Kevin Mench and Michael Young had reported to spring training early and were looking to get some work done. With rain falling on the field, the two Texas Rangers teammates headed to the batting cages to hit.

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Not so fast. Young and Mench were ordered to put on full uniforms, not just shorts and T-shirts, if they wanted to work out.

Mark Teixeira, baseball's alpha prospect, went to the cages in full uniform but wasn't wearing a cap. He was ordered back into the clubhouse to get a cap before he could take his hacks.

Welcome back, Buck Showalter.

No one sweats the small stuff more than Showalter, who has returned from two years in the ESPN studio to resume his managerial career. It has been a good one, marked thus far by his helping the New York Yankees end a 13-year playoff drought and guiding the Arizona Diamondbacks to 100 wins in the franchise's second season.

	Buck Showalter takes over a Rangers team which has finished in last place in the AL West each of the last three seasons.

Showalter has compiled a .528 winning percentage in seven seasons as a major-league manager after finishing in first place three of four years he managed in the minors. But his one historical distinction came after he got fired by the Yankees' George Steinbrenner and the Diamondbacks' Jerry Colangelo.

Both of his teams won the World Series the season after they got rid of him. This will make a fellow think, if not change his ways of doing business.

"I'm comfortable with the way we do business,'' Showalter says. "People who have played for me know that it works. You know how those things snowball. I consider the source.''

Showalter's attention to detail was celebrated in New York, where he was named the American League's Manager of the Year in 1994. It is what drew Colangelo to him. He didn't just hire Showalter to manage his team, but also gave him a mandate to mold an expansion franchise from the ground up.

Showalter was involved in everything from color schemes to scouting in Arizona. His tireless work made the Diamondbacks the most successful expansion team ever but quickly reached a point of diminishing returns, at least according to Colangelo.

New man at the top

Buck Showalter is one of 10 managers who will open the season with new teams. Here's a look at the others, listed in the order of career victories: Lou Piniella, Devils Rays (1,319-1,135) Two years after winning 116 games in Seattle, Piniella takes over his hometown team with a goal of winning 70 games. If he achieves that with a roster that could find 17 of 25 players making minimum wage, he should win his third Manager of the Year award. Art Howe, Mets (992-951) Like Jason Giambi before him, Howe left Oakland because he felt undercompensated. Some believe he'll be exposed as a manager without the Athletics' Big Three, but don't forget that he did a good job in Houston before going to Oakland. Howe hasn't yet been appreciated as a guy who maximizes his players' performance. That recognition will come if Tom Glavine helps the Mets seriously contend in the NL East. Dusty Baker, Cubs (840-715) Had there been enough room for the egos of owner Peter Magowan and Baker in one organization, Baker would still be in San Francisco. Instead he's accepted baseball's Mission Impossible. After leading the Giants to winning records in each of the last six seasons, including a trip to the World Series in 2002, he takes over a team that hasn't had back-to-back winning years since 1971-72. There are too many holes in this lineup for him to produce an immediate contender. Felipe Alou, Giants (691-717) San Francisco GM Brian Sabean wanted to deliver a name manager to take over for Baker and found one in the highly respected Alou. But Alou will have to prove he hasn't lost his fastball. After all, he turns 68 in May and failed to win even 70 games in any of his last four seasons in Montreal, where Frank Robinson produced an 83-win season in the first year post-Alou. Ken Macha, A's One of five first-time managers, Howe's second-in-command takes over under a mandate to take Oakland deep into the playoffs. He was widely interviewed for jobs last winter and seemed headed for Milwaukee before Howe bolted for New York. Talk about an upgrade in upward mobility. The risk is that Macha could fall out of favor in a hurry if things don't go well in 2003, a critical season given MVP Miguel Tejada's impending free agency. Bob Melvin, Mariners Never a big name but always highly respected as a player and coach, Melvin is positioned to be the most successful of the unproven managers. He takes over a veteran team that won 93 games but missed the playoffs last year. That's a good spot to be in. Alan Trammell, Tigers Despite building an impeccable reputation as a star shortstop in Detroit, Trammell isn't one of those guys who believes anyone owes him anything. He went to work as a coach when his playing career ended and turned himself into the best possible candidate for the very difficult assignment of turning around a team coming off nine consecutive losing seasons. He'll do well but the Tigers are at least two seasons away from respectability. Eric Wedge, Indians According to GM Mark Shapiro, Wedge brings a 9-to-5 work ethic that found him in Cleveland's offices during the off-season, consulting on player moves and other front-office functions. Why, then, did it take most of spring training to determine they didn't want Mike Brown back as pitching coach? The late appointment of Wedge's hand-picked pitching coach, Carl Willis, raises questions. Ned Yost, Brewers Here's a man with a dry sense of humor, which he'll need managing a team that hasn't had a winning season since 1992, when Milwaukee was still in the AL and Pat Listach was the Rookie of the Year. Yost is a long-time Bobby Cox lieutenant. Let's hope he can contribute more than the Brewers' last Atlanta import, former GM Dean Taylor.

When Showalter was fired after 2000, when his team added Curt Schilling to a rotation with Randy Johnson but still missed the playoffs, Bob Brenly -- a polar opposite of Showalter -- took over. He made a public showing of tearing up Showalter's "rulebook'' at his first meeting with Arizona players, which earned him great public support.

It was a cheap trick and overlooks the fact that the Diamondbacks continue to do most things on the field the way Showalter designed them. But because Johnson, Schilling and the baseball gods delivered a seven-game World Series victory for Arizona in 2001, it worked.

Brenly, the class clown, was celebrated. Showalter, the valedictorian, was written off.

"What happened in Arizona was laughable to me,'' says Rangers general manager John Hart. "What's wrong with having high standards? What's wrong with caring about it? What's wrong with wanting players to develop? Buck is a special, very special, guy.''

Tom Hicks, the embattled owner of the Rangers and the NHL's Dallas Stars, was swept away by Showalter when they met in October. He put his other scheduled interviews on hold and pounded out a contract to make Showalter Texas' third manager in three seasons. He now says Showalter should be worth at least 10 victories for a team coming off three consecutive last-place finishes in the loaded AL West.

"Buck will make a difference,'' Hicks said. "We've never had here what he brings. You watch the way he communicates with the staff and with players. I think he helps them raise their own expectations.''

Such rhetoric might be required, but it's really just so much nonsense. It speaks to Showalter's integrity that he not only knows it, but also puts a completely different spin on his situation.

The Rangers' problem lies in a lack of pitching, not the job performance in the manager's office. They went to the playoffs four times under Johnny Oates, who was replaced by Jerry Narron after an 11-17 start in 2001. Narron commanded respect.

"Johnny and Jerry Narron are two guys I respected a lot, and still do,'' Showalter said. "I think I was always pulling for them with their backgrounds. A lot of people forget that a short time ago this was a very good club.''

Showalter often thinks about Oates, who is in the second year of his battle with brain cancer. As an outfielder-first baseman with the unfortunate lack of both power and speed, Showalter played for Oates two years in the Yankees' farm system.

"He's the best I ever played for,'' Showalter said. "He was just the whole package.''

Showalter denies any personal motivation to prove himself all over again. He disputes those who say he is consumed by competition, saying he found plenty of ways to walk his beat-you gene while out of uniform.

"I got my handicap down,'' Showalter said. "I was competitive with ESPN. Live television was tough. So was being responsible for (knowing about) 30 teams. I did have guilt-free offseasons, but that's about it ... I wouldn't have come back if I didn't think this was the right job.''

Yet Showalter's actions seem to reveal a sense of urgency. He and his coaches -- including his new pitching coach, Orel Hershiser -- have held long meetings after exhibition games, sometimes keeping family members waiting for as much as three hours. A lack of preparation is one issue the Rangers won't have to deal with.

Yet the roster assembled by Hicks and Hart still has last-place written all over it. Alex Rodriguez deserves better, but it doesn't seem like this will be the year he gets it.

Despite the continual bashing about his handling of pitchers, it's hard to see how the Rangers are better off without Ivan Rodriguez. Ditto Kenny Rogers, who was their only double-figure winner last season.

A monster year by Juan Gonzalez or Rookie of the Year frontrunner Mark Teixeira would complement the production they are almost guaranteed from Rafael Palmeiro and Rodriguez. But Showalter, again admirably honest, says a mouthful with his assessment of his pitching staff.

"We've got to get lucky,'' he says.

In his second season after replacing Doug Melvin, Hart has left the Rangers in Nowhere Land. They don't have the pitching to compete -- in large part because the 2002 arms buildup (Chan Ho Park, John Rocker, Todd Van Poppel and Jay Powell) was a major bust -- but refuse to commit to a full-fledged rebuilding campaign, most likely because they don't want to test A-Rod's patience.

So Hicks and Hart sell Showalter as the magic man. Showalter knows better.

He's just a small-town guy who enjoys walking around Wal-Mart while snacking on popcorn and an Icee. He's a demanding manager with an old-school respect for authority who doesn't blame his shortcomings on others. He is going to work as hard as possible to deliver for Hicks, just as he did for Steinbrenner and Colangelo.

"I've had three great owners,'' Showalter says. "If you don't have a problem with accountability, those are three great owners to work for.''

There are right ways to do everything and Showalter has spent much of his 46 years figuring them out. He's happy to have another chance to prove that they work but he'll need plenty of patience, both for himself and for his team

Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com.