ANGELS NOTEBOOK: BELCHER TRIES TO BE PATIENT.

Byline: Matt McHale Daily News Staff Writer

After 12 seasons and more than 2,300 innings pitched, Tim Belcher's perspective is a little better than his fastball.

No one has to tell him he has pitched terribly in his first season with the Angels, especially last Tuesday when he blew a 10-0 lead against Toronto. His ERA is 9.13.

``A year ago (with Kansas City), I was 0-3 in April and wound up winning 14 games for a last-place team,'' said Belcher, who is making his sixth start today against the Chicago White Sox. ``The only difference is I was throwing well last year when I didn't win until May 10. I am not throwing well now and believe me, no one knows it better than me.

``And unless you've been a pitcher, you have no idea what it is like to stand out on that mound and get your brains beat in. That's a lonely place.''

Belcher, 37, is confident he will come around. Instead of throwing between starts in the bullpen, Belcher played long toss in the outfield during the week. Pitching coach Dick Pole hasn't tried to tinker with his mechanics.

``You can start thinking too much, try to change everything,'' Belcher said. ``I've been making bad pitches, but I've done that before and pulled out of it.''

Angels manager Terry Collins said the team has viewed tapes of Belcher from years past and remains optimistic.

``He no longer has the overpowering fastball so he isn't going to be blowing guys away,'' Collins said. ``That means the margin of error is going to be less. But we signed him to a two-year deal because we think he can do the job and we still do.''

Belcher, who had his best seasons with the Dodgers a decade ago, is now more of a finesse pitcher. He won 42 games in three seasons with the lowly Kansas City Royals and said that production did not disappear over the winter.

``The back of the baseball card doesn't lie,'' he said of his statistics. ``Judge me at the end of the season.''

First steps: Shortstop Gary DiSarcina, sidelined since early March with a broken left forearm, took ground balls for the first time before Saturday's game. DiSarcina, not expected back until after the All-Star break, was encouraged but has no immediate plans to take batting practice.

``My range of motion was pretty good, better than I figured it would be,'' DiSarcina said. ``But the strength is something I have to work on.''

DiSarcina said the strangest thing was putting a glove on his left hand. He suffered the fracture during batting practice when he was struck by a stray fungo off the bat of coach George Hendrick.

``I haven't felt the urge to put a bat in my hands,'' he said.''

ANGELS vs. CHICAGO

Time: 1:05 p.m., at Edison Field

TV/Radio: No TV; KLAC-AM (570), XPRS-AM (1090 Spanish)

Matchup: In the series finale with the White Sox, Tim Belcher (1-1, 9.13 ERA) faces John Snyder (3-1, 1.88). Belcher has been ineffective in three of his four starts, including last Tuesday, when he blew a 10-0 lead to Toronto. Belcher is 5-6 lifetime against the White Sox, with whom he played a half-season in 1993. Snyder spent 3-1/2 years in the Angels organization until being included in the Jim Abbott deal July 27, 1995.

- Matt McHale

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BOX: ANGELS vs. CHICAGO (see text)