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PAWTUCKET - Sports fans, as Jerry Seinfeld once said, root for laundry.

New Pawtucket Red Sox manager Torey Lovullo should benefit from that as he heads to spring training later this month.

Lovullo wore New York Yankees pinstripes in 1991. The former utility infielder hit .176 with 0 HR and 2 RBI that season.

Now, Lovullo will see the Boston-New York rivalry from the other side.

Lovullo already knows how passionately Boston Red Sox fans root against anything in pinstripes. "I don't want anybody to hold that against me, that I played for the New York Yankees," Lovullo said during a sit-down with the press at McCoy Stadium a few weeks ago. "But you know, there was a uniqueness to walking into Fenway Park as a New York Yankee."

Boston Red Sox pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training in Ft. Myers, Fla., Feb. 18, the first step toward de-throning the Yankees as world champions.

Lovullo, 44, spent the past eight seasons managing in the Cleveland Indians organization, the last four on their Triple-A team, compiling a 595-531 record.

He takes over in Pawtucket for Ron Johnson, who was promoted to Boston Red Sox first base coach after managing the PawSox the past five years.

"I had a chance to wear many uniforms in that visitors' clubhouse, but there was a very bitter rivalry between the two organizations, and you feel it as a player," Lovullo said. "I remember Roberto Kelly hit a three-run home run, or a two-run home run, to beat the Red Sox late in the season, late in the ballgame. And people still will come up to me and talk to me about that home run.

"This is 17 years later, and they're constantly recollecting his home run. And I was like, "How did you even know I was in the dugout, because I was on the bench?"

And "How can you remember it was a 3-1 fastball that he hit over the Green Monster?"

SUN CHRONICLE: What have you heard, what have you seen, first-hand of the passion of the fans here? You must be excited about experiencing it from the opposite side.

TOREY LOVULLO: There's nothing better than walking into the dugout and these fans are here at 3:30 leaning over with their liter Coke bottles asking for autographs.

That's just a great tradition that you don't see anyplace else. The fans over the past 15 years have become very passionate about this Red Sox Nation. I feel that energy now.

It's nice to come to work when you know you have a full house.

SC: I'm sure that you have four or five stories for almost every city that you've been in. What about Pawtucket?

LOVULLO: I remember I was a member of the Columbus Clippers, and we got into a nasty fight right in the middle of the field.

I remember getting punched in the face at the bottom of the pile. It's something you never forget.

I reached out, trying to figure out who hit me.

It was Mike Brumley - who a year earlier was my roommate.

I looked at him and he looked at me, and said, "Torey, what in the world are you doing at the bottom of the pile?"

SC: Do you have a typical routine for a home game?

LOVULLO: A typical night game, I'll get to the ballpark between noon and 1 p.m., and just get the day started, give everybody the five or 10 minutes that they need, and make sure that I don't leave any stone unturned.

It's all very routine for me. I'm a routine guy. I believe the players want a routine.

For a day game, it's just all about how long we played the night before, how much rest can these kids get before they've got to come out and play a game the next morning. It's tough to do as a player.

SC: You talked about getting to know the players outside of baseball. What are some of the things you like to do?

LOVULLO: During the off-season, I love spending time with my family and friends.

My wife and I enjoy entertaining. We just believe in getting as many of our loved ones around us, and being ourselves.

To just relax and, whether it's a pickup basketball game with my son or my stepson, or watching my daughter ice skate, it's just about getting reacquainted with them on a new level because baseball can be tough. It's a grind during the season. They sacrifice so much.

SC: Your father was a producer on Hee Haw. Did you hang around the show as a kid?

LOVULLO: I did.

My Dad was just my dad to me. I never understood what was so special about him. He was just Sam Lovullo, my father, who was coaching my baseball team and watching football on Sunday.

I think my fourth-grade teacher, she kind of highlighted what he was all about more than anybody else.

She asked one time, "What did you do this summer?" I just said, "Well, I played in a baseball all-star game, and that was it."

And she said, "Well, what else did you do?"

So, she was probing and found out what I did.

At the end of the session, she called me after and she said, "Do you realize how lucky you are that your father gets to do what he does?"

You meet the people that you meet.

It was not uncommon for me to be playing cards with Roy Clark or watch Buck Owens tune up his guitar. But I didn't know any different.

SC: This is the first time you've gotten to be in New England for a whole season. Is there anything you're eager to check out?

LOVULLO: Absolutely.

I want to see Martha's Vineyard. I want to go to the Cape. I want to see why Dennis Connor got so mad when there was no wind in Newport for the America's Cup.

I want to see it all.

This is such a rich part of the United States that nobody really knows about, and I'm fortunate I get to spend 5 1/2 months in a beautiful part of the country. I'm excited about that.

SC: I'm sure you've gotten a chance to check out some of the places around here as a visiting manager and player. What are some of your favorite local haunts?

LOVULLO: Spumoni's was a staple that we would always go to and have a staff dinner as a visiting player.

We'd hit a little sushi restaurant by the Radisson.

My kids would all love to come to Pawtucket. We'd go to Dave & Buster's. We'd go to Boston and walk the Freedom Trail. We'd do whatever we could to get to this area because we all liked it.