Kenny Williams is taking chances once again, and more often than not he hits with gambles. Bobby Jenks was a troubled and out of shape pitcher just dangling in the Angels minor league system, and look what "Big Bad Bobby" has turned into. A.J. Pierzynski was a guy who most baseball teams considered a cancer after being let go in San Francisco and he has turned into one of the better backstops in the American League at calling a game. Then of course Jermaine Dye who before his career in Chicago was an injury prone type of outfielder, and he turned into one of the more durable players the White Sox have had over the past four seasons.
Kenny Williams has had some faults as well which should not be ignored. Josh Fields never panned out like he had hoped, and remember the Billy Koch experiment. Kenny is not perfect just like any other general manager, but most clubs would love to have him because of his aggressive nature.
So with Soxfest starting tomorrow night (and come see me and say Hi!), here's my plea to Kenny Williams.
Do Not Re-Sign Jim Thome!
Gentleman Jim Thome No Longer Needed On The South Side
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I know this might give some White Sox fans a nice warm feeling when they read this from Mark Gonzalez today:
"As far as Thome is concerned, he wouldn't rule out a return to the Sox's family.
''My door is open,'' said Thome, a free agent who spent nearly four full seasons with the Sox before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on August. 31. ''Just call me.'"
I understand that "Gentleman Jim" is a local guy and is considered one of the best clubhouse guys in the major leagues. His demeanor is one that teams would love to have in their clubhouse and any organization would love to have him for his very generous charity work.
However the White Sox do not owe Jim Thome anything.
I am so happy as a White Sox fan that the team is a more balanced team now with a good mix of youth, speed, and power. The starting rotation you could debate is in the top five of the American League. The bullpen has been improved with addition of J.J. Putz which leaves the Sox with three potential closers or a nice 7th/8th/9th inning staff. I am so happy that the ghosts of the 2005 season have left. Guys like Scott Podsednik, Jermaine Dye, and Jose Contreras are all gone with those that left before them.
Like I said in an earlier post on the Rock Report.....These aint your daddy's White Sox.
We as Sox fans are looking forward to bigger and brighter things while we see this diverse mix gel as a club. Why bring in a guy like Jim Thome which will only slow down (literally) the momentum this team could possibly have. It's very simple if you think about it. Here's why you do not bring in "Gentleman Jim".
1. It's all about the numbers for Jim. He is approaching the #600 home run mark(currently at 564 HR) on his career. What a better way to join only six players in history playing for your hometown team. Thome is going to aim for the long ball every time he gets to the plate and that is not good for a team finally that isn't constructed to be a home run or nothing ball club.
2. Screw his high on base percentage of .404. That doesn't matter anymore because when he gets on base, he is more of a liability than an actual baseball player. In the playoffs last season with the Dodgers I can remember Thome as a pinch hitter only and he was never allowed to run on the basepaths stretching doubles into singles. Thome is slower than I am, and that is saying something.
3. The reason the Sox brought in Mark Kotsay and signed him to a 1.5 million dollar contract this past November is because the Sox were content without the services of Jim Thome. I understand the power numbers will not be the same as #25, but Kotsay is a lefty who can serve in a rotation with Andruw Jones and Carlos Quentin at DH. There is no reason to bring in an over the hill ballplayer who very few teams are taking a look into just to sell a couple of extra tickets.
4. Didn't the Sox try bringing back players time and time again and how did they work out? Roberto Alomar, Esteban Loaiza, Sandy Alomar, etc. It's was not good for the team at the time, and they never added anything. What is to say adding Jim Thome will be any different?
I enjoyed Jim Thome as a player for the Chicago White Sox, but with everything else in life there is a time to move on. Jim Thome will be 40 years old this August. If you want to bring back Thome as a coach of some kind, I would be alright with that move.
As a player however, it's time to move on from "Gentleman Jim."
-RoCk
Rock Mamola is the Associate Producer of The Mully And Hanley Morning Show and co-host of The Joe O And Rock Show on WSCR 670AM The Score.
You can follow the Mully And Hanley Morning Show at twitter.com/mullyhanley
You can follow the Joe O And Rock Show at twitter.com/joeoandrockshow
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2 Comments
rangerjae said:
Rock, nice work but I have to disagree.
I do not like the idea of rotating DH. Q is LF, kotsay and jones are on the bench. Jones hasn't even cracked .250 in the last three years, and Kotsay hits for average not power. Very few players on this team right now hit for power. Konerko and AJ maybe the only ones, and its not like AJ gets 20-40 HRS in a season. Thome may be slow, but he does try to hustle. He has come through many times in pivotal points of games. Game 163 in the 2008 season stands head above shoulders. The team does lack power, and Thome brings that to the table. You have some speed on the team, and putting Thome in the 3rd hole will allow Pierre and Ramirez/Beckham to score. Perhaps it may be the "homer" in me, but I would like to see Thome return. I am writing my column on this topic but wont be ready until tomorrow.
Scott Bolohan said:
Here is what you said.
1. It would be terrible if Thome hit homers, especially on a team as potentially incapable of doing just that as the Sox.
2. He gets on base (the whole point of batting) but that's bad because he's slow. It's way better to not have anyone on base.
3. Mark Kotsay has a huge $1.5 million salary and he (who by the way is known for defense and contact hitting) needs to DH. Fun fact: He's terrible. A guy who hits 4 homers with a .278/.327/.390 line is exactly what you want out of a position which consists of only hitting. Thome's line was .249/.366/.481 with 23 homers last year. But I can see how you would discount his on-field contributions when his "demeanor is one that teams would love to have in their clubhouse and any organization would love to have him for his very generous charity work."
4. Bringing back Scotty Pods was terrible last year. (By the way, he was actually arguably the smartest move the Sox have made in years.) Those completely irrelevant examples of players who returned are completely irrelevant.
Seriously, it'll take $3-4 million to bring him back. It's basically a no-lose situation. Plus I have his t-shirt jersey.
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