The Jim Thome Saga Ends

[chw42]

i am hoping beckham can put up a .850 ops

 

That'd be great, but that's not a guarantee by any means.

[Balta1701]

i am hoping beckham can put up a .850 ops

If we're hoping, I'm hoping Rios and/or Teahen could as well. Rios is only what, 2 years removed from that?

[iamshack]

Yeah. We're good on backup OF's. If anything, the only other position available is backup IF. It's why I come back to either Blalock or Hudson as worthy thoughts if we decide not to go with Thome. They can hit Left Handed (Hudson is switch), Hudson is really good with the glove and could take up serious IF time, Blalock could at least be an emergency situation backup IF.

The issue with backup infielders is we really don't need another CI in my opinion. It's the MI that worries me. Hudson would not fit here, IMHO. I'll take my chances with Thome, keep Nix, and go with 6 in the bullpen.

[chw42]

The issue with backup infielders is we really don't need another CI in my opinion. It's the MI that worries me. Hudson would not fit here, IMHO. I'll take my chances with Thome, keep Nix, and go with 6 in the bullpen.

 

Exactly, do we really NEED Randy Williams?

[iamshack]

Exactly, do we really NEED Randy Williams?

We do need Williams, actually. What we don't need is another RH longman.

Go with Jenks/Thornton/Putz/Wiliams/Linebrink/Pena, with Linebrink being the longman until he proves he can be effective in high-leverage situations.

[DaveBrown85]

So are they supposed to decide by tonight or has that been pushed back a day now?

my friend is good friends with Thome and his family. He said we should hear something tomorrow

 

[beck72]

It would make sense for the sox to keep 12 pitchers. If they carried 11, then no long man would be around. Add a long man like Torres or Hynick, with Hudson at AAA, and it makes 12 pitchers.

 

If the Sox added Thome, it would have to be at the expense of Nix. That would make the sox have 13 position players. Nix can only play 2b and the Sox have Vizquel to fill in at 3b, SS and 2b.

 

The more I look at it, I don't see the sox taking up a key roster spot on Thome, who will see 3 games a week, at best. Even if KW takes a PR hit by Thome signing with a rival and doing well. Yet a backup in the OF or IF, who could also see DH time, could be added, though again at the expense of Nix.

[GreatScott82]

I was at Soxfest today and Ozzie mentioned the whole- "As a manager sometimes you have to think with your mind and not your heart in order to lead a team". From what it sounds like and with the make of the team- Thome will not be back. If anything Damon would be a MUCH better fit than Thome and his value has dropped significantly the past few weeks. Apparantely the Yankees will only bring back Damon for a 1 year 2 million deal.. . Something we all need to keep in mind. .

[Springfield Soxfan]

I was at Soxfest today and Ozzie mentioned the whole- "As a manager sometimes you have to think with your mind and not your heart in order to lead a team". From what it sounds like and with the make of the team- Thome will not be back. If anything Damon would be a MUCH better fit than Thome and his value has dropped significantly the past few weeks. Apparantely the Yankees will only bring back Damon for a 1 year 2 million deal.. . Something we all need to keep in mind. .

Damon would be great, but I just don't see that in any way as a possibility.

[southsider2k5]

I was at Soxfest today and Ozzie mentioned the whole- "As a manager sometimes you have to think with your mind and not your heart in order to lead a team". From what it sounds like and with the make of the team- Thome will not be back. If anything Damon would be a MUCH better fit than Thome and his value has dropped significantly the past few weeks. Apparantely the Yankees will only bring back Damon for a 1 year 2 million deal.. . Something we all need to keep in mind. .

 

Damon has to have bigger offers out there than that.

[Texsox]

I was at Soxfest today and Ozzie mentioned the whole- "As a manager sometimes you have to think with your mind and not your heart in order to lead a team".

 

I thought he managed "from the gut"

How about Crede at DH?

[Balta1701]

Damon has to have bigger offers out there than that.

I'm not sure I'd pay him more than the other available DH's if he doesn't have the Yankee Stadium to help his bat.

[fathom]

It's official, Ozzie is out of his mind. He's referring to Vizquel as a Hall of Famer, so that means he won't have to get the mop-up innings that every other bencher would have to. I can't believe we have playing time reserved for Kotsay already.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,6100155.story

[Ranger]

That's a pretty big generalization, Ranger. There's a pretty even divide here between the small ball types and the OPB guys.

 

I thought I was pretty clear in what I said. Most of what I get (caller, emails, texts) is that people wanted Thome gone by midseason last year. Actually they wanted him gone midseason the year before. Now it seems to have completely changed.

 

Ranger, this board has a tendancy to fall in love with players. That said, and I am by no means wanting thome back, Ozzie and KW have put themselves into this corner. They could have just cut bait and moved on. KW did not do a good job with this whole scenerio. They all like thome, he is a nice guy who does everything the whitesox want. Hire him as a bench coach after nobody picks him up.

 

 

Actually, the Sox are really only in this position because Thome doesn't have a job yet. And because he said publicly that he would welcome a return, which then piqued everyone's interest and it became a topic. And because it became in issue, they've had to address it. I thought it was fairly obvious they decided to part ways with him this winter.

[elgonzo4sox]

Ozzie does need to talk to Thome, because the decision to add Thome does depend on multiple "ifs":

 

If: Thome is willing to get fewer at bats than 2009 because he's sharing the DH spot more (maybe 81 games and ~300ABs), and

 

If: Thome is willing to give up on his 600 career HR goal (ain't gonna happen this year) to focus on the team goal of a World Series, and

 

If: Thome doesn't eat up too much salary

 

Then I say you bring Thome in as a much needed insurance policy.

 

Something is going to go wrong with the best laid plans of Ozzie and Kenny. Someone is going to get injured, or not perform. There has been far too much focus on where Thome fits in the 25-man roster today, because something will go wrong and a 25-man roster spot will be created at some point (could even be in spring training - that's when Nix went down last year).

 

Look at our 40 man roster. What hitter do we move up when the first disaster strikes? Flowers needs to play every day for his development at catcher to someday replace AJ, so probably not him. Stefan Gartrell? Alejandro De Aza? Who are they? Then there is Dayan Viciedo, who also needs more seasoning to become a decent fielder at either 3rd or 1st (we don't want another Betemit stone glove at a corner infield position). So, as it stands now, I think the Sox move Lillibridge up when the first non-pitcher 25-man roster opening is created. The thought sends chills down my spine - I never want to see Lillibridge take another at bat in a Sox uniform ever again.

 

Thome or Lillibridge? Who do you bring in? Or do you wait to pick up someone else later?

 

[Harry Chappas]

The fact that Kotsay and Vizquel are going to get these at bats and that Nix or Lillibridge may make the team over Thome make me really question KW and I think this is Guillen putting it on the line. Hope it works out.

[GreatScott82]

I thought he managed "from the gut"

How about Crede at DH?

He did mention that as well

[Melissa1334]

I'm somewhat confused by this, as well. During the season, almost every bit of feedback I'd get on Thome was that fans were sick of his HR-or-nothing game and that they needed to trade/release/bench him. And now that he may not be coming back, people think the Sox need to sign him?

 

ur awesome

[bmags]

I thought I was pretty clear in what I said. Most of what I get (caller, emails, texts) is that people wanted Thome gone by midseason last year. Actually they wanted him gone midseason the year before. Now it seems to have completely changed.

 

 

 

 

Actually, the Sox are really only in this position because Thome doesn't have a job yet. And because he said publicly that he would welcome a return, which then piqued everyone's interest and it became a topic. And because it became in issue, they've had to address it. I thought it was fairly obvious they decided to part ways with him this winter.

 

I'm guessing at midseason last year no one was expecting: Kenny and Ozzie to be stupid enough to go into the next season with Kotsay/A. Jones as our DH when we knew going into this offseason that this would be a great buyers market for DHs.

 

And I'm guessing what piqued our interest about thome now is not the fact that he said he would return, but rather we are really going into the season with probably a .750 ops from our DH. That's inexcusable, and who is on the market that is LH and cheap? Thome.

 

And I don't think fans give a damn what was obvious when they parted ways, their plan instead of thome is god awful and embarrassing. This situation is a mess but easily fixable with 2 million. I can tell you it is not going to be fun to say "I told you so" when the platoon DH is a miserable failure that leaves us 5 games behind the twins at the allstar break.

[chw42]

I'm somewhat confused by this, as well. During the season, almost every bit of feedback I'd get on Thome was that fans were sick of his HR-or-nothing game and that they needed to trade/release/bench him. And now that he may not be coming back, people think the Sox need to sign him?

 

Just because some people have a perception that Jim Thome sucks and wants him gone doesn't mean he actually does suck and should be off the team. Not everybody has the patience or the know how to evaluate a player's true value to a team, especially since this season is a completely different circumstance than 2008 or even 2009. Besides, back in 2008, Thome's power on this team wasn't as valuable as it would be now or even last season. This team is lacking a left handed slugger to hit home runs and provide good OBP, the team we have now would have problems hitting 150 home runs and the average starter's OBP might be in the .325 range. In a ballpark where the home run is king, you have to be able to hit your fair share to win.

 

I'm all for the small ball and timely hitting, but you need your slugger in the middle to drive them home too.

 

 

[Vance Law]

Actually, the Sox are really only in this position because Thome doesn't have a job yet.

 

um.....and more importantly, because the Sox don't yet have anybody acceptable for their DH spot.

 

If they had already signed Vlad Guerrero, or Matsui, or Nick Johnson, or Delgado, or LaRoche, or Damon, or Huff, or heck, even Giles, people wouldn't be wondering about Thome. But they still might be discussing whether or not any of those other players (price tag included) were a better option than Thome.

 

 

[iamshack]

bmags has just touched on this, but I don't think a whole lot of people anticipated in midsummer of last year that Thome could be resigned for $2 million either.

 

Then again, Mr. Rongey, no offense intended, but the vast majority of people that contact you via your show are reacting in an emotional, illogical, and/or inebriated manner.

Edited January 25, 2010 by iamshack

[chw42]

bmags has just touched on this, but I don't think a whole lot of people anticipated in midsummer of last year that Thome could be resigned for $2 million either.

 

Then again, Mr. Rongey, no offense intended, but the vast majority of people that contact you via your show are reacting in an emotional, illogical, and/or enebriated manner.

 

This. Don't judge whatever we think by the impressions you get from the people that call into your show, most of them aren't exactly baseball intelligent.

 

[bmags]

I'm inebriated currently.

[iamshack]

I'm inebriated currently.

And yet, you spelled the term correctly and I did not.

 

Maybe my entire theory is wrong... :begood