A former manager and player, Terry Francona, is excited about the prospect of managing the Indians. He will feel right at home because he had worked as an advisor for the Indians previously.
Francona has already served as manager for the Phillies and the Red Sox. He spent much of last season as a TV broadcaster. He was seen most of the day in meetings with Paul Dolan - the Indians owner, Chris Antonetti- the general manager and other members of the Indians' front office.
He is closely associated with Antonetti and Mark Shapiro - the team president. His father, Tito, played six seasons for Cleveland between 1959 and 1964.
The Associated Press quoted Francona as saying: "The fact that my dad played here -- it's a good story. It's almost a family feeling.
"I don't think you can take a job because of that but it still means a lot to me. But because of Chris and Mark and my relationship, I am excited to tackle or attempt to tackle every challenge that comes our way and do it together."
Sandy Alomar Jr. started the season as the Indians' bench coach but served as an interim manager when Manna Actawas fired following a disappointing season with six games remaining.
Francona's interview came in the wake of Alomar's meeting with the Indians regarding their managerial opening.
Francona and Alomar are the only two candidates expected to meet with the Indians and a decision would be most likely made as early as Monday.
Antonetti, who wants the new manager to participate in organizational meetings in Goodyear next week, said: "If the timing works out where he can participate in some of those great. But we're not going to artificially rush it."
2011-12 was the first time in nine years that Francona hasn't led a major league ballclub. He worked for ESPN this season. Last season the Red Sox did not bring him back following their disappointing collapse in September.
That season, he presided over one of the worst collapses in the history of Major League Baseball when the Red Sox went 7-20 for the month of September and squandered a nine game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for the American League Wild Card spot in the postseason.
Francona said getting away for a while has been therapeutic. "To be perfectly honest, and it's not easy to say, I probably needed to take a step back for a while," he said. "I think I had lost a little bit of perspective. I wanted to get back to the things that were important to me."
However, being away from the sport for about a year now, he feels the desire to manage again.
"I think getting off the field for a year was really good. I got to stay in the game and I got to view it from something that was completely different than I had before. I got to watch all the teams instead of just the team we were playing next. It's a wonderful experience, but I did miss being on the field."
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