FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A winter's worth of anticipation in Boston is expected to culminate in the new Red Sox owners officially taking charge of the franchise Wednesday. One of their first moves will be the firing of Dan Duquette as general manager.

Duquette will be fired Thursday, according to sources close to the ownership group, as long as the final bit of legal work pertaining to the sale of the Red Sox finishes Wednesday as expected.

There is a chance the details of the final transfer could "bleed into Thursday morning," one source close to the ownership group said, in which case the formal move with Duquette could be put off until Friday.

Either way, barring a dramatic last-minute problem with ownership papers or an even more stunning last-minute change of mind, Duquette will be out by week's end.

Then, ownership will have an issue to address that is much less of a slam-dunk: The status of manager Joe Kerrigan, who is no sure thing to finish spring training as a Red Sox employee, either.

Kerrigan was promoted from pitching coach last season after Duquette fired respected manager Jimy Williams. Kerrigan came in with no managerial experience, and the Red Sox quickly went into the tank. In fairness, though, ace Pedro Martinez and shortstop Nomar Garciaparra were shut down for the season early because of serious injuries.

So the questions facing the ownership group led by John Henry and Tom Werner and new CEO Larry Lucchino are these:

Should they allow Kerrigan to start the season, give him a fair chance and take their time searching for a new manager if he fails?

Or, knowing this Boston club is in position to either challenge the New York Yankees for the American League East title or, at the very least, for the AL wild-card playoff position, would the new owners do needless, irreparable damage to the Red Sox's chances in 2002 if they allow Kerrigan to begin the season?

If they opt to fire Kerrigan, it is believed that Boston will approach Cleveland and ask for permission to speak with Grady Little, bench coach for Indians manager Charlie Manuel. Little, a former bench coach with the Red Sox, is highly respected throughout the game and is generally acknowledged to be managerial material.

Whether Cleveland would grant Boston permission to speak with Little remains unclear, though clubs rarely stand in the way of an organizational change if it involves a promotion. However, the timing obviously is awkward in that, if the Indians would allow Little to take over for Kerrigan in Boston, it would leave Manuel and his staff with not much time to replace him before Opening Day.

Kerrigan joined Lucchino and Henry for a long, get-to-know you dinner the other night here in Fort Myers, though no promises were made and Kerrigan said the subject of his job status was not discussed.

"I'm not that insecure of a person to have to ask every day, 'Do I have a job?'" Kerrigan said. "You don't operate like that.''

Kerrigan insists the uncertainty is not weighing on him.

"There's no uncertainty,'' Kerrigan said. "I don't know what you mean by that. You guys (reporters) must think I'm sitting up at 3:30 or 4 a.m. tossing and turning about whether I have a job or not.

"I've got a job.''

But as with everything else in Boston as the new ownership prepares to take full control of the organization, it's not guaranteed beyond this week.

As for Duquette, his contract runs through the end of the 2003 season, and he's guaranteed a $3 million "golden parachute'' when he finally meets his fate this week.

The new ownership's short-term plans after axing Duquette, according to sources, are to turn the baseball reins over to current assistant GMs Mike Port and Lee Thomas. Port, a former GM of the then-California Angels, will become the interim GM and Thomas, a former executive with the Philadelphia Phillies, will handle most baseball personnel decisions.

Meanwhile, former Texas GM Doug Melvin is expected to be brought in as a consultant, and Theo Epstein, a Brookline, Mass., native who currently is the San Diego Padres' director of baseball operations, is expected to be brought in as an assistant GM.

Henry and Lucchino have been very visible at Boston's camp here over the past several days while preparing to take control of the organization. They are determined to make what has been an arrogant organization much more fan friendly, and one of the first statements in that regard came during Tuesday morning's workout when coach Mike Stanley picked about a dozen children out of the crowd to help shag balls in the outfield during batting practice.

While those familiar with the Red Sox organization marveled at the change in atmosphere around camp, things promise to change rapidly in the coming days.