QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 11:01 AM)
When this team was really struggling, Thome wasn't playing well. Also, his sub .200 batting average against LHP really hurts us, as we needed more production from the DH spot against the great lefties in the AL. As you can tell by how I gave guys like Konerko and Owens the same grade, it didn't just have to do with production, but playing up to their capabilities as well.
2004-2006 Thome is a .226 hitter against lefties. So he would've gotten an A if he would've just hit .226?
We knew he sucked against lefties going into this season. In fact, many of us were crying for a semi-platoon against lefties. I don't see how it's fair to grade Thome hard because he's not "playing up to his capabilities" if we acknowledged preseason that he sucks against lefties. We didn't get Jim Thome because of his ability to hit LHP!