White Sox feel for loss of Thomas

[bjm676]

BALTIMORE -- Living just minutes away from Frank Thomas in Las Vegas, Aaron Rowand is as close to the White Sox's most prolific slugger as almost anyone in the organization.

 

But Rowand has not talked to Thomas since he left the team last Saturday and headed to Los Angeles for an examination on his surgically repaired left ankle by Richard Ferkel, the surgeon who operated on Thomas this past October. Rowand still plans on giving Thomas a couple of days to settle in with Friday's news that a new fracture was found in his left foot and that Thomas' 2005 season is all but over.

 

"I'm just hoping and praying it doesn't affect the longevity of his career. He still has some productive years ahead of him," Rowand said of Thomas. "Any time you see a friend go through something like that, it's definitely disheartening."

 

The news regarding Thomas hit the White Sox clubhouse at Camden Yards on both a personal and a professional level. There's no doubt that the team survived without Thomas for most of the first two months this season, posting a 33-17 record before he returned from the disabled list on May 30, but even his somewhat healthy presence certainly makes a difference in any lineup.

 

During just 105 at-bats over 34 games, the 16-year-veteran hit 12 home runs and drove in 26 runs. Most of those final 15 or 20 at-bats came with Thomas playing in pain.

 

Carl Everett basically carried the offense during April, with Thomas still undergoing extensive rehabilitation to get back on the field. When Thomas returned, manager Ozzie Guillen talked about the headache of trying to balance playing time for the two offensive forces on a daily basis, but general manager Ken Williams was quick to add that this team was set up to survive if Thomas was not available.

 

That particular plan meant Everett would not be traded through a knee-jerk reaction. Not only did Everett start to produce stronger offensive numbers once Thomas returned, but he's still in place to take over the designated hitter's role with Thomas inactive. Even Everett, though, knows what a career .307 hitter, with 448 home runs, 1,465 RBIs and 1,466 walks means to this team.

 

"Frank brings an element to the pitcher where he can't make a mistake," said Everett, after being informed of Thomas' latest setback. "You need that intimidating fear factor, whether he's playing or coming off the bench."

 

"The record shows that we played well [without Thomas]," first baseman Paul Konerko added. "But it also showed that when he was back in the lineup, some of the nights the wins were a little bit easier. There's no question that when he's in the lineup, the way pitchers pitch to our team, you know they tend to focus on him a little bit more."

 

"You saw the impact he had in a short period of time," hitting coach Greg Walker added of Thomas. "But it was pretty obvious he was scuffling, especially running, the last week or two."

 

Those running problems became so intense before Thomas was placed on the disabled list on July 22, for a second time this season, that Thomas had problems walking out of the clubhouse after the final two games of a three-game set against Detroit. Thomas knew that his ankle would not fully heal until the offseason, when he could get off it completely.

 

But Thomas also believed he could play through the pain, at a self-described seven or eight level on a scale of 10, and deal with the swelling that came frequently when he did any sort of extra running. He never complained about his situation, instead choosing to focus on pushing the White Sox toward their first World Series appearance since 1959.

 

That effort, and all Thomas went through simply to come back, earned even greater respect in the eyes of his teammates than what was produced by simply being the greatest offensive player in White Sox history.

 

"As a friend, I feel bad for him," Rowand said. "I know what he went through rehabilitation-wise to get back."

 

"To see a man work hard to get back, you know," Everett added. "We as players saw him in Spring Training and saw him trying to lose the weight to take the pressure off of his foot. He saw that we have a good thing going on right now and wants to be a part of it. To have that taken away from him, I'm quite sure that's painful for him."

 

Everett went through his own myriad of injury problems in 2004 but mentioned Friday that he's never suffered a medical problem costing him a season. Everett added that the fracture of Thomas' navicular, suffered last June in Florida, basically has cost him a good portion of two seasons.

 

Thomas' last at-bat came on July 20, striking out swinging against Detroit reliever Fernando Rodney, before a sellout crowd at U.S. Cellular Field. The questions on the table currently, aside from Thomas' on-going physical condition, are whether that at-bat was his last with the White Sox or possibly even the last of his career.

 

Along with winning a World Series title, Thomas had his sights set on reaching 500 career home runs. That attainable goal, if healthy, could drive Thomas even harder for a return. Then again, a second surgery could mean the end of a Hall-of-Fame career.

 

"I think I told him before he left to not make any rash decision," Walker said. "He's down big time because he came back and got in the middle of this mix. It's depressing. But I encouraged him to keep an open mind. I hope he doesn't shut it down and sees how this goes."

 

"The only reason he's not there already is because of injuries," Rowand added of Thomas hitting 500 home runs. "Coming up on the last few years of his career, to have something like this happen is devastating."

 

"All of a sudden, he has the setback at this point of the year and I know it's going to be hard for him," Guillen concluded. "I'm just sad because I don't know about his future."

[greasywheels121]

SWEET 16: A LOOK AT FRANK THOMAS' CAREER WITH THE WHITE SOX

 

Awards: 1993, 1994 American League Most Valuable Player.

All-Star appearances: Three (selected to two others but was injured).

Career White Sox leader: Home runs (448); RBI (1,465); doubles (447); extra-base hits (906); walks (1,466); total bases (3,949); runs (1,327).

 

SEASON	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

1990	60	191	39	63	11	3	7	31	44	54	.330	.454	.529	.983

1991	158	559	104	178	31	2	32	109	138	112	.318	.453	.553	1.006

1992	160	573	108	185	46	2	24	115	122	88	.323	.439	.536	.975

1993	153	549	106	174	36	0	41	128	112	54	.317	.426	.607	1.033

1994	113	399	106	141	34	1	38	101	109	61	.353	.487	.729	1.216

1995	145	493	102	152	27	0	40	111	136	74	.308	.454	.606	1.060

1996	141	527	110	184	26	0	40	134	109	70	.349	.459	.626	1.085

1997	146	530	110	184	35	0	35	125	109	69	.347	.456	.611	1.067

1998	160	585	109	155	35	2	29	109	110	93	.265	.381	.480	.861

1999	135	486	74	148	36	0	15	77	87	66	.305	.414	.471	.885

2000	159	582	115	191	44	0	43	143	112	94	.328	.436	.625	1.061

2001	20	68	8	15	3	0	4	10	10	12	.221	.316	.441	.757

2002	148	523	77	132	29	1	28	92	88	115	.252	.361	.472	.833

2003	153	546	87	146	35	0	42	105	100	115	.267	.390	.562	.952

2004	74	240	53	65	16	0	18	49	64	57	.271	.434	.563	.997

2005	34	105	19	23	3	0	12	26	16	31	.219	.315	.590	.905

TOTAL	1,959	6,956	1,327	2,136	447	11	448	1,465	1,466	1,165	.307	.427	.568	.995

 

 

[Yossarian]

The real MVP in 2000. Isn't that right Jason?

[CubsSuck1]

Reading the paper the other day, I realized that if Ryne Sandberg is a Hall of Famer, Thomas will no doubt be in there, and definetly should be in on the first ballot.

[greasywheels121]

Reading the paper the other day, I realized that if Ryne Sandberg is a Hall of Famer, Thomas will no doubt be in there, and definetly should be in on the first ballot.

 

I hope so. Like I said in a thread a while back, I forget where, but it seems outside of White Sox fandom, Frank's just a 50/50 at even being there.

 

This from an ESPN.com poll:

 

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation...g?event_id=1506

 

Would you vote for Frank Thomas?

 

57.6% Yes

42.4% No

[SoxFan1]

I hope so.  Like I said in a thread a while back, I forget where, but it seems outside of White Sox fandom, Frank's just a 50/50 at even being there. 

 

This from an ESPN.com poll:

 

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation...g?event_id=1506

Wow! Jim Edmonds and Omar Vizquel got no love on that poll.