Chris Perez takes aim at fired Manny Acta

Indians closer Chris Perez, who's napalmed everyone involved with the Indians this season, had plenty to say about the recently fired Manny Acta.

Terry Francona will interview with Indians, according to report

Terry Francona is expected to interview for the Indians managerial position sometime this week.

Cleveland Indians confirm interest in Terry Francona as managerial candidate

Speculation about the timing of former Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta's firing earlier this week suggested Cleveland may have made the decision now rather than after the season ended to have a better chance at pursuing former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who indicated he wanted to manage again in 2013.

Friday, Indians general manager Chris Antonetti confirmed that the Indians are indeed interested in Francona to Jordan Bastian and Zack Meisel of MLB.com:

On Friday, one day after the Indians dismissed manager Manny Acta, general manager Chris Antonetti confirmed that Sandy Alomar Jr. and Terry Francona -- a pair of baseball minds with which the organization is plenty familiar -- are the only options the club is publicly considering at this point.

The Indians are still composing a final list, but will not openly identify additional candidates associated with other teams until the season concludes. Alomar is serving as interim manager for the club's final six contests.

Antonetti indicated that the team might pursue other candidates as well, but he didn't want to identify anyone currently employed by another team.

Francona is 1,029-915 in 12 years as a manager. He managed the Philadelphia Phillies for four seasons and the Boston Red Sox for eight. He won two World Series titles with Boston.

Manny Acta fired: Did Indians manager lose the clubhouse?

The Cleveland Indians fired manager Manny Acta on Thursday and elevated Sandy Alomar to serve as the interim manager for the remainder of the season, and those moves didn't come as a surprise to fans of the team. Acta left the Indians battling with the Minnesota Twins to avoid a last-place finish in the American League, so something clearly went wrong.

The organization's top brass recently endorsed general manager Chris Antonetti as the right man to stay with the team, so everyone was left to think about Acta's departure. Over at SB Nation's Indians blog, the discussion turned to questions about whether Acta had lost the clubhouse:

"It's hard to know how well a manager does in getting the most out of his players until you've gathered a lot of anecdotal evidence; for example, if a player who's bounced around quite a bit suddenly blossoms after playing for a particular manager, you could assign the cause of that to the manager just being there at the right time, but when there's a history of many players performing at their best under a manager, then you start to take those anecdotes seriously."

There are no accusations that arise in the piece, but the question about Acta's ability to motivate and reach players on his roster is presented to help frame the decision in the most sensible light. Bad things happened during 2012 for the Indians, so someone had to go.

Indians players take blame for firing of Manny Acta

After guiding his team to a 65-91 record through 156 games, Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta was relieved of his duties on Thursday. And while Cleveland's upper management placed the blame for its team's poor play on Acta, Indians players feel that they are responsible.

Designated hitter Travis Hafner lamented Acta's firing, stating that it falls on the players' shoulders to produce:

"It's unfortunate that this had to happen. It was just a bad second half. The players are the ones out there playing. They're ultimately responsible for how the team does. We're the ones who take the blame. It's unfortunate when coaches lose their job and things like that."

Cleveland suffered through an August slump during which it compiled a 5-24 record. Indians players had a hard time staying motivated, but third baseman Jack Hannahan felt that it wasn't up to Acta to motivate his team:

"I've respected the fact that Manny was a manager that let his veterans do the policing. That's something that I respected about him. This is the big leagues. You don't need a babysitter in the big leagues. You need veterans to lead the way."

While Cleveland players aren't happy to see Acta go, they are pleased that Sandy Alomar, Jr. has been selected as interim manager. Alomar has a wealth of baseball experience and knowledge, and that isn't lost on his team:

"You look on the back of his baseball card. It's instant respect for a guy who's been in your shoes and knows and understands that the game is not that easy. I think he'll be able to connect with the players and get the most out of players and really be successful."

Sandy Alomar leading candidate for Indians manager, Chris Antonetti says no deadline for decision

Sandy Alomar is the Indians' top choice to replace Manny Acta, according to reports. The club is also considering Terry Francona.

Terry Francona reportedly talking to Indians about open manager position

Arguably one of the most intriguing baseball names not currently coaching at the moment, former Red Sox manager Terry Francona is reportedly talking to the Cleveland Indians about the team's open managerial role, according to 92.3 The FAN host Adam Gerstenhaber.

The 53-year-old Francona was rumored as a possible option for the Indians less than a week ago before Manny Acta's actual dismissal and would appear to be the ideal candidate for an organization eager to make a big splash on the coaching market. Francona also played for the Indians back in 1988 and has not exactly been secretive about his desire to get back on the field as a manager.

Considering how beneficial it is that Francona is readily available right now and how eager he is to manage in 2013 according to Gerstenhaber, the Indians may very well be zeroing in on Francona before the rest of Major League Baseball starts throwing offers at him. With a .529 career winning percentage and 1,029 victories, there's no doubt that signing Francona would be a massive coup for Cleveland's organization.

As I said Manny is gone!I am hearing Terry Francona is talking to Indians!!!

— Adam the Bull (@AdamtheBullFAN) September 27, 2012

Terry Francona is willing to take less money to get back into the game!

— Adam the Bull (@AdamtheBullFAN) September 27, 2012

Manny Acta fired by Indians; Sandy Alomar a candidate as replacement

The Cleveland Indians fired manager Manny Acta on Thursday. Sandy Alomar will serve as interim manager for the rest of the season and will reportedly be a candidate for the full-time job.