FORT MYERS, Fla. - Give the Red Sox' architect credit. He finally got it right. A couple of months before he was fired, Dan Duquette had already begun to sketch a killer baseball blueprint. He envisioned a team that would have power, speed, good pitching, and a joyful personality.

Now he has it.

It's not surprising that the Duke has made a couple of pop visits to the ballpark, just to glance at his craftsmanship. He has built seven other Sox teams and they turned out to be either too fragile, too one-dimensional, or too psychotic. Not this one.

This team has a first baseman who patiently stands on the dugout steps, signs autographs, and quotes Bible verses. This team has a utility infielder who says he can get along with anyone and has the resume to back it up (he once went into business with Albert Belle). This team will not bat Dante Bichette (recently retired) or Troy O'Leary (lucky if he makes the Devil Rays) behind Manny Ramirez and then wonder why Ramirez goes into a slump. This team has a manager who told the players in a meeting, ''If I don't see you hustling on the bases, I assume you're hurt and I've got to sit you down.''

On the day he lost his job, the Duke said ''the homogenization of the organization'' would be his legacy. He's wrong. He should leave those kind of rhymes to Jesse Jackson. His legacy is this team. His legacy is that, in his last days, he just may have constructed a champion.

The former general manager's best day last year was the day he decided that character and talent were equally important.

''Before, I heard it wasn't a real good mix in here,'' Carlos Baerga said yesterday. ''I was talking to Manny and Nomar, and they were saying how much fun this is. They said they had no fun last year.''

Baerga probably will make the team as a utility infielder, but his role is larger than that. He can unify a clubhouse by himself. He believes that his teammates should be his brothers, so he is constantly working the room talking to everybody. When he played in Cleveland, he was one of the few players who could speak his mind to Belle without setting him off. Once, he asked Belle for a favor and the outfielder turned him down because he said he had something else to do.

''That's [expletive], Albert,'' he said with a laugh. ''No you don't. Come on.''

Baerga was so comfortable with Belle that the two began a clothing business called B&B. When he wasn't running his business, Baerga was playing big brother to Ramirez. He knows Manny better than anyone else, which is another reason he may stay.

''Mike Stanley told me to help Manny,'' Baerga said. ''That's what I'm going to do. Manny is a good guy. A humble guy. Ask any player in baseball what he says every time they see him. You'll ask, `How you doing?' and he'll say, `Hey, man. I'm struggling.' He'll say it all the time. He can be hitting .345 with 90 RBIs and he'll say, `Hey, man. I'm struggling.' He's real humble.''

People who followed this team last season will be shocked by the difference in humility, humor, talent, and soul.

Tony Clark can recite Philippians, talk about labor problems, and provide solid protection for Ramirez. Neither the clubhouse nor the lineup had such a presence in 2001. We can speculate all day about Ramirez's second-half psychology, but the truth is that opposing managers got smart. Why pitch to Ramirez when you can pitch to O'Leary and Bichette instead? That's what happened and, indeed, one man became an island. I won't be at all surprised if he hits 50 or 55 home runs this season.

This team doesn't have to be dependent on power. Michael Coleman recently watched Johnny Damon and walked away asking himself questions.

''First, I couldn't understand this stand-up triple he got,'' Coleman said. ''I mean, I thought he would be lucky to get a triple. But he got it standing up. That's fast.

''Then I was standing next to him one day. I looked at him and then I looked at myself. He's much bigger [6 feet 2 inches, 190 pounds] than anyone would expect. I was saying to myself, `Is he really this big?' And man, that dude can cover some ground. I'm a fan.''

Even the Duke's giveaways have turned out well. He would have taken almost anything for Carl Everett, but he wound up with lefthander Darren Oliver from Texas. Oliver has a 0.69 ERA this spring and could be the fifth starter.

Part of these happy days can be linked to spring training, when everyone feels good in 80-degree weather. But there has been a significant change, too. You can see it and feel it.

''I always talk to Manny about how hungry the fans are in Boston,'' Baerga said. ''We talk about how fun it will be to win in a city like that.''

At least four times this spring, the Sox' new ownership has sponsored dinners for players and their families. There will be more team dinners if the team wins in late October. Someone should remember to leave one chair empty, in honor of the old architect.

By Michael Holley

This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 3/24/2002.

Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.