Indians to interview Terry Francona Friday

The Cleveland Indians will interview former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona on Friday for their recently vacated managerial position, reports Jim Duquette of MLB.com:

#Indians fans, In case you missed it yesterday, Francona's interview is Friday in Cleveland.Its his job to lose.

— Jim Duquette (@Jim_Duquette) October 2, 2012

Duquette added that the job is really Francona's to "turn down", insinuating that Francona has the managing job if he wants it. That the job is Francona's not entirely set in stone, as the Indians are also expected to interview interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr. for the role.

Early reports of Francona's interest in managing the Tribe were rife with doubt that he would want to take on a rebuilding team. Speaking to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer earlier this week, however, Francona expressed his excitement at the possible challenge managing in Cleveland could present:

"People don't know me very well if they don't know I like a challenge," said Francona from his home in Tucson, Ariz. "I'm excited by a challenge and I'm not afraid of a challenge. Especially, when I can do it with people I respect and care about."

Francona served as a special assistant to Cleveland president Mark Shapiro in 2001 when Shapiro was the Tribe's GM, and also reportedly has close ties with current GM Chris Antonetti.