Larry Lucchino on WEEI with John Dennis and Gerry Callahan - 3.13.02, 8:10am

JD: It's only been 14 days and all these changes.

LL: You're right, we don't even have an office at Fenway yet. A number of things on the business side we have to do now.

On the baseball side we now have an identity and momentum.

Now we have a pro scouting position to fill. And we have to look on the player front, make some evaluations of the team, and see if we can add any players by April.

And we have to sell some seats. Baltimore, etc... shameless plug.

JD: Philosophy in place to change organization when you came in?

LL: We went in thinking that we had an opportunity to put in place several people who we knew and felt confident in working with. We made it clear to the public that this would not be a quiet and uneventful transfer.

We had a point of view coming in. We had a collective 35-40 years of baseball knowledge.

GC: We learned that Henry liked Alou, you wanted Little, ever a point where Henry pulls rank on you?

LL: Gerry it really didn't go down that way. JH has an enormous amount of respect for Alou, knows J. Alou, background there. Interview with Felipe was very impressive. He exudes stature and dignity. I don't accept the notion that there was that kind of battle. Unanimous decision after due diligence.

I did start with preconception that Grady would be a good fit. Yes there was a possibility that the Grady decision would be derailed after Felipe's interview.

He's a well-established brilliant tactical manager. Dominican who may have a special rapport with Latin players. And he's a man of integrity who can relate to people in clubhouse, like Grady.

GC: Why taken so long for Grady to advance? Older than Tom Kelly.

LL: We asked ourselves too. 1. He was locked behind Bobby Cox in Braves system. 2. Guys become popular candidates at certain point in time.

JD: Was this hire more about establishing an atmosphere of allowing ballplayers to reach their potential vs. an good tactical manager?

LL: Absolutely. They were all strong on the tactical side, but clubhouse management, keeping 25 guys harmonious, is ahead of the tactical side.

Clubhouse management skills, included as part of personality, along with managerial skills were at the top of the list.

Interview: with Grady we started talking about NASCAR... then we moved on to baseball. Interviews are not a substitute for track record, reputation, etc. Because a guy interviews well doesn't mean he'll make the best manager. Not put too much weight on them.

We talk casually, see what knowledge they have of your team roster. His knowledge was a big plus. Knowledge of team, fans, media, etc.

Question: Yes, if you were a tree (just kidding)... we were all interested in a sense of baseball philosophy...

Important to get a sense of how open the person is to new school analysis while having old-school virtues and values. But also open-minded to Sabermetrics, OBP, etc., as much as you'd like him to be.

Coaching staff. Would rather not pre-empt that until Grady meets with staff today. He'll speak on that.

We wanted to ensure some stability but want to give coaches some consensus on who their coaches are. End of the season will allow that.

GC: Lifebuoy signs on the wall?

LL: There may be a logo up there. No signs this year on the wall. Monster.com? You looking at our files Callahan? Yes, we thought of that. Nothing right now though.

GC: Yankee problems?

LL: I know Reubin Rivera, very sad tale of events. Clubhouse has to be a sanctuary, but I'm a Roman Catholic who believes in forgiveness of sin.