Lovullo. "We developed a natural confidence in one another. I can look over at John and at times get a feel from just watching some of his reactions, what he's thinking and what he's doing and I think that will be an advantage for me being in the dugout together.
"I think we'll be able to challenge one another, I think we'll be able to inspire one another. It will be my job to sit there and think like he is to the best of my ability. That relationship we've had over the years is going to be a natural fit for us moving forward."
In addition to interviewing for the Red Sox managerial vacancy last fall, Lovullo was then considered for the role of Valentine's bench coach. That would have paired him with someone with whom he wasn't familiar.
Now, with Farrell, no learning curve is needed.
"There's already a natural progression and a natural fit, because of our history," Lovullo said, "of being in the dugout together and because of our working together. There's going to be a certain confidence . . . I understand a lot of what his thought process is. It's going to enable us to hit the ground running."