The Red Sox are once again in an October without a manager, but this time around, there's relief heading into the search. General manager Ben Cherington stated before the season even ended that he wanted the search to be quick -- essentially, the opposite of last year's that resulted in Bobby Valentine's hiring. According to WEEI's Rob Bradford, that's just what's happening:

Red Sox to start interviewing managerial candidates Friday per source. No names yet

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) October 10, 2012

That's a week and a day after Valentine was fired, and while there are no names released, it's likely the Red Sox have a list of them. No one knows exactly who is on the list, but a few of last fall's interviewees remain available: Sandy Alomar, Pete Mackanin, Torey Luvullo. There's also John Farrell, whose placement atop Boston's wish list is a terribly kept secret, but because of compensation, he might not even get a chance to interview.

There are also whispers that someone like Brad Ausmus or Bill Mueller, former players who are now assistants to the general manager for the Padres and Dodgers, respectively, could interest Boston. We'll find out possibly as early as Friday, though, once the Sox start talking to the names on their list.