Ryne Sandberg interviewed about managing the PawSox before accepting a job with an International League rival. (AP)

Among the candidates to replace Torey Lovullo as the manager of the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate next year, one came with Hall of Fame credentials.

In a conference call to discuss his hiring as the manager of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Ryne Sandberg told reporters that he had interviewed about the possibility of managing the PawSox after electing to leave the Cubs organization.

The Sox have been looking to replace Lovullo, who spent 2010 as their manager in Pawtucket before joining John Farrell‘s coaching staff in Toronto. The organization has been talking to both internal and external candidates about the position, and apparently Sandberg was one of the individuals who was interviewed. However, the former Cubs great — who had spent the last four seasons as a minor league manager in the Cubs system — ended up returning to a Phillies organization that selected him in the 20th round of the 1978 draft.

Sandberg was passed over for the job of Cubs major league manager recently, with Chicago electing to hire Mike Quade. Sandberg turned down offers to join the Cubs’ major league coaching staff and also elected to decline an offer to return to manage Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate for another season.

“I didn’t think it was in the best interest for me, the Cubs, or ownership to be at the Triple-A level. I didn’t think fair to me, the fans, or Mike Quade to have the perception that I was waiting for the axe to fall in Chicago,” he told reporters. “I’m going back to my roots where I learned to play the game as a major-league player. In a lot of ways, I feel like a young kid again. I couldn’t be happier about the situation.”

[Click here to listen to the world according to Lars Anderson.]

The Red Sox didn’t just promote a hard-hitting, highly-regarded first base prospect with power on Monday. They called up perhaps the most advanced 22-year-old philosopher in the game.

The much-heralded, power-hitting first baseman prospect Lars Anderson was called up Monday by the Red Sox to make his major league debut. Anderson got word from the Red Sox following Pawtucket’s game Sunday and made his way up to Boston, where he was immediately slotted into the starting lineup, batting eighth and playing first base.

Anderson batted .355 in 17 games with Double-A Portland before being promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket. He struggled with a batting average near .200 before getting hot in the summer months and finishing with a .262 mark, including 10 homers and 53 RBIs in 113 games.

“Baseball is such an ebb and flow throughout the year,” Anderson said. “I’m just happy with way I’ve handled the downs and ups as well.”

For the last 25 games with the PawSox, he hit .330 while clubbing eight homers.

But well before that 25-game stretch, Anderson never doubted he’d wind up in the majors, specifically Boston.

“Yes,” Anderson responded without hesitation when asked if he knew he’d wind up in the majors eventually. “I don’t know. I just knew since I was little.”

But that doesn’t take away from the sheer excitement of the 24 hours leading up to Monday night at Fenway.

“I’m shocked because at [about] one o’clock when I got into Boston last night, I really felt my nerves,” Anderson admitted. “Right now, I feel great, I feel pretty calm and excited and under control.

“I feel like I’ve progressed in a lot of the areas I wanted to progress and I’m happy about that,” Anderson said. “I’m sure I’ll have butterflies before game but I’m way more calm. Last night, I was really jittery. Now I’m happy to be here.”

“That was more of a physical thing,” Anderson said. “It’s not where I want it to be. From what I’ve gathered, that’s the last thing that comes and it’s just a product of maturity and maturation.”

“Some physical stuff. Some mental stuff. I think the biggest adjustment for hitting is not making too many adjustments because that can become overwhelming.”

Not too many 22-year-olds are so well-adjusted. But the Red Sox clearly feel that this is no ordinary 22-year-old baseball prospect. Another example you ask?

“Sometimes not as well as I would have like to and sometimes I was really proud of myself with how I handled it,” he professed. “When I handle it well is when I’m emotionally detached from it and it’s a failed action but not failed as a human being. It’s like a bad swing doesn’t turn into a bad player which doesn’t turn into being a bad person. A bad swing is just a bad swing. You can leave it at that, which is a great way to feel when you’re struggling.”

So, it should come as no surprise that Anderson, who also had his parents in from Sacramento, Calif., has formed a professional bond with Red Sox sports psychology coach Bob Tewksbury.

“He and I are great friends,” Anderson said. “There’s a couple of people back home and my parents and myself. Obviously, it’s a never-ending thing but just realize that all of us are good. We all have this innate quality of goodness in us just appreciate that and just see it in ourselves and others and not be so self-destructive.”

But that doesn’t mean Anderson needs to always be introspective when describing his feelings of reaching the bigs.

“I think I’m going to love playing here and hitting here,” Anderson said. “It’s good to be here.”

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — By his own admission, Mike Lowell’s 1-for-5 performance for Triple-A Pawtucket wasn’t his best day.

But a veteran like Lowell knows what to get out of a start as a DH in a minor league rehab assignment. Especially when it’s your first in live game action in over four weeks.

“It was alright,” Lowell said. “I think for seeing live pitching for the first time in over a month it was kind of so-so. I think my timing was off a little. I felt a lot more comfortable as at-bats went on. Obviously, there’s a purpose to being here.”

Lowell made his first rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday night and went 1-for-5 in Pawtucket’s 5-4, 10-inning win over Toledo as the veteran infielder attempts to come back from yet another bout with a strained right hip. Scouts were on hand at McCoy stadium from the Blue Jays, Orioles, Tigers and Royals.

With one out and a runner on third in the first inning, Lowell popped out weakly to second base on a 1-1 pitch. He struck out on four pitches in the third and flew out several feet from the warning track in left leading off the sixth. In his final at-bat in the eighth, Lowell grounded out to third after Daniel Nava reached second base on a throwing error to open the inning.

With none out and Nava at first in the bottom of the 10th, Lowell hit a bloop single to shallow center to move Daniel Nava to third before Nava scored the game-winning run on a single by Lars Anderson down the right field line. Lowell went on the disabled list on June 23 with a strained right hip and received a shot in the hip on Monday.

But most importantly – at least for Lowell himself – he ran out of the batter’s box in the eighth and tenth innings without any pain.

“I’m not anticipating waking up in any pain,” he said with a typically dry smile. “My biggest concern was the running and that felt good so I’m happy with that. I definitely want to swing bat better.”

Lowell will get the day off on Friday as Pawtucket opens a weekend series in Columbus, Ohio. Lowell expects to play back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday, including playing one of the games as a third baseman.

Nava, playing his first game back at Triple-A since being optioned earlier in the day, tied the game, 3-3, on a long three-run homer in the third. Nava batted .286 in 29 games for Boston, including a grand slam on the first pitch he saw in the majors against Philadelphia at Fenway Park on June 12.

After batting .173 last year with Lowell and Salem, Dan Butler is batting .318 with Greenville, Pawtucket and Salem.

He could have quit after spending his redshirt freshman year at the University of Arizona riding the Mendoza Line and being relegated to the backup catcher position, but he stuck with the program.

He could have thrown in the towel after injuring his throwing elbow and requiring Tommy John surgery a mere 15 games into that same freshman season, but he fought through it.

No one would have blamed him if he decided to call it a career when he wasn’t drafted in his junior year with any of the 1,521 picks from the 30 teams in the 2009 MLB Draft, but he decided to prove them all wrong by playing in the Cape Cod League.

Playing with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and the Brewster Whitecaps in 2009, Dan Butler got the chance that he needed. In 28 games, Butler batted .246 with a .379 on base percentage and a .333 slugging percentage, solid numbers in a pitcher-dominated league.

It was his prowess behind the plate, however, that most impressed his Whitecaps manager, Tom Myers.

“He could call a great game and he led our pitching staff,” said Myers.

His strength on both sides of the ball led to an appearance in the Cape League All-Star Game at Fenway. Butler didn’t do too much in that game, but the tenants of Fenway, the Red Sox, took notice of him and when there was a shortage of catchers with their low-A team in Lowell four days later, Butler was brought in to fill the gap.

Again, Butler struggled in Lowell, maintaining a .178/.261/.282 line in 24 games, but adversity was nothing new. He just needed to take what he had been given and reverse the circumstances. Read the rest of this entry »

PAWTUCKET — Josh Beckett’s day is likely done after 19 pitches in the fourth inning, which included a long homer to right by DH Jason Botts on a 90 MPH cutter.

If Beckett is done, he threw 69 pitches, 42 for strikes.

Beckett used his final inning to work nearly exclusively on his cutter, significant because he faced three left-handed batters.

In the fourth, Beckett’s velocity tapped out at 94 on his fastball and 91 on his cutter, according to the right field radar gun.

Beckett threw only a handful of curves on the day.

He allowed two hits, the homer to Botts and a clean single by Mench in the second. He struck out four while walking none and left with a 2-1 lead.

The Red Sox have hired Torey Lovullo as their new manager of Triple A Pawtucket, replacing Ron Johnson, who was promoted last week from PawSox manager to the first-base coach on the Red Sox’ big-league coaching staff.

Lovullo has spent the last four years managing the Triple A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, and spent the last eight seasons as a manager in the Indians system, working with current Sox pitching coach (and former Indians farm director) John Farrell, as well as current Sox farm director (and former Indians assistant farm director) Mike Hazen. The 44-year-old was a finalist to replace Indians manager Eric Wedge this offseason, but was bypassed in favor of Manny Acta.

Lovullo has cited Terry Francona as his biggest influence as a manager. He played his final major-league season, in 1999, under Francona in Philadelphia.

Here is the official press release announcing Lovullo as manager and Gerald Perry as hitting coach for Pawtucket:

The Boston Red Sox today announced that Torey Lovullo has been named manager of the club’s Triple-A Pawtucket affiliate. Additionally, the club announced Gerald Perry will serve as the PawSox hitting coach.

The announcements were made by Director of Player Development Mike Hazen.

Lovullo, 44, was at the helm of the Cleveland Indians Triple-A club for the last four seasons and has managed in the Indians system for eight seasons overall since 2002. He has compiled a 595-531 (.528) record while leading Single-A Columbus (2002), Single-A Kinston (2003-04), Double-A Akron (2005) and Triple-A Buffalo (2006-08) and Columbus (2009). Lovullo was named Baseball America Double-A Manager of the Year and Eastern League Manager of the Year in 2005 and also earned Carolina League Manager of the Year honors in 2004. He joined the Cleveland organization in 2001 as a roving coordinator.

A fifth-round pick by the Detroit Tigers in the 1987 draft, Lovullo played parts of eight Major League seasons with the Tigers (1988-89), New York Yankees (1991), California Angels (1993), Seattle Mariners (1994), Oakland Athletics (1996), Indians (1998) and Philadelphia Phillies (1999). Primarily a second baseman, he hit .224 (165-for-737) with 15 home runs and 60 RBI in 303 career Major League games.

Perry, 49, was the Chicago Cubs hitting coach for parts of the last three seasons from 2007-June 2009. He has also served as the Major League hitting coach for the Mariners (2000-02), Pittsburgh Pirates (2003-05) and Athletics (2006). Perry previously spent three seasons in the Boston organization as a minor league hitting coach with Single-A Michigan (1997) and Triple-A Pawtucket (1998) and was the club’s minor league hitting coordinator in 1999.

Selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 11th round of the 1978 June Draft, Perry played parts of 13 Major League seasons with the Braves (1983-89), Kansas City Royals (1990) and St. Louis Cardinals (1991-95). He hit .265 (832-for-3,144) with 59 home runs and 396 RBI in 1,193 career Major League games. Predominantly a first baseman, Perry was selected to the National League All-Star Team in 1988.

PAWTUCKET – With the sappy euphoria of All-Star week behind us, it’s time to get down to brass tacks.

The Red Sox are only three games up on the Yankees in a tight AL East race; Tampa Bay and their big bats are ready to pounce at only 6.5 games behind; and the Fenway faithful is hungry for another championship. The pressure is on Boston to win, and in the next 2½ months they’ll try everything they can to do just that – perhaps including a shuffling around of players currently on the roster.

With only a couple weeks until the trade deadline, will Clay Buchholz be around to see October in Boston?

Roy Halladay has been the focal point of trade rumors ever since Toronto G.M. J.P. Ricciardi publicly declared that he would be shopping the Blue Jays’ ace. The prospect of sporting a pitching staff that includes a top three of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Halladay (not to mention Smoltz, Wakefield, Penny and perhaps Matsuzaka) would border on excessive. 

If the Sox were to trade for the Cy Young Award-winning Halladay, the package might have to include prized prospect Clay Buchholz. The 24-year-old righty has had a most unusual career with Boston thus far: in only his second game with the club, Buchholz threw a no-hitter against Baltimore before going 2-9 with a 6.75 ERA during the 2008 season.

This year Buchholz has pitched for Triple-A Pawtucket, where he’s been completely dominant, going 7-2 with a 2.36 ERA.

“Buch’s an interesting guy because he burst onto the scene with a no-hitter, but he still had development left,” said Pawtucket Manager Ron Johnson. “I think the organization made a really good call with him last year by sending him to the Fall League, and we’re reaping the benefits of it right now because he’s put together a really fine season.”

On Friday, Buchholz finally gets to make his first major league start of 2009 as the Sox head to Toronto. The call-up is described by Sox officials as likely being a one-and-done affair, with the pitcher expected to be sent back to the minors afterwards.

But the fact that the game will take place in Toronto certainly adds to the intrigue given the Halladay rumors. Blue Jays scouts were in attendance at his last start in Pawtucket on Sunday, but Buchholz hasn’t let the trade rumors affect him.

“It never really was an issue for me,” Buchholz said on Sunday. “Everything happens for a reason, so if something like that was to happen then you just have to take it for what it’s worth and you go on with your career. But I plan to be with the Red Sox for a long time.”

Some wonder whether the call-up is simply an opportunity for Boston to showcase the young flamethrower to Toronto before a potential trade. But Buchholz said he completely disagrees and, above all else, he’s just excited to be back in the big leagues.

His teammates have adopted a similar attitude, choosing to mostly ignore the trade talk and instead focus on playing the game.

“It’s uncontrollable and there’s nothing I can do, so I don’t worry about it,” said Pawtucket pitcher Michael Bowden, another highly touted Sox prospect. “There are so many other things that go into this game that you need to focus on, and you can’t let that stuff get in your head.”

Shortstop Jed Lowrie, who has played with Buchholz in Pawtucket while rehabbing this season, remembers when his name came up in trade talks for another big time pitcher in 2007: Johan Santana. Dealing with the rumors, Lowrie said, wasn’t too bad at all.

“I found it relatively simply,” Lowrie said. “Rumors are rumors, and getting traded is all part of the business. You just have to always prepare yourself for something like that, and if it happens you have to go into the situation with the best attitude you can.”

While Buchholz certainly seems to have the right attitude, it’s the powers that be who will ultimately decide his fate.

Johnson knows this, and that’s why he’s not sweating about Buchholz’s future either.

“I’m not going to play GM on this thing,” Johnson said. “Clay Buchholz is going to prepare to pitch for the Red Sox and do the best he can. What happens after that, it’s up to the guys upstairs. We’ve got some smart guys up there.”