The online betting sites have assumed all along that Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux was either going to manage the Chicago Cubs or Boston Red Sox next season. When Maddux pulled himself out of contention for the Red Sox’ job, it became a foregone conclusion that Maddux would wind up in Chicago. But, despite a Maddux press conference earlier in the week, the Cubs have not made any announcements yet.

The price per head bookie experts have now given the “heir apparent” title in Boston to Sandy Alomar. Alomar has been seen in and out of Fenway Park and has been giving several indications that he not only wants the job, but that he has been told he is a top candidate.

So where does that leave the Cubs? The Toronto Blue Jays took John Farrell off the market last year when Farrell was named as the replacement for the retired Cito Gaston. The Cubs have been knocking a lot of names around, including the name Mike Maddux. But the name that keeps putting Maddux on hold is former Red Sox manager Terry Francona. New Cubs’ president Theo Epstein has indicated that Francona would be interviewed for Chicago’s vacant managerial position, but nothing further has been said about Francona.

With the Cubs hesitant to name Maddux the manager, it points to another candidate that the Cubs feel strongly about. That candidate could be Terry Francona. The history between Epstein and Francona includes two World Series titles in Boston. Francona’s time with the Red Sox did not end well, but Epstein could be looking past that and seeing the man that helped Boston regain World Series glory.