FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Grady Little knows enough about the turbulent history of the Red Sox to admit his warm welcome won't last if he doesn't win.

		Tuesday, March 12 Because of the timing of passing papers, which coincided with the opening of spring training games, Red Sox ownership began their reign with a timing dilemma. They decided that to continue the old regime was going to be a mistake, so Dan Duquette went the first day, but then they decided that while Joe Kerrigan had run an excellent camp that he, too, was stained by association. Firing Kerrigan midway through spring training left few credible managerial choices. Management looked at the experienced Felipe Alou and Tom Kelly and floated their names. They knew Glenn Hoffman of the Dodgers is gong to manage in the majors someday, and so will Tony Pena, and they pondered Bob Melvin, Arizona's bench coach. But the Red Sox are a unique situation. After all that went on the last few years, where players had a totalitarian relationship with the front office and wondered which Duquette appointee was a spy and which wasn't, this was like the Berlin Wall coming down. They needed the right man who understood the players and what had gone on before. Grady Little and Ken Macha each did -- Little as Jimy Williams' three year bench coach (before he could not take the Duquette regime) and Macha as four-year manager in the minors. Larry Lucchino wanted both a long- and short-term solution, long in terms of building an organizational personality and philosophy, and short because the Red Sox have a $100 million-something payroll. Oakland denied Boston permission to talk to Macha. Then, after Alou gave a brilliant interview and seriously piqued their interest, it was decided to go the Little route. How Little plays in the Boston media remains to be seen, but into a fractured clubhouse walks a man who crosses all lines. At the end of last season, Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro talked to all of his veteran players about the future direction of the club, and what he found was that across all lines -- experience, ethnic, position -- the players all held Little in the highest of regard. "He could be," says Shapiro, "Boston's Joe Torre."

"That was touching," he said Monday, one hour after players applauded at the meeting where he was introduced as their new manager. "We'll see what kind of reception I get when I leave in October."

If it's anything like Boston's last 83 seasons -- all completed without a championship -- it will be more subdued. But this season is unlikely to end with the turmoil that swept the clubhouse late last season.

Little, bench coach in Boston from 1997 to 1999 and at Cleveland since then, was hired Monday as the team's third manager in a week and fourth in seven months.

Yet his appointment is another major move in stabilizing the franchise.

The makeover began Feb. 27 when John Henry and his partners bought the team. The next day, they fired general manager Dan Duquette, whose aloof style alienated players. Five days later, they dumped manager Joe Kerrigan, who took over last Aug. 16 when Duquette fired Jimy Williams.

Third-base coach Mike Cubbage became interim manager and interviewed for the job along with Little and former Montreal manager Felipe Alou. At about 11 p.m. ET Sunday, Little learned he got it, then agreed to a two-year contract with club options.

"I laid in the bed with my eyes closed but I couldn't tell you I was sleeping," he said, describing his excitement.

He's the 43rd manager of a club that last won the World Series in 1918, lost a one-game playoff to the New York Yankees in 1978 when Bucky Dent hit a three-run homer, and lost a chance to win the 1986 World Series in Game 6 on Bob Stanley's wild pitch and Bill Buckner's error against the New York Mets.

Now Cleveland must make up for its loss of Little. It plans to hire a bench coach from within the organization.

"I'm really happy for him. That's what he really wanted," manager Charlie Manuel said. Little managed 26 games for the Indians the past two seasons, going 16-10, while Manuel had health problems

Little, 52, reached the majors in 1996 as bullpen coach in San Diego where Boston co-owner Tom Werner was an owner and Larry Lucchino was president, his current role with the Red Sox.

Little's folksy manner, keen baseball mind and 16 years of minor-league managing experience in the Atlanta, Baltimore and Toronto organizations starting in 1980 were key assets. So was his familiarity with current Red Sox players. Twelve of them were on the 1999 team that reached the AL championship series under Williams with Little at his side.

"It's almost like promoting from within. There's something about someone who knows your system," Lucchino said. "That was a significant part of it, but we knew we had several good choices."

Cubbage, 51, ran the team smoothly since last Wednesday and expects to manage against St. Louis on Tuesday and Montreal on Wednesday, both in Jupiter, before Little takes over Thursday night at home against Minnesota.

"He's been deserving of a job for a long time," a gracious Cubbage told reporters. "I guess the next time I talk to you guys is when I get somebody thrown out at the plate."

Cubbage will remain a coach, Lucchino said, and most if not all the coaches are expected to remain.

Alou, 66 was respected in his nine-plus seasons as manager of the Expos before being fired last season.

"I got to talk to him" said Pedro Martinez, who played for Alou in Montreal. "He's OK. Everything is fine."

For a change, everything seems fine with the Red Sox.

Last season, Williams and Kerrigan had problems with players _ Carl Everett clashed with both, Manny Ramirez was uncomfortable in the cramped clubhouse and others whined about playing time.

Now the stifling aura of Duquette, who supported Everett in 2000 in a run-in with Williams and exercised firm control over the franchise, is gone. Little, who left in 1999 after Duquette wouldn't give him a two-year contract, finally has a chance to manage in the majors.

"We were well aware of the mini-melodramas that took place at the end of the season," Lucchino said. "We think Grady has the right temperament for this franchise right now."

He said Little was one of the first people he thought of when he considered a possible managerial change early in spring training but wanted to get to know Kerrigan first. But Kerrigan didn't have Little's managerial experience or demeanor.

"I can keep a club relaxed, and the production seems to be better when they're like that," Little said.

Now that mood is in the manager's office.

"He greeted everybody. You could tell he was excited," first baseman Brian Daubach said before Monday's 8-8, 10-inning against Texas. "All the uncertainty is gone."

Little, a four-time minor league manager of the year, doesn't think having just three weeks of spring training will be a problem.

The search was expected to take longer, but Lucchino and Port met Sunday to consider the candidates then spoke by telephone with Henry and Werner after former Minnesota manager Tom Kelly declined to be interviewed.

"It was basically a recognition that this thing could drift if we allowed it because our personalities are such that we like to be as thorough as possible," Lucchino said.

Red Sox players couldn't have been much happier.

"The reaction in the clubhouse was jubilant," Lucchino said. "There were just smiles from ear to ear."

That really shows how much things have changed.

"I'll tell you like I'm going to tell the players," Little said, "just buckle up. We're getting ready to have a good ride."