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It is kind of funny that this baseball season is not even over yet, but the wheels of the 2013 season are already being put in motion.

For the Cleveland Indians, the timing could not be better.  They just fired their manager Manny Acta, but they already have two great candidates for that vacancy.  According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports is reporting that both Sandy Alomar Jr and Terry Francona could be interested in the position.

Having a fresh perspective from the managerial position could help reinvigorate the team after a very difficult 2012.  For the record, the Indians are sitting at 66-91 on September 29.

It is obvious that something needs to change, so this could be a major improvement going into 2013. Francona in particular has a fantastic track record and two World Series rings to his name.  Having interest from a manager of that caliber must make the Indians pretty excited.

Another interesting development that will surely make a difference in 2013 is the ultimate home for Josh Hamilton.  As one of the premier sluggers in baseball and 2010 MVP award winner, the market will definitely be exciting.

Last week, Hamilton was potentially linked to the San Francisco Giants who always seem to be looking for some type of power hitter.  However, those rumors have definitely quieted down over the past week, and there are not really very many new rumors.

Even without any major leads, this is going to be one of the most talked-about stories for the rest of this year.  Without a doubt, he is the most significant man on the market this winter, and his landing spot will make definite changes to the baseball landscape.

However, before we get too excited about these 2013 stories, there is an excellent race developing right now in the American League Central.  The Chicago White Sox were holding on to the top of the division for most of the season, but within the past week, the Detroit Tigers have taken the lead and are currently up by one game.

Also, the American League Wild Card race is pretty intense right now.  The Oakland Athletics are holding the second spot right now, but they are only two games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and three games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays.  Both Los Angeles and Tampa Bay are playing great baseball right now, some may be some type of miraculous comeback might happen.

So, like I said at the beginning of this article, there are some great stories developing that will make a difference into 2013, but 2012 is far from over.

The Cut-Off Man Chris Berry Interactive Chris Berry Interactive