Deck Stacked Against `No. 52' Devereaux

MILWAUKEE Look at it this way: Mike Devereaux got off to a greatstart last year and finished up batting a career-low .203. So we'llassume Devereaux's forgettable White Sox debut is simply a sign ofgood things to come.

Just trying to look at the bright side on a cold, rainy andbasically horrible day for the new Sox right fielder, who must havechecked his calendar when he got home to make sure it wasn't Fridaythe 13th.

A sample of Devereaux's plight: He arrived at County Stadium to find his jersey, which is supposedto be No. 8, hadn't been made yet. On his first at-bat with the Sox, with bases loaded, one out and theSox leading 1-0 against starter Ricky Bones, Devereaux rapped into adouble play. Hard hit, but right at Bones. End of inning. On the first fly ball hit to him, by Darryl Hamilton with a runneron second in the second inning, Devereaux drifted back to the warningtrack, but let the ball bounce off his glove for a two-base error.The Brewers scored two runs in the inning to take a 6-1 lead. He went 0-for-4. To top things off, a fan in the right-field bleachers tossed a beercan at him.

"At least it was full," Devereaux said.

Devereaux got off to a much better start with the Orioles lastyear. He hit three home runs and had seven RBI in the first week.Tuesday at Wrigley Field, he hit his first home run of the springagainst the Cubs, seemingly a good omen.

Then he gets to the ballpark and has no shirt.

"I don't know. I don't have a jersey," said Devereaux, who pickedNo. 52 from a supply of extras.

"That will be the last time I wear 52," he said. "That's myexcuse."

Devereaux, who committed only one error in 85 games last season,said he had no excuse on the botched fly ball.

"That was terrible. I should have been back to the wall before Ieven had to worry about it. The ball was drifting back and back, andI missed it."

"Very uncharacteristic," Sox manager Gene Lamont said.

It seemed like every time Devereaux got involved in the game,unusual things happened. When he popped up behind home plate tocatcher Joe Oliver leading off the sixth inning, the Brewers ball boysitting near the screen reached out in an attempt to make the catch.

Devereaux seemed to take the bad day in stride. He smiled aboutit, but wasn't laughing it off.

"It's not already forgotten," he said, "but there are a lot ofgames. If you deal with your bad days on a consistent basis . . .then that's another story."

Devereaux wasn't alone. The Sox' other key off-seasonacquisition, designated hitter and cleanup man Chris Sabo, also went0-for-4. And Alex Fernandez was rocked in his debut as the Sox' No.1 starter.

"It seemed like we were all a little flat today," Devereaux said."We're going to leave here, learn from our mistakes and hopefully getup higher for the ballgame (today).

"We'll be ready."