BOSTON -- The ink was barely dry on the purchase-and-sale agreement when the first question was posed to the new owners of the Boston Red Sox.

Do you anticipate making changes in the front office?

The question was couched politely, but a bit of tension soon filled the Diamond Room at Fenway Park, where John Henry, Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino and the rest of the incoming owners came to meet the media and celebrate their $700 million acquisition.

Lucchino, who will serve as the Red Sox President and CEO when the transfer officially takes place after next month's owner's meetings in Arizona, shifted a bit and began a carefully worded response.

		If Dan Duquette was listening for a vote of confidence Friday, he heard only awkward silence.

What the questioner really wanted to know was the same thing going through the minds of most Red Sox fans: Are you going to fire Dan Duquette?

"That would be both presumptuous and improper (to answer) at this time," said Lucchino, who went on to remind everyone that the sale of the team, ending 68 years of ownership or involvement by the Yawkey family, was not entirely complete.

Moreover, the incoming owners have yet to be approved by Major League Baseball. Though, as the clear-cut favorite of commissioner Bud Selig and boasting one current owner (Henry) and one former owner (Werner), that's hardly in doubt.

But if Lucchino sought to diffuse the hot-button issue, he failed. He didn't offer a ringing endorsement of Duquette, who may or may not be around next month to celebrate his seventh year on the job. He didn't dismiss the question out of hand.

Instead, he vamped. He stalled for time. He said nothing when Duquette wanted to hear something.

He confirmed the suspicion held for the past month that, eventually, a change is going to come in the Boston front office. A magnet for controversy, both within his own organization and throughout the game, Duquette is a distinct longshot to survive the change of ownership.

In a November meeting, these same owners had told investors that Duquette would not be the Red Sox GM for 2002 if they gained control of the club.

Now that they have -- or nearly so -- the countdown has begun.

Ironically, the speculation is swelling at a time when Duquette has just executed a neat turnaround of the Red Sox's roster.

In the last two weeks, Duquette has added three starting pitchers who reached double figures in victories last season (free-agent signee John Burkett and trade acquisitions Dustin Hermanson and Darren Oliver); a leadoff man/center fielder (free agent Johnny Damon), and potentially, a Gold Glove second baseman and base-stealing threat (Pokey Reese) who was obtained in a deal Wednesday, only to be non-tendered so as to avoid an expensive trip to the arbitration table. The club is continuing negotiations with Reese and hopeful of a deal.

That run of moves doesn't include claiming Tony Clark off waivers to provide another bat in the middle of the lineup, and the subtraction of Carl Everett, whose presence proved far more harmful than his skills proved useful.

Even Lucchino couldn't help notice the makeover. "The team is better now than it was last year," he said.

Indeed, the starting rotation is improved, and even with the addition of the 37-year-old Burkett, more stable. The infield defense, especially should Reese be signed, is significantly upgraded. And the team speed, again presuming Reese's eventual arrival, has improved immeasurably. Last year, in down years for both, Damon and Reese combined to steal 52 bases; the entire Red Sox team last year stole just 46.

"The best thing I can do the new owners," said Duquette, addressing his own job security, "is provide a competitive team. I believe we'll be a playoff contender with all the work that's been done in the last couple of weeks."

Duquette is probably right. Even if the Yankees win yet another AL East title, many of the Red Sox's wild-card rivals have been weakened, including Cleveland and Oakland.

But that handicapping ignores some obvious facts. Duquette has spent better than $200 million over the last two years while failing to make the postseason either year.

The team's farm system is bereft of prospects at the top levels, and the team suffered one embarrassment after the other last season, on and off the field.

Finally, any group shelling out nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars is likely to want to choose its own management team.

Asked his fate in the wake of the ownership change, Duquette said: "My fate is to help the Red Sox win a World Series championship. I look forward to working with them. The job of a general manager is to provide a competitive and interesting team that can win a world championship. We've consistency done that (over the course of his tenure)."

Henry, Werner, Lucchino have sent additional signals that a change at the top is in the offing. On the morning that J.P. Ricciardi was named general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, an emissary for the group contacted the Massachusetts-born executive and advised him to wait for the Sox post to soon open.

Meanwhile, Lucchino, typical of his attention to detail, has spent the last few months quietly canvassing baseball executives for their opinion on the game's best and worst general managers. Reportedly, Oakland's Billy Beane and San Francisco's Brian Sabean head their dream list.

Aside from his recent personnel moves, the calendar may be Duquette's best ally in his battle to retain his job. The closer it gets to spring training, the tougher it will be to pry a current GM away from his present employer.

But Duquette didn't accept the Red Sox job until January of 1994, so precedent exists for a late-winter switch.

Not long ago, Duquette was said to be quietly rooting for Henry-Werner to win the bidding, since the group includes Les Otten, an owner of ski resorts, and a longtime Duquette friend.

But Otten's influence has been reduced with the addition of Henry and the likes of former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and Duquette may have run out of persuasive allies.

And if Duquette was listening for a vote of confidence Friday, he heard only awkward silence.

Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal covers baseball for ESPN.com.