Boston Globe reporter Peter Abraham sent a ripple through the baseball portion of Twitter Tuesday afternoon by casually mentioning that Detroit Tigers third base coach Gene Lamont will interview Saturday for the vacant manager's position with the Red Sox.
Lamont, 65, is a somewhat surprising addition to the Red Sox's search, which has included Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin, Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum and Indians coach Sandy Alomar, Jr. Blue Jays first-base coach (and former Tiger) Torey Lovullo will also interview for the job, just before Lamont on Friday.
It's not that Lamont isn't a qualified candidate. If the Red Sox are looking for a manager with prior experience, Lamont has plenty, having managed both the White Sox and Pirates. The White Sox won two division titles in Lamont's four years as manager, finishing above .500 in three of those seasons. His Pirates tenure was a bit less successful, with fifth and sixth-place finishes in two of his four seasons, never finishing above .500.
There is a previous Red Sox connection, as Lamont was on Jimy Williams' staff as the third base coach during the 2001 season. That aside, he just seems to profile differently from what most presume the Red Sox are looking for in a candidate, someone who incorporates data and statistical analysis in his approach. But maybe new Boston GM Ben Cherington wants to talk to a more "old school" choice, and figures an addition to the coaching staff or the team's front office can handle the numbers side of things.
Or maybe Lamont has been a numbers guy as the third base coach for the Tigers under Jim Leyland, and we just haven't known about it. Is that possible?