The Red Sox have added a pair of candidates with team ties to their efforts to fill their managerial vacancy.

Blue Jays first base coach Torey Lovullo spent just one year in the Red Sox system, serving as the manager of Triple-A Pawtucket in 2010 after having spent eight years as a manager in the Indians organization. In that brief time with the Sox, he made a highly favorable impression on both players and members of the player development staff. While he has spent just one year coaching (and none managing) in the majors, the Sox will have him interview for the managerial vacancy on Friday.

This will be at least the fourth managerial interview for Lovullo. He interviewed with the Dodgers after the 2005 season (a job that went to ex-Sox manager Grady Little), the Pirates after the 2007 season and the Indians after the 2009 season. Lovullo spent parts of eight seasons playing in the majors, including time playing for Terry Francona in Philadelphia.

The Sox will also bring in veteran manager and coach Gene Lamont for an interview on Saturday. Lamont has been in pro ball for 47 years, and has been Detroit’s third base coach for the last six years. He has eight seasons of big league managerial experience on his resume, making him the first candidate whom the Sox are bringing in for an interview with a prior full-time job to his credit.

Lamont’s first managing stint came with the White Sox from 1992-95. He led the White Sox to an AL West title in 1993, then had the team in first place at the time of the season-ending strike in 1994. However, just over a month into the 1995 season, Lamont was fired after his team got off to an 11-20 start.

He was then hired by the Pirates in 1997, and spent four years in Pittsburgh. Though he finished below .500 in each of those years, he was not alone, as the Pirates have had losing records for 19 straight seasons. Indeed, under Lamont, the Pirates recorded their best two records (79-83 in 1997, 78-83 in 1999) since the 1992 season.

After he was fired by the Pirates, Lamont was hired as a third base coach by the Red Sox for the 2001 season before joining the Astros from the 2002-04 campaigns.

Lovullo and Lamont now join a pool that has five known candidates. Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin and Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum interviewed in Boston last week, and Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. will be in Boston to talk to team officials on Wednesday. Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux, who had been scheduled to interview with the Sox on Tuesday, removed himself from the Sox’ search process, citing family reasons and a desire to remain closer to his Texas home than would be possible in Boston.

Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, whose departure resulted in the current search process in Boston, interviewed for the manager’s job with Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt and GM John Mozeliak on Tuesday.

In a press release, the Red Sox announced that they would be holding ticket prices for the 2012 season steady. Here is the release:

The Boston Red Sox today announced that prices for all ticket categories available to the public for the 2012 regular season at Fenway Park will be held at 2011 levels. This marks the second time in four years the team has held ticket prices as the Red Sox also froze prices across the board for the 2009 season.

“John Henry, Tom Werner, and the members of our Front Office spend considerable time each year discussing ticket pricing and policies for the following season, and as a group we make a concerted effort to look at our business through the prism of Red Sox fans. Over the last several years, many in Red Sox Nation have experienced economic difficulties, and every fan has gone through some trying times – particularly at the end of the 2011 season – as the team fell short of our goal of reaching the post-season,” said President/CEO Larry Lucchino. “The decision to hold ticket prices next season is just one of many ways we hope to show our gratitude to Red Sox Nation in 2012 for the unfailing support they have shown at the ballpark, and for their faith in the Red Sox. It is also part of an effort we’ve made over the last few years to slow the growth of season ticket and individual game tickets to ensure the Fenway Park experience is a viable option for as many citizens of Red Sox Nation as possible. We are constantly impressed by our fans’ love of the game and our franchise, and we hope to see them fill up Fenway Park next year as we celebrate the ballpark’s special 100th anniversary season.” Read the rest of this entry »

According to a major league source, the Red Sox had some interest in Giants left-hander Jonathan Sanchez before he was dealt to the Royals for outfielder Melky Cabrera. Boston and San Francisco did not match up as trade partners, however, given the Giants’ interest in acquiring an everyday major league outfielder in return.

Sanchez, who turns 29 this month, struggled to a 4-7 record and 4.26 ERA in 19 starts last year, as injuries and walks (a career-high 5.9 per nine innings) resulted in diminished effectiveness. The Sox had concerns about his ankle and his strike-throwing ability.

Even so, the hard-throwing left-hander has struck out 9.4 batters per nine innings throughout his career, and he was a significant contributor to the Giants team that won the World Series in 2010, going 13-9 with a 3.07 ERA and 205 strikeouts (as well as an NL-high 96 walks) that season.

Even so, the Sox weren’t a match for the Giants, who instead moved to acquire Cabrera, who hit .305 with a .339 OBP, .470 slugging mark, .809 OPS, 18 homers, 87 RBI and 20 steals (in 30 attempts) while playing all three outfield positions for the Royals in 2011.

Mike Maddux turned down the chance to talk to the Red Sox. (AP)

Just days after he was granted permission to interview for the Red Sox’ managerial vacancy, Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux removed his name from consideration for the position. According to a source familiar with the matter, the 50-year-old cited “family reasons” in telling the Sox that he would decline the opportunity to talk with the club on Tuesday.

According to another source, Maddux has two daughters currently attending college in Texas and he is building a house in the area. With those roots, the pitching coach apparently decided that it was not the right time to discuss the possibility of a move to Boston.

T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that Maddux has not yet removed his name from consideration in the Cubs’ search, though he plans to discuss the matter with his family on Monday night.

UPDATE: Maddux issued the following statement through the Rangers:

“This afternoon I spoke with Ben Cherington and thanked him for the consideration to interview for the Boston Red Sox managerial post. It is humbling to know an organization with so much baseball history is interested in my services.

“I could give more reasons why an opportunity like this should be taken rather than not, but the reason for withdrawing my name from consideration comes down to a family decision.  My wife and two daughters are together in the same state for the first time in three years and words cannot describe my happiness.  The game of baseball has many sacrifices but being apart from family is the toughest.  I feel there is too much distance between the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Boston to see my family as much as I’d enjoy.

“Again, I thank Ben Cherington and the Boston Red Sox for the flattery, honor, and compliment of considering me for their position.”

Maddux is considered one of the top pitching coaches in the game. The Rangers ranked fifth in the AL in ERA (3.79) this year, the team’s lowest mark since 1988. That follows a 2010 campaign in which Texas ranked third in the AL with a 3.93 ERA, and a 2009 campaign in which the Rangers had a 4.38 ERA in Maddux’ first year, a starting drop from the AL-worst 5.37 ERA that the Rangers had in 2008.

That, in turn, led the Sox to request permission to talk to him. Maddux told reporters, after that permission had been granted last week, that he was honored to be considered as a candidate with both the Sox and the Cubs. Read the rest of this entry »

Pete Mackanin was the first candidate interviewed for the Red Sox managerial vacancy. (AP)

By any account, Pete Mackanin has developed both a resume and a reputation that put him in position as one of the top managerial candidates on the market. Though he has never been a full-time manager, he has served twice as an interim manager, he has more than a decade of minor league managerial experience, he’s been a major league advance scout and he’s spent the last three seasons as the bench coach for a big-market contender with the Phillies.

Those experiences are at the forefront of why Mackanin has emerged as a candidate for the managerial vacancies with both the Red Sox and Cubs.

“He’s got a really broad set of experiences. He’s managed a ton of games in the minor leagues, the Caribbean, some at the big-league level. He’s been off the field as a scout. He’s been part of good major-league teams as a coach,” noted Red Sox GM Ben Cherington on Monday. “He’s got a really broad set of experiences that appeal to us. He can see the game from different perspectives, which I think is a benefit. As you saw today, he’s got a good way about him, a good sense of humor, mature, and a good reputation from every clubhouse he’s been part of.”

In more ways than one, that range of experiences separates Mackanin from other managerial candidates. He has seen the game from more vantage points than the other individuals to whom the Sox and Cubs either have already talked or plan to talk (Dale Sveum, Mike Maddux, Sandy Alomar Jr.). However, Mackanin is also in a different demographic than the other candidates. Maddux is 50; Sveum is 47; Alomar is 45. Mackanin, meanwhile, is 60.

The Phillies bench coach does not think that his status as a sexagenarian is significant.

“I don’t look at it as a disadvantage at all,” Mackanin told reporters in Chicago. “Knock on wood, I’m still healthy. I throw batting practice every day, so I stay in shape. One of the great things about baseball is I get paid to stay in shape; I get paid to be around young people who are vibrant, and they’re a lot of fun to be around. That being said, I’m not 70; I’m 60, and I’m a young 60 — I’d like to think so.’’ Read the rest of this entry »

According to CSNPhilly.com, the Phillies are in “serious pursuit” of a player who would seem a good fit for the Red Sox. Michael Cuddyer, a 32-year-old who made his first All-Star team in a 2011 season in which he hit .284 with a .346 OBP, .459 slugging mark, .805 OPS and 20 homers in 139 games, represents a versatile right-handed hitter who can contribute at a number of positions.

In his career, though primarily a right-fielder and first baseman in recent seasons, Cuddyer has played every position except for catcher and shortstop. He also delivers a significant amount of thump against left-handed pitchers. Cuddyer pounded southpaws at a .311/.403/.589/.993 clip with 10 homers in 2011; in his career, he is a .290/.378/.491/.869 hitter against left-handers.

Sox GM Ben Cherington has identified a right-handed hitting outfielder as offseason priority for the Sox this winter, and Cuddyer would appear to fit that bill. However, Cuddyer — who completed a four-year, $33.5 million contract with the Twins this year while earning $10.5 million — is a Type A free agent, meaning that the team that signs him might have to forfeit a top draft pick to the Twins as compensation for his acquisition.

A key front office member will remain with the Red Sox, as Boston’s vice president of player personnel and pro scouting Allard Baird declined the opportunity to interview for the Orioles GM vacancy. He cited his desire to work with new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington in explaining his decision.

“I was honored that the Baltimore Orioles expressed interest in me as a candidate for the GM position,” Baird said in a text message. “The opportunity to possibly work side by side with [Orioles manager] Buck Showalter made this so attractive. At the end of the day, it came down to my loyalty to the Red Sox [and] Ben Cherington.”

Baird, who spent six years as the GM of the Royals from 2000-06, joined the Red Sox as a consultant late in the 2006 season before entering the organization full time in 2007. Since then, he has served as one of the most trusted talent scouts in the organization, in addition to an assortment of organizational duties.

Cherington expressed gratitude for Baird’s decision.

“Very happy that Allard is staying,” Cherington wrote in an email. “He’s a key member of our leadership team and has a hand in every decision we make.”

Baird is one of several executives either to decline the opportunity to interview with the Orioles or to turn down the job. Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava turned down the job offer to follow Andy MacPhail in the position; the Twins denied permission for the Orioles to interview Mike Radcliff, while Rays GM Andrew Friedman and White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn both turned down opportunities to interview with Baltimore.