FORT MYERS, Fla. - The new owners of the Boston Red Sox, as bullish in their first days in charge as they were in their battle for control of the lucrative franchise, yesterday stepped up their dramatic makeover of the team by firing novice manager Joe Kerrigan less than a month before Opening Day.

Kerrigan, 48, the club's 42d manager, was still in uniform in his office at City of Palms Park, the team's spring training headquarters, when president Larry Lucchino and interim general manager Mike Port delivered the news he had dreaded receiving for days.

The new owners, meeting in a suite overlooking the field while Kerrigan guided the Sox to a 4-2 exhibition victory over the Atlanta Braves, ultimately concluded he lacked the experience to run the team in which they had just invested $700 million.

Third base coach Mike Cubbage was named interim manager as the team launched a search for a replacement. Former Sox bench coach Grady Little, who currently serves in the same role for the Cleveland Indians, is considered the leader among several candidates for the prestigious, high-pressure job.

''We concluded that it was in the overall best interest to take this course of action immediately,'' said Port, just days after he replaced the deposed Dan Duquette. ''Although he was understandably disappointed at the decision, we're most appreciative of the dignified and professional way Joe handled the situation.''

Kerrigan managed only 43 games for the Sox, posting a record of 17-26 amid weeks of clubhouse tumult after Duquette fired Jimy Williams as manager and promoted Kerrigan from pitching coach Aug. 16. Kerrigan's tenure was the shortest by a Sox manager since 1907.

In addition to Little, the Sox are considering a list of candidates that includes Ken Macha, Felipe Alou, Buck Showalter, Jim Fregosi, Willie Randolph, and Tony Pena. Port said they had yet to seek permission to speak to anyone currently employed in the major leagues, but they hope to have the job filled well before Opening Day.

The new owners said the next manager will have the experience that Kerrigan keenly lacked when Duquette gambled that he could become a big league field boss without ever having managed a baseball team at any level. The new owners weighed Kerrigan's repeated request to be given a chance to prove himself but concluded it would be too risky.

The debate, according to Lucchino, was this: ''Do we take more time and give Joe more of a chance or do we take an action more immediately that we think is both in the short-term and long-term best interest of the franchise? We decided the action for the franchise was more compelling and important than affording Joe an opportunity for additional on-the-job training.''

Kerrigan, who did not return several calls last night, had received endorsements in recent days from several star players, including center fielder Johnny Damon, who suggested Monday that the new owners were doing Kerrigan and the team a disservice by dragging out their decision.

Port indicated he ''moved the ball forward'' yesterday in reaching a decision. He met with Lucchino and principal owner John Henry, who had driven from his home on the Atlantic coast of Florida. Team chairman Tom Werner participated by phone.

Port rejected the argument that the club had unfairly left Kerrigan in limbo.

''We've been transitioned to our new ownership group for I believe just about six days,'' Port said. ''I think we've done a number of things that are moving the Red Sox in a positive direction, as many as can be done in that amount of time. I don't think we unduly delayed things.''

Kerrigan, who will receive the balance of his $1.6 million contract, said Monday that, if he were fired, ''I'll go home and cut my grass for the first time in 29 years. I'll watch how the grass grows and I'll learn how to use a power lawn mower.''

Kerrigan is widely regarded as one of the best pitching coaches in the game, and the new Sox owners are exploring ways to keep him. Though he did not offer Kerrigan the job of pitching coach when he dismissed him as manager, Lucchino said he told him to ''take a few days off and let the dust settle before you make any future plans. That would be our suggestion to you.''

The new owners said they expect to keep the coaching staff intact, barring a decision by Kerrigan to return as pitching coach. In that case, he would replace Ralph Treuel, who succeeded him last year.

Cubbage, 51, was a candidate for the manager's job in Houston that went to Williams. He accepted the interim position with the Sox when Port phoned him at 5:30 p.m., about an hour after Kerrigan's ouster.

All the players had left the clubhouse, and bench coach Mike Stanley was the only uniformed member of the team that Port saw when he and Lucchino dismissed Kerrigan. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes, after Kerrigan improved his spring training record to 3-3 with a win in Pedro Martinez's spring debut.

''He was very professional, very classy in his response,'' Lucchino said. ''I think it was accepted by him in a very mature manner.''

Kerrigan made what turned into a last-ditch pitch for his job yesterday by defending himself against assertions that he had lost the respect of Martinez and Manny Ramirez after publicized clashes last year with the superstars. Kerrigan publicly discussed details of the episodes for the first time, contending that neither incident constituted a ''blowup.''

''I really have to laugh because there were no blowups,'' he said. ''There were no shoutings. There were no run-ins. There were give-and-take discussions. That's what they were with Pedro and Manny.''

In Martinez's case, Kerrigan said, he asked the injured pitcher to monitor some colleagues who would be warming up in the bullpen during a closed practice at Fenway Park after the Sept. 11 attacks.

''He didn't throw a conniption,'' Kerrigan said. ''He said, `No, I'm not a coach.' And I said, `OK, fine.'''

Martinez gave the same account, though he acknowledged he reacted in a ''grouchy'' manner.

''I said, `No, I'm not going to the bullpen. You have a pitching coach. Send him over there,''' Martinez said. ''That was it. I thought I was right by saying I don't want to because I didn't feel like going. It wasn't like anybody was going to force me to go to the bullpen and watch people. He asked me to go and I denied it, and that was it. He was OK with it. He didn't say anything.''

Kerrigan indicated Ramirez bristled when the manager repeatedly asked him to take batting practice to test his sore wrist near the end of the season, but he said it never reached the level of a serious confrontation.

''Manny and I talked about it the other day and kind of laughed about it,'' he said. ''It's amazing how that thing can carry a life of its own. It's incredible.''

The night before he was fired, Kerrigan said he phoned Alou, his former manager when he was pitching coach in Montreal before he joined the Sox in 1996. He said Alou told him not to worry about his job security.

''He gave me some good advice,'' Kerrigan said. ''Basically, just to stay focused on the field.''

He said the two talked about getting together next week when the Sox play two games in Jupiter, Fla., near Alou's home. But it appears the rendezvous has fallen through.

By Bob Hohler from The Boston Globe, March 6, 2002.

This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 3/6/2002.

Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.