Kerrigan Fired by the Red Sox

Joe Kerrigan was fired Tuesday as manager of the Boston Red Sox and replaced on an interim basis by third-base coach Mike Cubbage.

It was the second major personnel move made by the Red Sox since John Henry’s ownership group bought the team Feb. 27.

A day after the sale, Dan Duquette was fired as general manager and replaced on an interim basis by Mike Port, a former Angel general manager.

“This kind of decision is always difficult to make,” Port said. “We have the utmost respect for Joe, and admire his work ethic and his achievements as a pitching coach.”

Duquette had promoted Kerrigan late last season after he fired Jimy Williams on Aug. 16.

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Cleveland Indian outfielder Alex Escobar is out for the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during an exhibition game Monday.

Escobar, the key player in the trade that sent All-Star Roberto Alomar to the New York Mets, will undergo reconstructive surgery.

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Rick Ankiel will sit out his next scheduled spring training start for St. Louis because of tightness in his left elbow.... Colorado will be without right-hander Scott Elarton for at least several days because of inflammation and tendinitis in his rotator cuff. Elarton is a candidate for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.... Colorado Manager Buddy Bell returned to the team, five days after leaving spring training for follow-up tests on the back surgery he underwent Dec. 11. Bell has been experiencing pain in his left leg. Tests in Denver revealed he had scar tissue remaining from the disk surgery, and the tissue was impinging on a nerve.