bjm676 Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines Thomas won't report on time due to injury White Sox slugger Frank Thomas hasn't recovered from an ankle injury that required offseason surgery and will miss Monday's reporting deadline. Head trainer Herm Schneider said Friday that the team has "no real timetable" for Thomas' return. White Sox general manager Ken Williams had said that the two-time American League MVP was expected to report with the rest of the position players. Pitchers, catchers and a handful of other players reported Wednesday. "I am disappointed for him," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We want to have him here, but I knew this was going to happen. ... That is why I prepared myself and my team to move on without Frank. When Frank is here, we will take care of him." Thomas had a bone graft and two screws inserted on Oct. 6 to repair a partial stress fracture of his left ankle, injured while fielding a grounder June 17. A decision on Thomas' return will be made after he meets with doctors the first week of March. "Frank's moving along nicely but slowly," Schneider said. "The problem he has is a slow healing process. He is walking on the treadmill, he is going into the deep end of the pool and doing exercises on a very low level, but he is moving forward." The injury cut Thomas' season short, but he still managed 18 homers and 49 RBIs in 74 games. At the time of his injury he was leading the AL in on-base percentage (.434), walks (64) and was fifth in slugging percentage (.563). "Look at last year, even when he was hurting he was getting walks and getting on base," center fielder Aaron Rowand said. "I hope he comes back healthy." Thomas has a career .308 average with 436 career homers, 1,439 RBIs and 1,450 walks. Carl Everett, acquired last season in a trade with Montreal, will see action as the designated hitter while Thomas is out. The temperamental outfielder arrived at camp nearly 20 pounds lighter, to Guillen's delight. "I am very happy with the way Carl showed up for spring training," Guillen said. "He is in shape. He knows if he doesn't show up in shape he is going to be my next bench coach." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosMediasBlancas Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 'No real timetable' doesn't sound promising. Didn't K-Dubya say mid March just 2 days ago somewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddy Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 i hope to hell he gets back on track soon. I think he's really key to our success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winninguglyin83 Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 we'll be fortunate if he's ready by the end of May. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 (edited) here's what I wrote in an email the other day with a friend... Frank is a HOF calibur player who I doubt ever touched steroids, so let's celebrate this piece of good pub from Mariotti, becuase when Frank chooses to finish out his rehab in Vegas and not Tuscon, Mariotti will be the first to call him selfish and a cancer. --- RotoWorld: While manager Ozzie Guillen keeps saying June, GM Ken Williams believes there's still a chance Frank Thomas could be ready for Opening Day. ''We won't gauge where he is until he shows up,'' Williams said. ''A lot can happen in two weeks, and it has been two weeks since his last [rehabilitation] report.'' Williams said the last report put Thomas ''on schedule for mid-March'' as he recovers from foot surgery. I'm anxiously awaiting Kotex Boy's next Frank column Edited February 18, 2005 by Gene Honda Civic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 The Sox don't expect him to play opening day now; TUCSON, Ariz. — Frank Thomas isn't coming to White Sox training camp until he goes to the doctor one more time. Two days after general manager Ken Williams said he expected Thomas in camp Monday, the Sox revised their projection to early March — increasing the likelihood the two-time MVP will not be ready by Opening Day. "I spoke to Dr. (Richard) Ferkel, who is the doctor that operated on Frank," Sox trainer Herm Schneider said Friday. "He saw him in early February, said Frank could start doing some weight-bearing things ... but he said he didn't want Frank to entertain coming to spring training until after he saw him in early March." Schneider wouldn't hazard a guess as to when Thomas would be ready to play, saying only that the club has "no timetable" on his return to the lineup. Williams went a bit further, saying, "We prepared this club and built it with the mind-set that he may not be ready. "If he's ready, it's a bonus. Whenever that is, it'll be a shot in the arm and we'll gladly accept it, but up until that day our focus is going to be on what we have here in camp and what will be ready for us Opening Day." In October, Thomas underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in the navicular bone in his left ankle. Thomas suffered the injury on June 17 while playing first base in an interleague game against the Florida Marlins in Miami. He went on the disabled list July 10 and missed the rest of the season after attempts to let the injury heal naturally proved unsuccessful. Thomas hasn't been cleared for baseball-related activities yet, and the Sox were unwilling to guess when he might be. Nor has he begun jogging, though Schneider said Thomas has been working out in swimming pools and walking on a treadmill. Asked how long it might take Thomas to get in playing shape once he is cleared to participate in baseball activities, Schneider said "a month," but only on the assumption that Thomas suffered no setbacks. Williams painted an equally bleak picture, saying, "If he were here and ready to go full speed mid-March, then conceivably you could have dreamed about Opening Day." What does he dream about now? "I dream about these guys right here going out and playing every day as hard as they can ... playing the way we drew it up," Williams said. Yet, there is no arguing the picture is incomplete without Thomas. The Sox were 39-30 (.565) with Thomas in the lineup last season and 44-49 (.473) without him. His .434 on-base percentage would have led the American League, his .563 slugging percentage would have ranked fifth, and he was on pace for 39 homers and a career-high 140 walks. His 64 walks ranked second on the team, though he played in only 74 games. "He's a Hall of Famer — or should be a Hall of Famer," Williams said. "Whenever it is he gets injected into the lineup, it can't help but make us better." Carl Everett figures to get the bulk of the at-bats at designated hitter in Thomas' absence. He, too, had an injury-plagued 2004, but has received glowing reviews for his conditioning since arriving in camp. The Sox spent a lot of time over the winter keeping tabs on Everett. Was that in part because they were aware Thomas' return was going to be delayed? "We know Frank wasn't going to come back, (but knowing) Frank's not going to come back is not the reason we did that," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "The reason we told him to come in shape is because he's a big part of this team." The same might no longer be true of Thomas. His contract can be bought out after this season for $3.5 million. "If Frank's not ready, 90 to 100 percent, it's going to be hard for him to be in the lineup," Guillen said. "Right now we only have one goal, and that goal is for us to win." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvjeremylv Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 (edited) QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Feb 19, 2005 -> 04:47 AM) The Sox were 39-30 (.565) with Thomas in the lineup last season and 44-49 (.473) without him. His .434 on-base percentage would have led the American League, his .563 slugging percentage would have ranked fifth, and he was on pace for 39 homers and a career-high 140 walks. His 64 walks ranked second on the team, though he played in only 74 games. Wow. That difference in records is made even more amazing when you consider that not only did we have Thomas in the first 69 games that we played .565 ball, we DIDN'T have Freddy Garcia. The last 93 games, we had a far better rotation, but without Frank, it didn't seem to matter. He's far more important to this franchise than many people realize. And the fact that he had the 2nd most walks on the team despite not even playing half the season is sad. What a joke. Edited February 19, 2005 by lvjeremylv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitetrain8601 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 I went to whitesox.com and the headline of an article says they expect him to come back for the Cactus League. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Feb 19, 2005 -> 09:03 AM) Wow. That difference in records is made even more amazing when you consider that not only did we have Thomas in the first 69 games that we played .565 ball, we DIDN'T have Freddy Garcia. The last 93 games, we had a far better rotation, but without Frank, it didn't seem to matter. He's far more important to this franchise than many people realize. And the fact that he had the 2nd most walks on the team despite not even playing half the season is sad. What a joke. We also had Magglio Ordonez for most of those games that we had Frank. We were missing both of them in most of the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 We'll miss him, but I do believe Everett is faster than Frank, so in the time being, I'd have to say we'll be fine...tho we need Franks power numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSGuy406 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 QUOTE(Beastly @ Feb 19, 2005 -> 05:30 PM) We'll miss him, but I do believe Everett is faster than Frank, so in the time being, I'd have to say we'll be fine...tho we need Franks power numbers. So, because Everett is faster than Thomas, we'll be fine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 Haha yeah, that doesn't really make sense. It's like which snail is faster. Anyway, I do agree with the principle that Everett will be a solid performer while Frank is out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Feb 19, 2005 -> 12:15 PM) So, because Everett is faster than Thomas, we'll be fine? Ha ha, very funny, you are quite the comedian, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Feb 19, 2005 -> 12:16 PM) Anyway, I do agree with the principle that Everett will be a solid performer while Frank is out. Which is what I was meaning to say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSGuy406 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 QUOTE(Beastly @ Feb 19, 2005 -> 06:24 PM) Ha ha, very funny, you are quite the comedian, eh? QUOTE(Beastly @ Feb 19, 2005 -> 06:25 PM) Which is what I was meaning to say... I'm real sorry that I can't interpret what you mean, okay? Don't say stupid things... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Feb 19, 2005 -> 12:40 PM) I'm real sorry that I can't interpret what you mean, okay? Don't say stupid things... I didn't say something stupid, I just didn't read what I say, alright buddy? I'm not going to get heated with you over this, it would be stupid to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSGuy406 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 (edited) QUOTE(Beastly @ Feb 19, 2005 -> 07:32 PM) I didn't say something stupid, I just didn't read what I say, alright buddy? I'm not going to get heated with you over this, it would be stupid to do so. I'm not trying to make it heated. You were the one who made the 'comedian' comment, and I was just saying that I interpreted what you said: ...but I do believe Everett is faster than Frank, so in the time being, I'd have to say we'll be fine as, because Everett is faster than Thomas, that makes him equal or better. Like I said, sorry I can't interpret what you meant to say, not actually did say. Edited February 19, 2005 by CWSGuy406 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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