Tony LaRussa was fired Thursday night as the White Sox manager. He was expected to be replaced for Friday`s game by Doug Rader, his hitting coach, who will serve as an interim manager.
Pitching coach Dave Duncan has also been dismissed and will be replaced on an interim basis by Dick Bosman, currently the pitching coach with the Sox`s Triple A Buffalo farm club.
One of the reasons for LaRussa`s dismissal was his continued support for Duncan, a White Sox source said.
La Russa`s successor was expected to be Jim Fregosi, currently managing the St. Louis Cardinals` Triple A farm club in Louisville. WBBM radio reported that Fregosi had accepted the job, but Fregosi told The Associated Press Friday he hadn`t been contacted.
Fregosi, 44, has had previous major-league managerial experience. He took over the California Angels 45 games into the 1978 season and was fired 47 games into the 1981 season. The Angels won the American League West in 1979.
Louisville owner A.R. Smith said Thursday he hadn`t been contacted by the Sox. ”It`s like a courtesy,” said Smith. ”What can I do if they want to hire the guy?”
Former Yankee manager Billy Martin was definitely not a candidate, according to the Sox source.
Ken Harrelson, the club`s front-office boss, advised LaRussa of his dismissal after the Sox returned to Chicago Thursday night from Minneapolis.
The LaRussa firing ends several months of in-fighting between Harrelson and LaRussa. Co-owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who previously had supported LaRussa, swung to Harrelson`s corner earlier this week and reportedly told him:
”You`re in charge. You do what you think is best.”
Harrelson reportedly met with Reinsdorf Thursday in Chicago. Harrelson wouldn`t say if anything was in the works. ”I`m not going to get into that kind of talk again,” Harrelson said.
Harrelson was roundly criticized for his handling of last month`s LaRussa affair, in which rumors were flying that the next minute would be the manager`s last.
With the team off to a 7-18 start this season, LaRussa was prepared to quit May 8 before the Sox gave him what he wanted–one pitching coach and his old third-base coach, Joe Nossek. The result was that Moe Drabowsky, who was working with relievers, and hitting coach Willie Horton–both brought in by Harrelson at the start of his reign–were reassigned to other duties in the organization, and Duncan became the only pitching coach.
With Martin apparently waiting in the wings to take over, Reinsdorf and co-owner Eddie Einhorn asked Harrelson to make the final decision. Harrelson decided to give LaRussa a chance to win or lose with his own system.
The Sox promptly won 10 of their next 12 games, but have since gone 9-18, including a five-game losing streak that was snapped Thursday with a 9-8 victory over Minnesota. The last straw might have come Wednesday, when the Sox blew a 9-5 lead in the ninth inning and lost 10-9 in the 10th.
LaRussa, who made $220,000 a year and was the third-highest paid manager in baseball behind Baltimore`s Earl Weaver and the Dodgers` Tommy Lasorda, had a 523-510 record in his eight years with the Sox. He had the second-longest tenure in the American League, behind Detroit`s Sparky Anderson.
First-base Eddie Brinkman also will be staying, but Nossek was expected to return to his job as an advance scout. It was not known if bullpen coach Art Kusnyer would stay, but if he doesn`t, former catcher Marc Hill may take over those duties.
Fregosi has had a successful career at Louisville. The Redbirds were the winningest team in the minors in 1983 and drew more than a million fans, the only time that`s been done in minor-league history.
