51s’ Bell riding out streak

Nick Christensen

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 | 9:40 a.m.

On a team that's collectively batting .272, Rick Bell's .287 average doesn't exactly stand out.

But take into consideration how streaky Bell has been this season, and that .287 isn't all that bad. Riding a hot streak, Bell was named the Pacific Coast League's Batter of the Week on Monday.

Bell, however, went 0-for-3 in the 51s' 16-14 loss Tuesday to the Edmonton Trappers at Cashman Field.

His tally last week was eight hits and eight runs in 25 at bats, including five home runs and seven RBI. But the wave of hot hitting came after three series in which Bell went a combined 8-for-40 -- preceded by three series when he combined to hit .377. Bell has nine home runs this year, just four shy of his career-best 13 in 2002. He's also on pace to pass his career bests in doubles, walks, and runs.

"The last week or so, I feel like I've swung the bat better," he said before receiving the league's offensive award. "It's a long season, and I'll go through streaks like that."

51s manager Terry Kennedy said he sees nothing unusual about Bell's streakiness.

"Some guys are like that ... and you've got to give the pitchers some credit, too," Kennedy said. "Over the long haul, Rick's improved, his power's increased (and) I think he's taking better quality at bats. In the old days, guys like Joe DiMaggio would play four, five, or six years at Triple-A before going up ... I wouldn't count out Rick Bell."

Just as Bell has been streaky, so has his team. Before Tuesday's loss, the 51s had won three consecutive games. That came after losing nine of their previous 10. Before that dismal stretch, the team had won five of six and was a game under .500.

Despite the losing, this year's 51s team remains remarkably loose in the clubhouse. Bell, in his third year with the team, finds that a positive.

"This group of guys happens to be a little looser," he said. "We haven't been playing that well, but everybody's still coming out, working hard and playing together."

Much of the homegrown talent at Las Vegas has been logjammed at Triple-A for a couple of years -- the only high-profile promotions from the minors over the last few seasons have been catchers Paul LoDuca in 2001 and David Ross in 2003.

The five players on this year's 51s roster who have spent time with the Dodgers have appeared in a combined 56 games with Los Angeles over their careers.

For Bell, the logjam is an incentive to improve his performance.

"It's all our main goal to play in the big leagues at some point; I don't think it can frustrate any of us because we have a job to do here," Bell said. "For now it is where we are; if we don't take care of the jobs here we won't have a chance to go up and help them."

Right now, though, Bell and his teammates are struggling to get it done at Triple-A. May's losing stretch was the worst since manager Rick Sofield's 2001 team went on a 2-for-14 stretch early in the season. In the two years since Sofield's departure, the 51s have posted the two best records in Las Vegas franchise history.

Bell, who was not on that 2001 team, said it's frustrating to go through the doldrums his team is experiencing in 2004.

"We haven't been playing that well; everybody's still coming out, working hard and playing together," he said. "It's been disappointing; it's something where we have to take care of our jobs individually also."