Chicago ? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Ozzie Guillen already has lost the war with Frank Thomas. He did it by all but begging Thomas to reprise his long-running role of enfant terrible.

The most disruptive thing about Thomas is that everyone is braced for him to be disruptive. And that’s exactly what Guillen played into upon being named the White Sox manager Monday.

Thomas will have to hustle, or else, Guillen said. Thomas will play the game right, or else, Guillen said. Thomas will do things the manager’s way, or else, Guillen said.

And you can hear Frank thinking, “Or else what, big guy?”

So we’ll gather at spring training wondering how the two will coexist. We’ll look for signs in a raised eyebrow, answers in a grimace. We’ll be on constant alert for a Thomas sit-in or a Thomas-Guillen standoff.

It’s almost as if Guillen has dared Thomas to act up. And you just know that, given the dare, Thomas will.

If your brother refuses to stop staring at you at the dinner table, what does your mother tell you to do? Ignore him. That’s what you do with Thomas, who likes to stare at his own statistics.

If I’m the new manager of the White Sox and someone asks me about Thomas, this is what I say: “One of the greatest hitters of our time. I’ll take anybody who can hit 42 home runs and drive in 105 runs. What a guy. Totally misunderstood.”

Instead, Guillen said this: “I’m sorry, but Frank’s going to play my way. If he doesn’t like it. … He was a great teammate, but I hear a lot of negative things about Frank. I love Frank and I want him to be the same player he was in ’91. I want him to be great in the clubhouse and play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.

“I want Frank to respect 24 players and 24 players to respect Frank. We have rules for 25 guys. And if a player doesn’t like the rules …”

There’s something very comforting in those words. Here’s a guy standing up to the bully. Here’s a guy looking out for the team. Here’s a guy who won’t put up with any childish behavior.

It’s also the absolute wrong way to handle Thomas. Question: What was the purpose of Guillen’s challenge?

Answer: To let fans know who’s in charge. It can’t be anything other than that. If Guillen were truly interested in letting Thomas know he isn’t going to stand for selfishness and bad behavior, he would have told it to him in private.

Instead, he said it at an introductory news conference carried live on local radio and cable TV. And it likely served to alienate Thomas for no good reason.

If I’m Thomas, I’m wondering why I’m being picked on by a guy who hit .264 lifetime. If I’m Thomas, I’m wondering what I did last season to deserve the sharp-edged howdy-do from Guillen.

It couldn’t have been the 42 homers (third in the American League) or the .562 slugging percentage (sixth) or the .390 on-base percentage, which led the team.