Thornton's master plan
Sox reliever pitches goal: earning a spot in starting rotation
By Mark Gonzales
Tribune staff reporter
August 23, 2006, 10:27 PM CDT
DETROIT -- Matt Thornton has some unfinished business he wouldn't mind settling with the White Sox if asked.
Thornton said Wednesday he would welcome a chance to join the rotation as a starter."I would love to start again," said Thornton, who resurrected his career this season with the Sox as a reliever. "They're having a heck of a time getting [brandon] McCarthy in the rotation right now. He had a great career as a starter in the minors.
"That's something I don't worry about. If they came to me down the road to see if [i'd] want to start, I'd be more than willing. I'd love to."
Thornton, 29, was a starter in the Seattle organization until he reached the majors in 2004. After he walked seven in his only major-league start against the White Sox, the Mariners optioned him to Triple-A Tacoma to "get it figured out," he said.
"I threw about 28 innings [in the minors], struck out 35 and walked eight, but I never got a start in the majors again," Thornton said. "It blew my mind, especially with the way their starters struggled."
Thornton said he threw harder as a starter than as a reliever until this year "because my first inning was my worst as a starter, which is one of the reasons I struggled as a reliever. I had to settle in. You have to get a feel for things and work as you go, and the first inning was my rough inning."
Thornton said he noticed a significant difference in his velocity when he was sent back down as a starter.
"I would throw about 93 m.p.h. in the first inning but 96 or 97 by the fourth," he said.
Thornton's quick development enabled the Sox to option rookie Boone Logan to Triple A Charlotte in mid-May, with Thornton taking over the late-inning left-handed duties in place of struggling Neal Cotts.
Thornton, who had a 2.65 ERA in his last 38 games entering Wednesday night, has enjoyed his role as a reliever with the Sox with the likelihood he'll easily surpass last year's mark of 55 appearances.