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Can Nolan Ryan Save the Texas Rangers? Again?

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Says Washington, "I guarantee you what he says to our pitchers will be listened to. I'm open to him contributing what he wants, when he wants."

Ryan offering you pitching tips is like Pete Sampras teaching you the mechanics of the serve, Celine Dion showing you how to over-emote or Jenna Jameson suggesting a new position.

"I don't care who you are or what you've done," Rangers starter Brandon McCarthy says. "It's cool to have Nolan Ryan watching you."

Ryan has also treaded lightly in initial interactions with his new employees, acting more as passive observer than wheel re-inventor. When he insisted on meeting each employee individually, taking the time to shake hands, learn their names and get a feel for their positions, Hicks, who routinely skips the Rangers annual holiday party, was taken aback.

"I don't come here with any preconceived ideas about what I want to do," Ryan says. "There's going to be a giant learning curve until I get up to speed. I know this franchise has tried several approaches, none of which has seemed to work too well. I wasn't here when some of the decisions were made and some of the directions taken, so I'm not exactly sure who's responsible for what. For the most part early on, I'll be a great listener. I'll give my opinions later."

His relationship with Daniels is critical to the process. Though half Ryan's age and admittedly awed, the GM's job is to make suggestions and reach a consensus with one of his childhood heroes.

"When we meet," jokes Daniels, "it's Nolan telling the stories and me listening."

Hicks believes the duo will work in close concert whereas past President Tom Schieffer was buried in paperwork and former GM John Hart was busy reading the greens at Dallas National Golf Club.

"The way it should work is that they agree—then come to me," Hicks says. "It's two people, one decision. The only way these things don't work out is if there are big egos and insecurities at play. That's not the case with these two, I can assure you."

Regardless, a chummy front office and a promotions push led by the most beloved player in franchise history won't mean diddly if the Rangers keep losing.

Says Ryan, "A better start would help."

Unfortunately, this year's Rangers will look a lot like last year's Rangers. Remember them? Like the promiscuous girl gulping morning-after pills a week after, they buried themselves in a 23-42 hole before forging a too-little-too-late 52-45 finish. They didn't hit (striking out a club record 1,224 times) or pitch (the starters' 838 innings were baseball's third-fewest in the last 50 years). And their fielding won the trifecta de terrible: Led the league in errors and unearned runs and were last in fielding percentage. The Rangers have finished third or worse in their four-team division for eight consecutive years, and it doesn't seem as though this year is going to be any dif...

Hello, no-hitters! Who can forget Nolan's 6th no-no on June 11, 1990, in Oakland? Then, just for grins, he went out a year later and blanked the Toronto Blue Jays on May 1, 1991, becoming the oldest pitcher (44!) to throw a no-hitter. Seventh heaven, baby! When the Ryan Express was rolling, nobody could touch him.

Hang around Surprise for an hour and someone from the organization, or perhaps a 74-year-old fan in black socks, sandals and a fanny pack, will beat you over the head with the fact that Baseball America recently ranked Texas' farm system the fourth-best in baseball. (The Rangers were 28th a year ago, making theirs the biggest one-year jump in ranking history.)

"We're No. 4!" seems a rather meek rallying cry, but it is significant that the Rangers—considering the age of their star attractions last spring (Sammy Sosa at 38) and this spring (Ryan at 61)—actually boast talent on this side of the hill. Acquired in Daniels' deals, shortstop Elvis Andrus, third baseman Chris Davis, pitcher Eric Hurley, catcher Taylor Teagarden and pitcher Neftali Feliz—all younger than 24—are among the publication's Top 100 prospects.

"What Jon has done in acquiring these kids," Ryan says, "is the backbone of our rebuilding."

This season the Rangers will fixate as much on minor league stats as major league standings, but their future is one of baseball's brightest.

"If rebuilding is a five-step process, we're about at step three," assistant GM Thad Levine said in January at the team's annual mid-winter carnival. "We've turned the corner."

Which brings us, grudgingly, to 2008.

Rangers' frustration in a nutshell: Payroll is down; ticket prices, for a third consecutive season, are up.

"Sometimes it's painful to admit where you are, but the Rangers have done that," longtime TV analyst and former GM Tom Grieve said at the winter carnival. "They're developing. They're taking the slow steps. It's a tough sell to fans, but it's the right direction."

Hicks anticipates a "spike up" on the field, and Daniels chirps that "there can always be a Colorado" unexpectedly surging to the World Series. But most experts are blasé about these Rangers. Neither Fox nor ESPN have scheduled a single Texas game for national broadcast in a season that commences March 31 in Seattle and ends September 28 in Anaheim, California.

"Will this be a much bigger challenge than I anticipated?" Ryan asks. "Probably."

Michael Young will again collect 200-plus hits, and Kinsler will blossom, and diving David Murphy will channel Rusty Greer. But the problem, like it's been since 1972, is pitching. While the New York Mets signed Johan Santana, the Rangers settled for Jason Jennings, fresh off a 2-7 season plagued by arm problems. The Rangers are again stubbornly counting on a staff led by Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla (who last year combined to go 16-23 with an ERA over 5.00) and a bullpen of has-beens (Eddie Guardado) and not-yets (Kazuo Fukumori).

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