Linnwood Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Frank's story: Cream and in the clear December 14, 2007 BY JOE COWLEY [email protected] Frank Thomas was called a lot of things during his 16-year stay on the South Side. As the release Thursday of the highly anticipated Mitchell Commission Report showed, ''cheater'' shouldn't be one of them. The report stated that Thomas and New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi were the only current players to speak with the Mitchell team about the so-called ''steroid era,'' and Thomas did so voluntarily. ''If you're not guilty of something, you're the first one yelling about it,'' White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said. ''This is a guy standing up for himself and saying, 'I might be a lot of different things, but I'm not a cheater.' He should be commended for that. ''His numbers shine even more, and it cost him a third MVP.'' Thomas finished second to Giambi in the 2000 voting, hitting 43 home runs with a .328 batting average, but Giambi walked away with MVP honors as a member of the Oakland Athletics. ''I'd be ticked off, too, if I worked my ass off and a cheater stole it from me at the finish line,'' Cooper said. ''What the report says is that Frank stood up and said, 'Wait a minute, it ain't me.''' Sox hitting coach Greg Walker was equally impressed that Thomas stepped forward to help out with the report. ''It just shows you a lot about Frank Thomas,'' Walker said. ''I'm proud of him and his career. And the thing I'm really proud of is he never made excuses about what other guys were doing and not doing. That's the thing about Frank. He went about his business, knowing it might not be a level playing field.'' While Thomas was the lone name that came out of the investigation in a favorable light, the Sox were not untouched. Former Sox pitcher Scott Schoeneweis was named in relationship to the raid of Signature Pharmacy, as well as several rejuvenation centers, and reportedly had performance-enhancing substances delivered to him at U.S. Cellular Field. And former pitcher Jim Parque was listed in the investigation of former New York Mets clubhouse assistant Kirk Radomski. ''I thought Scott had testicular cancer at one point and was cleared to receive some sort of treatment of that manner,'' Cooper said, ''but you know what? My No. 1 thing is that I was very naive and gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. I'm a forgiving person by nature. You made a mistake? Fine, don't do it again. ''But you need to heed the warnings now. I don't want my guys cheating, and I don't want players cheating on my guys. It's an awful day for a lot of people, but now baseball is going to be better equipped to handle this.'' Like many, Cooper now wonders what will become of this list. ''I say forgive the players now, but they have been warned and should be watched. If they do it again, they're just dumb son-of-a-guns. In the long run, this is going to be good for baseball. Maybe not today, but down the line.'' http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...T-sox14.article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg775 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Frank Thomas should be written about by every major publication in the country. He should be the poster boy for what is right about baseball. His agent should get him on every TV show in the land. He would be Barry Bonds in terms of HR numbers had he used steroids. Frank is a hero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juddling Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 QUOTE(greg775 @ Dec 14, 2007 -> 08:13 AM) He would be Barry Bonds in terms of HR numbers had he used steroids. I'm not sure about that......Frank started breaking down without the roids........with the roids who knows. he might have recovered faster but then broke down more. Like someone else in this thread said...i don't even want to think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controlled Chaos Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 It's weird cause everything I have seen reported only states Giambi as cooperationg with the investigation. Why is everyone leaving Frank out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 QUOTE(juddling @ Dec 14, 2007 -> 08:05 AM) I'm not sure about that......Frank started breaking down without the roids........with the roids who knows. he might have recovered faster but then broke down more. Like someone else in this thread said...i don't even want to think about it. He wouldn't have had the career of Bonds but it's entirely possible he could have put up seasons close to Barry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Dec 14, 2007 -> 07:26 AM) It's weird cause everything I have seen reported only states Giambi as cooperationg with the investigation. Why is everyone leaving Frank out? Heck, most of the guys at ESPN are probably dumb enough to lump Giambi and Thomas together as BALCO guys if they hear the phrase "Thomas and Giambi cooperated with the investigation". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bschmaranz Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 (edited) QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 14, 2007 -> 10:47 AM) Heck, most of the guys at ESPN are probably dumb enough to lump Giambi and Thomas together as BALCO guys if they hear the phrase "Thomas and Giambi cooperated with the investigation". Do you blame them? He doesn't play for the Red Sox or Yankees therefore has a tail, pitchfork and horns. Edited December 14, 2007 by bschmaranz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bighurt4life Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Nothing but respect for Big Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swingandalongonetoleft Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Franks the man. I'm a White Sox fan but I couldn't have been happier when he took Garland deep when he was with the A's his first time back. Sox could've lost 24-0 and I would still leave the ballpark pleased. I was and always will be dissapointed with the fact that K Dubs let him go in a disgraceful manner. Thome's great, but Frank is White Sox baseball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon_44 Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Plus, it's not like Giambi went voluntarily.Selig forced his hand by threatening suspension if he didn't "cooperate". Not even close to Thomas volunteering to talk to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 When reached for comment, Kenny Williams directed a string of expletives at the best player in the history of the franchise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDylan Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 If anyone had any doubts about Frank being a Hall of Famer, the Mitchell Report should quell those doubts. The man was once the class among hitters in the American League. And he did it with what he was born with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 How much stronger could frank have gotten anyways? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buehrle>Wood Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 QUOTE(bmags @ Dec 16, 2007 -> 12:53 AM) How much stronger could frank have gotten anyways? Probably so big he couldn't get the bat around. He'd look like this guy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Kickass Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 That looks like he had a barca lounger surgically implanted into his body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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