Gene Lamont came over this year from the National League. So did Kevin Mitchell.
Lamont has pretty much adjusted to being in the American League. Pretty much. Mitchell is struggling.
The Seattle Mariners turned on the power Wednesday night for a 6-0 victory over the White Sox in front of 21,311 charged-up folks in Comiskey Park.
The charge came from a thunder and lightning storm that delayed things for 1 hour, 20 minutes at the start of the fifth inning. By that time, Ken Griffey already had given the Mariners a 2-0 lead with a fourth-inning homer off Sox starter Kirk McCaskill, whose mark fell to 1-1.
Eventually, Jeff Schaefer and Pete O`Brien homered off him, too, in support of left-hander Dave Fleming, who went 7 2/3 strong innings to even his record at 1-1. Ex-Sox Schaefer now has two career homers-both in the new Comiskey.
And Schaefer has more home runs in 1992 than Mitchell. More on Mitchell later.
The Mariners added a sixth run off Roberto Hernandez in the sixth on walks to Dave Valle and Edgar Martinez and a single by Griffey, who missed the first game of the series Monday with a sore foot.
Leaving the NL Pirates for the Sox managing job was easy on most levels for Lamont. Most, but not all.
Tuesday night, after fulfilling his duties at the annual Sox charity dinner, he got home in time to catch his former club, the Pirates, playing-and beating-the Cubs on the tube for the final two innings.
”I was cheering,” Lamont said. ”I didn`t say who I was cheering for.” He didn`t have to. He was asked if it still feels strange being away from people he virtually lived with for six years.
”Yeah,” he said, ”I guess it is a little bit. It`s just different. It`s hard to explain.
”Like today, I got a golf bag from Doug Drabek. He must have ordered them in the winter for all the coaches. It`s got my name on it.”
The conversation shifted to Andy Van Slyke. That happened just as Ozzie Guillen passed by, wearing a black corduroy cap, complete with earflaps, bearing a Sox logo. Lamont said Van Slyke and Guillen were much alike.
”He`s almost unbearable on the bench when he`s not playing,” the manager said of Van Slyke-and Guillen.
Guillen, in his way, has made Lamont`s transition a little less jarring.
Mitchell got some help from Tim Raines.
Like Raines, Mitchell, batting .206 after going 0 for 3 Wednesday night, has had some trouble making the adjustment to the American League.
”I asked him, `How long did it take you to adjust?` ” Mitchell said Wednesday. ”He said it took him a while.
”He said, `Just keep your head up, because you know you can hit. Everything`s going to be all right.` ”
He`s hit everywhere he`s been. Entering Wednesday`s game, he`d driven in just three runs for Seattle in eight games. During those eight, the Mariners had been outscored 41-22.
This isn`t what they expected when they traed three pitchers for him.
”I see a lot of difference,” Mitchell said. ”They don`t give in. They know I`m a free-swinger.
”I haven`t really seen any fastballs. Usually, when you get one fastball, as a hitter like me, you plan on not missing it. I never see any fastballs.”
Lamont has already adjusted pretty well. Mitchell will. If he has doubts, he needs only to check one figure:
Tim Raines began the night batting .321.
