By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff

Here's what we know in terms of finding a new manager:

Nothing will be settled today according to team sources and the earliest an announcement will be made is next week. Gene Lamont did indeed meet with ownership earlier this week, so he joins Bobby Valentine in that regard.

Torey Lovullo remains in the mix but has not advanced as far in the process as the other two.

Spoke with some people who recently spent time with Valentine and they described him as "really excited" about the idea of managing the Red Sox. But he has not had any communication with the Red Sox since his day-long interview at Fenway Park on Monday.

There are no further interviews scheduled. But you do have to wonder if this delay is somehow related to the Red Sox trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat at the last second.

The Sox were interested in John Farrell, but those talks died when the Blue Jays asked for Clay Buchholz. Dave Waldstein of the New York Times reported that tidbit. Joe Maddon is not leaving Tampa Bay and plans, in fact, to sign a long-term extension.

Is there a mystery candidate beyond that? Probably not. But as GM Ben Cherington said all along, anything is possible.

More likely, the Red Sox are just being methodical and will announce Valentine (or Lamont) as their man next week. We shall see.