The Jim Thome Saga Ends

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

I gotta say if this is the way we are going, I don't wanna see one Greg Walker thread this year about our lack of offense/scoring runs. I mean seriously, it's bad enough I'm trying to stomach a guy whose highest OBP in four seasons was .331, prior to last season, leading off for us and now the whole rotating DH thing possibility. Walker doesn't have much to work with especially with with the lack of OBP (only Quentin, Beckham, Konerko are pretty much solid locks) guys in our lineup. We are pretty much hoping Pierre can hit like he did last season, Teahan to find that once solid "moneyball" discipline, and Rios to either have a career year, or hit like he did in 2007 (A.J. will not give you a high OBP, though he's important to the team/staff) It seems Ozzie is actually having more of a say in personnel decisions than usual. Though Ozzie did say him and KW are gonna sit down tomorrow to discuss it further on CTL today, so I'll hold my tongue till pitchers and catchers report.

I know this must disappoint you, but I agree with everything you say here.

[prochisox]

Ankiel just signed with KC for 3.25 mil

 

So they sign Ankiel, Pods, and BA thisoffseason, and still have Guillen, Bloomquist, DeJesus, Maier, and Fields that can play the outfield. I wonder if we can make an offer for DeJesus? then we just rotate the guys for the DH and I will be happy.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

So they sign Ankiel, Pods, and BA thisoffseason, and still have Guillen, Bloomquist, DeJesus, Maier, and Fields that can play the outfield. I wonder if we can make an offer for DeJesus? then we just rotate the guys for the DH and I will be happy.

And then we'd be just like them, having about 9,000 outfielders on the roster. If we got DeJesus then I don't see how anyone could argue for Juan Pierre getting *any* playing time. DeJesus would be the starting LF and lead-off man, and a much better one at that. We'd still have no DH, because a real DH is supposed to have power.

 

But to do that we'd have to move Pierre's contract, which even by including the Dodgers' cash would be almost impossible to do, because even with the Dodgers eating what they're eating, Juan Pierre is still a bad contract in this climate.

[prochisox]

^^ Yea but we would have 1 of Q, Rios, DeJesus, and Pierre being the DH on a given day and then rotate those four, and Andruw Jones could be the 4th/5th OF. I like that DeJesus bats lefty so that would balance out our lineup. I dont really think we need to go the power route for the DH, I just think we need a more balanced lineup. Adding another lefty helps.

[Vance Law]

I will believe it when I see it. I consider Kenny to be a very smart guy and GM who understands baseball. I simply will not believe that he would pass up the opportunity to upgrade the offense so cheaply and easily until I see it.

 

Rotating DH? What in the flying f*** does that mean? As the team is currently constructed, it means giving Jones and Kotsay, what 700 plate appearances this year? I won't believe that Kenny is that dumb until I actually see it happen. It doesn't matter what Ozzie says. Kenny knows that Ozzie is a person who doesn't fully understand the game of baseball, and is not the person in charge of hiring and firing players on the team.

 

A "rotating DH" as Ozzie would describe, simply means giving those 2 clowns tons of at bats, and Kenny knows that is preposterous. Why would you give Mark Kotsay 400 at bats at DH, or in the field and send someone else to DH, when you could instead add Jim Thome? Despite the fact that Ozzie is the manager, there is still a thing called logic, and Kenny understands that. If you have the option of "resting" a player by having them DH for a game, and having Jones or Kotsay in the field and batting, or instead resting a player by putting them on the bench while Jones or Kotsay plays and Thome is DH, well, an intelligent person understands the difference, and I know that KW does. Thome has been the best hitter on the team over the span of the 4 years he's been here. Better than Konerko, better than Dye. He was the best hitter on the team again last year. Kotsay and Jones are defensive replacements, spot starters, pinch hitters, and there in case someone gets hurt.

[SoxAce]

I know this must disappoint you, but I agree with everything you say here.

 

You've been in agree mode today it seems. Your suppose to be the Ying to my Yang.

[chetkincaid]

I still believe that Kenny Williams has something up his sleeve. Either they've seen Andruw Jones hit and they feel like he's finally figured it out, or KW is going to make a move that will have us all going WTF???

[ptatc]

Kenny knows that Ozzie is a person who doesn't fully understand the game of baseball

 

This is one of the best lines ever.

 

It's amazing how a guy can have a successful career as both a player and a manager yet not understand the game.

 

I want to go gambling with Ozzie because he must be the luckiest guy in the world to have his career and not understand the game.

[Balta1701]

I still believe that Kenny Williams has something up his sleeve. Either they've seen Andruw Jones hit and they feel like he's finally figured it out, or KW is going to make a move that will have us all going WTF???

Even if Andruw Jones figures out his 2005 form, we're still left with a seriously unbalanced lineup unless Teahen finds his 2006 form..

[DirtySox]

Thome might be close to signing with the Twins per The Score 670.

[ThunderBolt]

Thome might be close to signing with the Twins per The Score 670.

If this is true i'm going to be more then a little pissed off. Especially, in light of that interview yesterday where Ozzie reiterated his belief that Visquel as a DH is a good idea.

Edited January 22, 2010 by Thunderbolt

[klaus kinski]

If this is true i'm going to be more then a little pissed off.

 

WORST case senario..........................

[Balta1701]

Man, that would make the Twins lineup ridiculously LH heavy.

[NorthSideSox72]

Thome might be close to signing with the Twins per The Score 670.

"might be close to signing"? Seems a bit weak. But if true, depending on the money he gets, I think I'm going to be pissed as well.

 

[Balta1701]

"might be close to signing"? Seems a bit weak. But if true, depending on the money he gets, I think I'm going to be pissed as well.

The Twins upgrade their DH and we downgrade? Yeah, that's a hell of a way to guarantee they take the division this year.

[soxfan3530]

Here's a thought just throwing out there. Is KW waiting for Damon to panic? I know he turned down more money than we can offer earlier but he literally has no market. If they truly have the money to get one more player as its been hinted at, signing Damon to a 5 mil deal would be a great pickup and still give ozzie his "flexibility at the dh spot" or if CQ begins to wear down he can play DH permanently.

[iamshack]

Here's a thought just throwing out there. Is KW waiting for Damon to panic? I know he turned down more money than we can offer earlier but he literally has no market. If they truly have the money to get one more player as its been hinted at, signing Damon to a 5 mil deal would be a great pickup and still give ozzie his "flexibility at the dh spot" or if CQ begins to wear down he can play DH permanently.

DA actually made a very good point yesterday in that Jones and Damon are both Boras clients. I don't know that Boras would want Damon signing here because of the possibility of taking PAs away from Jones.

[DirtySox]

"might be close to signing"? Seems a bit weak. But if true, depending on the money he gets, I think I'm going to be pissed as well.

 

No idea on the validity of the rumor. Just passing on what I heard.

[shago]

Here's a thought just throwing out there. Is KW waiting for Damon to panic? I know he turned down more money than we can offer earlier but he literally has no market. If they truly have the money to get one more player as its been hinted at, signing Damon to a 5 mil deal would be a great pickup and still give ozzie his "flexibility at the dh spot" or if CQ begins to wear down he can play DH permanently.

 

Signing Damon would be a game changer. Juanny would rock the Cell's RF stands... He's also year-after-year one of the most productive players in all of baseball. Let him regrow the hair and there is no stopping him. Also a great clubhouse guy...

[ThunderBolt]

Allow me to blow off some steam for a minute, guys. I’m starting to think that Ozzie Guillen has lost his mind.

Ozzie’s tenure as White Sox coach has produced some compelling and eccentric lines of decision makings over the years, none more eccentric then the notion of the “rotating DH” that he’s pushing for this year. Sadly, it is beginning to look that much of Ozzie’s thinking is ill-suited for an AL lineup, and is in my humble estimation potentially damning for a team that looked like had a great chance of competing for something other than a pissing content with the Twins for the next six months. It infuriates me that Ozzie feels the need to tell Rios to, "give me 50 stolen bases and three home runs." This is a guy who has the potential to do so much more, this is a guy we’re going to have to count on to pop at least 15 for us to have a chance at contending. And then we have this "We are not a home run team anymore." The hell you’re not, Ozzie! You play in the Cell! I understand the importance of a balanced lineup, but the things he’s stressing are to the detriment of this team. We can’t shift the focus away from hitting for power, when our main asset for the last decade has been just that. We can’t marginalize a power position in the lineup, to give Mark Kotsay some kicks. This isn’t the right way to be going about things, and it’s unfair to everyone (primarily, the fan base) to go into a season with a gaping hole in the middle of the lineup, that EVERYONE can see. A hole that will eventually need to be fixed, like the CF situation, and we’ll only tread water to the day where we have the stones to acknowledge that the endeavor was a mistake. Our offense was a huge problem for us last year, and as it stands now, we’ve done very little to improve the team other than hoping like hell that Teahen and Beckham continue to improve.

 

[fathom]

Thunderbolt, I think we're all very frustrated and even those that said a month ago "don't worry, they're just bluffing" are beginning to get worried. I still think it's 50/50 we sign a DH in the next few weeks. If we don't and the offense fails this year, then we all know who the main culprit should be.

[Vance Law]

This is one of the best lines ever.

 

It's amazing how a guy can have a successful career as both a player and a manager yet not understand the game.

 

I want to go gambling with Ozzie because he must be the luckiest guy in the world to have his career and not understand the game.

 

 

Ozzie was a dynamite defensive shortstop as a player and a great rah-rah guy and teammate. His career OBP was .287. I say, his career OBP was .287. But he played during an era where having a shortstop who is a complete offensive liability was much more common. It seems that he fails to put into perspective the relative importance of "guy who is good at not making outs" and "guy who can bunt, slap a single, and run pretty well" (a player like himself).

 

The game, and the team do not exist so that Ozzie can make a lot of substitutions and call for bunts and make himself feel like he's really managing the hell out of the game.

 

If he actually thinks that having Brent Lillibridge on this team so that he can pinch run is more important than giving 400-500 PAs to a guy (like Thome) who is great at the 2 most important things on offense- not making outs, and hitting the ball really far- then he doesn't understand baseball. He should be forced to take classes. If all of this is intentional obfuscation on the part of Kenny and Ozzie, then I say huzzah, and I await the arrival of a legitimate hitter. Like I said, if Jones or Kotsay is actually starting in every game that's when I'll blame Williams.

[Chisoxfn]

Jim Thome to the Twins?

The Score 670 is reporting that former White Sox DH Jim Thome could sign with the Minnesota Twins as early as today. Sn Take: I personally don't put much validity into this rumor. Thome would provide the Twins with added power, but the Twins already have an above average DH (Jason Kubel) and I don't see Thome signing this early to be a back-up. Despite what Ozzie says, I expect the Sox to sign Thome if they are unable to land Adrian Gonzalez.

[witesoxfan]

1B - Morneau

LF - Kubel

CF - Span

RF - Cuddyer

DH - Thome

 

oh, and it gets Delmon Young out of their everyday lineup and into hitting solely against lefties.

 

It makes sense to me.

[Balta1701]

Thome or part-time DHs?

 

Only a few teams have full-time DHs. Ozzie Guillen said Mark Kotsay, Andruw Jones, Paul Konerko, Omar Vizquel and Carlos Quentin could split time for the White Sox. Would you prefer that ... or Jim Thome, all the time?

 

*

Full-time DH in Thome (370 responses)

37%

*

Part-time DHs in Kotsay, Jones, Konerko, Vizquel, Quentin (618 responses)

63%

 

988 total responses

 

(Results not scientific)

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