by Paul Hoynes, Plain Dealer Reporter , Plain Dealer

Shapiro has spent the past two days doing background checks on a list of candidates the Indians have compiled. It includes a couple of candidates from inside the organization, but Eric Wedge's replacement is expected to come from outside the organization.

The interview process will start soon.

"I've been calling players, current front office people, former front office people and some national analyst to see if there's anyone we've overlooked," said Shapiro.

Shapiro has been talking to teams who have hired managers in the past few years to explore how they went through the process and who their candidates were.

What kind of manager does Shapiro want?

Will he be a veteran such as Mike Hargrove, Larry Bowa, Clint Hurdle, Bob Melvin or Jim Riggleman? Or will he be a bench coach like Boston's Brad Mills or Chicago's Joey Cora, coaches who have plenty of big-league experience but have never managed in the big leagues?

Boston pitching coach John Farrell remains a possibility. As does Torey Lovullo, the Tribe's longtime Class AAA manager, who is expected to be interviewed.

"We're not going to limit ourselves in any way," Shapiro said. "We want to open it up."

Any big-league managerial search triggers "name-game" speculation by the media. Said Shapiro: "I'm not going to be naming names. But when we get down to the final three or five guys, I'm not only going to announce them, I'm going to put them in front of the media."

Shapiro hired Wedge shortly after the 2002 World Series, but he came from inside the organization. This search is going to be wider in scope.

The Indians' coaching staff was fired along with Wedge on Wednesday. Shapiro said he did it to give the new manager a voice in selecting his staff.

But Shapiro will make suggestions as well. He should use those suggestions to pick a diversified group of coaches. Wedge's staff did a good job and worked hard, but there were too many former catchers on it.

Outside of pitching coach Carl Willis, bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez and first base coach Luis Rivera, Jeff Datz, Derek Shelton and Joel Skinner were former catchers. Not to mention Wedge and bullpen catchers Dave Wallace and Dan Williams.

Hiring a manager from outside the organization, along with coaches from other organizations with skills sets besides catching, could help the Indians .

Last man standing: Tomo Ohka will make the last start of the season today for the Tribe.

It will be Ohka's first start since July 18 when he went seven innings against Seattle.

"We'll do whatever we have to do with the bullpen depending on how far Tomo gets us," said Wedge.

It seems like a fitting way to end this endless season of upheaval.

"It was important for me to handle this the right way," Wedge said. "It was important for us as an organization to handle it the right way for the players and coaches. I think we have.

"When tomorrow comes and goes, we'll move onto the next chapter."

When asked if he felt as if he'd been hung out to dry by the organization, Wedge said: "No, not at all. I understand the job. I understand what goes along with that. There are certain things that led us to this point."

The fact that everyone in the Indians organization stayed except Wedge and his coaches did not perturb him.

"That's the way it works," he said.

When told that Shapiro and Indians President Paul Dolan said they would like for the new Indians manager to have a lot of the same qualities Wedge has, he laughed and said, "I don't know what to tell you."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158

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