Yawkey Trust Will Sell Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox were put up for sale Friday by the trust of the family that has owned the storied franchise for 67 years.

The Red Sox, whose rich history includes Cy Young, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski, haven’t won a World Series since 1918, two years before they sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees.

The Jean R. Yawkey Trust, which has owned the team since 1992 but whose namesake has had a stake in the club for decades, has been trying to get financing for a $665-million ballpark project which would be built on land adjacent to Fenway.

But efforts by John Harrington, the lawyer who runs the trust, have stalled in recent months.

“The trust was never designed to be a permanent form of ownership,” Harrington said. “The question has always been when and not whether to sell.”

Harrington said he hoped to have a new owner--”preferably a die-hard Red Sox fan from New England”--in place by the start of next season.

He acknowledged the team’s hope to play in a new ballpark by 2004 “looks very unlikely.”

Occasionally choking up, Harrington said he chose to put the team on the market now to enable the new owner to be involved in negotiations for a new stadium because those decisions will affect the team’s finances for the next 30 years.

“There should be no anxiety about the team’s future because of the announcement,” he said, adding he did not expect the team to move. “No owner would turn his back on 2.6 million ardent fans that came to Fenway this season. I’ve always said, ‘Every kid in this town wants to be Nomar [Garciaparra] and every kid over 40 wants to be me.’ ”

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Less than a week after he was fired by the Phillies, Terry Francona has arranged an interview for the managing vacancy of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Francona, 41, had been the youngest manager in the major leagues the past several seasons. The former University of Arizona star was fired Sunday before a final loss dropped Philadelphia’s record this season to 65-97, tied with the Chicago Cubs for worst in the majors. Over the last four seasons, Francona’s Phillies teams had an overall mark of 285-363.

Francona told the Tribune, a newspaper serving suburban Phoenix, he will interview with Diamondback Managing General Partner Jerry Colangelo on Friday.

“I’m actually pretty excited about going and just talking with them,” Francona said. “I don’t think I’m the right fit for all situations, but I just feel like maybe I am here. It’s an honor they even called.”

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Outfielder Albert Belle’s future may be in doubt because of a degenerative hip condition, according to Baltimore Oriole owner Peter Angelos.

“The problem that he has with the hip, while susceptible to rehab and treatment, is not an absolute certainty to come around to the level that he can function to which he once did,” Angelos said on WBAL-AM, the team’s flagship station.

“There is no indication that he won’t be able to continue, but nonetheless it is an injury of serious proportions.”

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Detroit Tiger slugger Juan Gonzalez has hired Scott Boras as his new agent as he prepares to become a free agent, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Gonzalez, traded to Detroit from Texas in a nine-player deal after the 1999 season, dropped longtime representative Jim Bronner in favor of Boras.

Boras, like Bronner, is a well-known agent who has a lot of experience in negotiating large contracts. Last winter, Bronner negotiated a reported eight-year package with the Tigers worth more than $140 million, but Gonzalez turned it down for unknown reasons.

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The Cincinnati Reds will convert Cinergy Field to grass for the ballpark’s final two seasons. Reds Chief Executive John Allen said that the Reds will pay for the removal of the artificial surface and its replacement with grass. Team officials expect the project to cost less than $1 million.