It`s not going to be easy for George Bell.
Tuesday night, in his first game as a designated hitter since he left the Blue Jays after the 1990 season, he went an uncomfortable 0 for 5. He was the only starter without a hit.
”Being a DH, you have to concentrate twice,” Bell said Wednesday. ”You have to concentrate watching the game on the bench. You have to concentrate when you go up there and hit. It`s like you`re watching two games.
”You go in and watch the game on television and prepare to get up and hit, but sometimes you can`t do it. You lose your concentration, and you can lose your focus on the game.
”Last night, it was hard. Real hard. But I`ll see what I can do.”
Just in case: Meanwhile, Bell has two first baseman`s gloves in his cubicle.
”I called them (the manufacturer) back, and they`ll send me two more, because those are too big,” he said. He`s played third base and second base in the majors, but never first. Said Bell: ”You`re never too old to learn.” Hey, it`s early: Frank Thomas, after Tuesday night`s victory, called Gene Lamont the perfect manager for this year`s White Sox in that this maturing team can handle Lamont`s relatively hands-off approach. Thomas isn`t alone. Lamont is appreciative.
”I have a pretty good team,” Lamont said Wednesday. ”There are some things I think we need to do, but I`m not just going to try to make this Gene Lamont`s team. The game is the players.”
Catching up: If the Sox do bring up a third catcher, Lamont said, it won`t be until after Monday, which completes a string of seven games in seven days. Carlton Fisk is scheduled to have his sore foot examined Thursday.
Whatever works: The new-brand uniforms, most of them, still didn`t fit at game time Tuesday. So there were adjustments. Among them: Robin Ventura wore Alex Fernandez`s pants.
”If I don`t get any hits,” said Ventura, ”he can have them back. If I get hits, they`re mine.”
He did. They are.
