The White Sox say they are going to try to adjust, but they know life without Carlton Fisk won`t be easy.
Fisk will undergo surgery Thursday to have a pin inserted in his right hand, which was broken during Tuesday`s game. Trainer Herm Schneider said the catcher could be out for as long as two months. Initial projections were four to six weeks.
”It could be a little longer,” Schneider said. ”Hopefully, it won`t be.”
The Sox will try to fill the void by using Mark Salas and Ron Karkovice. Karkovice was called up from Triple-A Vancouver, where he was hitting .231 with no homers and five RBIs. He had 18 strikeouts in 65 at-bats.
Together, the pair doesn`t equal one Carlton Fisk. He was off to his best start in recent years, hitting .286 with eight homers and 17 RBIs.
”This is a terrible break,” said General Manager Larry Himes.
”Personally, I thought he was going to be the starting All-Star catcher. This hurts us severely.”
Himes said he briefly considered trying to go elsewhere for another catcher. But he decided that Karkovice deserved another shot, even though he hit .071 as a rookie last year.
”He was the alternative,” Himes said. ”I`ve got a list of some guys, but I thought we`d be better off with Karkovice. It would have been an insult to Karko if we didn`t bring him up.”
Salas will get the bulk of the duty behind the plate. Before Fisk was hurt, he had been primarily a Sunday player.
”I`m sorry it happened this way, but it`s going to be fun to play every day,” Salas said. ”I`m going to try to do as good as he did and help us win some games.”
