But Red Sox officials continued to hold out hope that talks with city and state leaders will resume, with debate possibly turning to proposals for a ticket surcharge and game-day parking fees at Fenway-area garages only.

When queried yesterday about whether the Sox will have to wait until next year to build their field of dreams, the governor said: "It looks that way."

"We're not going to sign any new taxes into law," Cellucci said, taking aim at City Hall plans for new meals and hotel taxes to help repay Boston's proposed $120 million investment in the ballpark.

The governor also blasted a plan cooked up in a "brainstorming session" with Mayor Thomas M. Menino to impose new surcharges on commercial parking spaces across the city.

"To say people who come into Boston every day to work (should pay a new parking tax) . . . I don't think you'll ever get the legislators in the suburbs to vote for that," Cellucci said. "I'm not going to support it."

Cellucci's tough comments, which hit a sore spot in Menino's office, came as numerous sources on Beacon Hill and at City Hall said the prognosis for getting a Fenway deal done by July 31 is poor.

But mayoral spokeswoman Carole Brennan said Menino is not throwing in the towel.

"The city is not ready to quit on a new Fenway Park. It's too early to give up," Brennan said. "The governor may think it's over, but we do not."

Still, one source closely following the talks said the major players are already positioning themselves for the demise of the new Fenway effort.

"At this point, with the time running out, people will be starting to think of the exit strategy," the source said. Another source suggested that "people may be trying to kill this project without blood on anyone's hands."

Other observers at the city and state level said it appears Menino has been methodically pulling back from the ballpark effort - evidenced by public criticism of Red Sox executives; late-game questions about the team's financial condition; and a hesitance to bring concrete plans for city investment in the ballpark to the Legislature.

One Menino administration official, a longtime advocate of a new Fenway Park, said the plan now seems to be in serious trouble.

"This has been a debacle since day one," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In a further sign of the project's dire straits, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig sent a letter to Cellucci calling for his continued support, and noting that MLB is prepared to underwrite $70 million in ballpark financing for the Sox.

Cellucci for months has been a strong proponent of the ballpark, offering a variety of ideas to help close a $275 million public financing gap.

But sources said the foundering Fenway plan could ultimately shift support to a quiet Cellucci administration effort to analyze alternate ballpark sites and backup finance plans - an effort that Menino publicly blasted two weeks ago.

Cellucci also lashed out at Menino yesterday for rejecting his idea to have the city finance two Red Sox parking garages - an arrangement that would provide Boston at least $1.5 million in annual profit after debt service and operating expenses.

"I don't understand why the simple proposal to build these parking garages and share some of the revenues, no one seems to want to accept that," Cellucci said. "I keep putting out suggestions and they keep getting batted down."

But Brennan from the mayor's office called the garage deal "double jeopardy."

"We have the state now saying, 'Increase your debt service, but we're not going to help you with your investment,' " Brennan said. "It's a risk. It's an immediate risk."

Eric Convey and Scott Van Voorhis contributed to this report.