Power surge pleasing, not surprising to Thomas

[greasywheels121]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...hitesox-utility

 

Power surge pleasing, not surprising to Thomas

Rick Morrissey

 

How many of you left Frank Thomas for dead? Not dead dead but baseball dead? How many of you would have had handed in a coroner's report stating that a certain White Sox icon had died of diminished skills?

 

I would have.

 

It was the whole out-of-sight, out-of-mind thing. But mostly it was the whole you-must-be-out-of-your-mind thing. If Thomas were relaxing in a hot tub, he could hit big-league pitching. If he were blindfolded and talking on the telephone, he could hit big-league pitching. There aren't many people like that. I forgot that. I forgot him.

 

"That's the way the game goes," he said. "They forget about everybody. What have you done for me lately? I told people that years ago. It's hard. I'm getting older. I've done so much, but in my case, I think that people did forget how dangerous I could be at times in this game.

 

"But I take it in stride. I watch other guys get hurt, and the game moves on. It's just the way it is."

 

The way it is now, a few hours before Saturday's Sox-A's game on the South Side, is that Thomas is lacing up ankle supports that look like a boxer's boots, except with the toe cut out. He puts on spikes that are a size bigger than he normally wears to accommodate the inserts. This is a concession to the fractured ankle that put him on the injured list a year ago Sunday and finished his season.

 

There's something difficult about watching him slip his feet into the supports, about seeing an aging star nod in the direction of his limitations, of his finiteness. You realize you wouldn't have much liked the idea of John Wayne needing knee-high compression socks either.

 

The only thing that matters, of course, is that when Thomas comes to the plate, he looks like a 27-year-old power hitter instead of a 37-year-old power hitter. Since returning to the Sox on May 30, he has had 20 hits, 11 of them home runs.

 

He hit 10 home runs in his first 69 at-bats this season, which is, if you'll pardon the informality, sick. Barry Bonds had a stretch of 10 homers in 51 at-bats last season. Carlos Delgado was the last American League player with 10 home runs in fewer than 70 at-bats. He had 10 in 56 at-bats in 2001.

 

I could be wrong, but I don't remember either of them breaking an ankle, undergoing a bone graft, having screws inserted during surgery, spending two months in a cast, going through an arduous rehab program and then batting .190 in a Triple-A rehab assignment before being called back up to the majors.

 

"I never thought Frank was going to come back that strong," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I think he missed a year without swinging the bat. This time right now is Frank Thomas' spring training.

 

"…It's amazing. I never thought this kid could come out and swing the bat the way he's doing right now."

 

I love how Guillen refers to Thomas as "this kid."

 

One of the best things that happened to Guillen and the Sox was that Thomas started off hot. It helped defuse a potential playing-time issue between Thomas and Carl Everett. Thomas needs his at-bats, and if he were struggling at the plate, Everett would be getting the lion's share of them. And Thomas would have been unhappy. There is an extensive body of evidence that suggests an unhappy Frank is a disruptive Frank.

 

But there's peace now. The Sox are heading into the All-Star break with a big lead in the AL Central, though a three-game sweep by the A's didn't help. If this indeed is Thomas' spring training, there should be good things ahead for a career .308 hitter. He's hitting .244 now.

 

Some of us might have forgotten how much Thomas could offer to this team, but he didn't. So he's not surprised by what he has done. Pleased, yes. Surprised, no.

 

"I put it in my mind that I had to come back with a bang and be the player I'm capable of being," he said.

 

He had a game-winning three-run homer against Tampa Bay last week and a game-winning homer against Detroit on June 29. Bang, bang.

 

There is nothing good about sitting out. Some players will tell you there is, that it helps put life in perspective. Don't listen to them. Something always gets lost in the downtime, whether it's money, sharpness or skills. Thomas has 447 career home runs. The golden number in baseball is 500 homers.

 

"I was hitting my stride last year when I was injured," he said. "I wasted five solid months of baseball, and you only get so much in a career. Five months is big at my age. For me to achieve some of the goals I've always had in mind, it's going to take a special two- or three-year period right here.

 

"But Barry showed us it could be done at age 38 to 40."

 

I tell Thomas he might want to leave Bonds out of the discussion.

 

"I'm just saying at the age of 37, 38, 39 you can still have real big, productive years," he said, laughing. "I've seen other players do it. Players like Eddie Murray, who at age 37 or 38 were pretty dang good. That's my goal."

 

From left-for-dead to pretty dang good for Thomas. Not a bad reappearing act when you think about it.

[Bubba Philips]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...hitesox-utility

Can anybody find the article from last year that Frank was quoted saying that he's going more for homeruns than Average now that he's hitting homeruns at a record pace he said he'd rather hit for average 345 and led the al. I like frank and don't care why he's hitting hrs but does any one remember the o4 article and his quote.

[greasywheels121]

Can anybody find the article from last year that Frank was quoted saying that he's going more for homeruns than Average now that he's hitting homeruns at a record pace he said he'd rather hit for average 345 and led the al.  I like frank and don't care why he's hitting hrs but does any one remember the  o4 article and his quote.

 

That was 2003, but I don't know how much luck we'll have finding that article.