White Sox Fire LaRussa and Pitching Coach

The Chicago White Sox fired Manager Tony LaRussa Friday, six weeks after management grudgingly gave him a vote of confidence.

Doug Rader, the team’s third-base coach, was named interim manager, White Sox Vice President Ken Harrelson said.

There was no word on a permanent replacement, although speculation has centered on Jim Fregosi, the former manager of the Angels now managing Louisville at the Triple-A level. Fregosi, however, said he had not been contacted by White Sox officials.

Harrelson also fired pitching coach Dave Duncan and will replace him with Dick Bosman, who holds that job with the White Sox’s Triple-A club at Buffalo.

LaRussa was notified Thursday night by Harrelson, ending the eight-year tenure of the American League’s second-longest surviving manager behind Detroit’s Sparky Anderson.

At the time of the firing, the White Sox were 26-38, in sixth place and 8 1/2 games off the American League West lead.

LaRussa posted a 523-510 record in his managerial career with the White Sox. His 1983 club won the AL West in a runaway, the club’s first first-place finish since 1959.