Neal Huntington could be on the verge of making a decision about who will be the next manager.

Yesterday, he met with Cleveland third base coach Joel Skinner, who might have been the Pirates general manager's final interviewee for the position.

If so, that means the five candidates are Skinner, Chicago White Sox bench coach Joey Cora, Class AAA Indianapolis manager Trent Jewett, Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach Dave Jauss and Class AAA Lehigh Valley manager John Russell, a former Pirates coach.

A source confirmed yesterday that Boston pitching coach John Farrell, who was high on Huntington's list, has removed himself from consideration and will remain with the Red Sox.

"We've made significant progress in the process," Huntington said last night. "But we're not to a point where I would call it final."

The Pirates won't have an announcement about their manager today. It's more likely to be made Monday, perhaps late in the morning to allow Huntington time to fly to Orlando, Fla., site of the general manager meetings.

While conducting his interviews this week, Huntington also moved ahead on hiring a scouting director and a minor league director.

"I feel good about the process," he said. "We're getting [to the point of] adding some quality people to the Pirate organization."

Former hitting instructor Jeff Manto has been hired by the White Sox as a roving minor-league hitting coordinator.