Terry Francona will be named manager of the Cleveland Indians on Monday, and he hopes to add the man he replaces on his staff.
Sandy Alomar Jr. took over as interim manager when Manny Acta was fired and was reportedly a candidate to get the job on a permanent basis before the team hired Francona. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that both the front office and Francona hope that Alomar accepts a position on Francona's managerial staff. Hoynes didn't indicate which position they hoped Alomar would fill. Alomar was the team's bench coach on Acta's staff.
Francona, who comes from a big market team with a huge budget in Boston, said via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com that he's not worried about the payroll differences between Boston and Cleveland. "I'm looking to maybe get back to coaching and ... trying to impact young players," he said.
Sandy Alomar Jr. stepped in as the interim manager for the Cleveland Indians for the final six games of 2012, and now he may just have a shot at returning as the team's manager for 2013 and beyond. Alomar interviewed for the full-time manager position on Thursday, but he's up against veteran skipper Terry Francona -- who will interview on Friday.
''I can tell you that Sandy is held in very high regard among our players ... I wouldn't give anyone a leg up in the process. We feel good about the two initial candidates that we have identified.''
Alomar played for the Indians from 1990-2000 and he previously served on Manny Acta's coaching staff as third base coach and bench coach. Francona makes upwards of $1.7 million in his analyst job with ESPN, so Alomar will likely come at a lesser price than someone as accomplished as Francona.
While 10 teams in Major League Baseball are gearing up for the postseason, the Cleveland Indians have known that Wednesday would mark the end of their season for months now. They were well out of the postseason race and the season came to an end with no fanfare. But there's still plenty to get done, and the Indians are getting right to work on looking for a new manager.
According to The Plain Dealer, the Indians plan to interview Sandy Alomar Jr. on Thursday, just a day after their season came to an end. Alomar is under a lot of pressure though, as the Indians are set to interview Terry Francona on Friday. Why is he under pressure, you might ask? Because Francona sports an excellent resume, featuring more than 1,000 wins, five postseason appearances and World Series championships in 2004 and 2007.
"I can't compete with that resume," said Alomar, "but with that being said, I'm my own man. I control what I can. The rest of the stuff is out of my control. I do my business. If it's good enough for the organization, then it will be good enough. If it's not, I'm sure they'll find someone else."
Saying that he can't compete with Francona's resume isn't necessarily saying he's not confident in his own abilities. It's more of him respecting someone who has been around the block and knows what he's doing.
"When that day comes, I’ll be fine," said Alomar Jr. of his impending interview. "I’ve done interviews before. I’m not anxious at all. I feel good about myself and how I’ve handled interviews in the past. I feel confident. I’m not the one that’s going to make the choice."
Alomar, who played for the Indians from 1990-2000 and was on Manny Acta's coaching staff as third base coach and bench coach, clearly would like the job full time:
"It would be awesome," Alomar Jr. said. "I played here many years. I’m very proud of this organization. They have treated me great. If this is the time, it’s the time. If not, then it will be some other time. Time will tell."
