White Sox Say No to Jim Thome
Various media sources have now reported that the White Sox will pass on signing designated hitter Jim Thome. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen had expressed that he wanted to go with a rotating DH this year, and after discussions between the two parties last night, the sides decided to go their separate ways.
This seems to secure more at bats for players such as Andruw Jones, Mark Kotsay, Omar Vizquel and Jayson Nix. Nix may be the big winner, as he may have been the odd-man out if Thome had been signed. If the Sox do not acquire a designated hitter, Nix should be the favorite for the final spot on the roster. It has also been assumed that the Sox would like to go with 12 pitchers, so this could also mean a spot for a pitcher such as Dan Hudson, Carlos Torres, Sergio Santos or Brandon Hynick.
As it now stands, this is how the White Sox will look in the field:
C: AJ Pierzynski
1B: Paul Konerko
2B: Gordon Beckham
SS: Alexei Ramirez
3B: Mark Teahen
LF: Juan Pierre
CF: Alex Rios
RF: Carlos Quentin
DH: Andruw Jones
Bench:
C Ramon Castro
1B/OF Mark Kotsay
IF Omar Vizquel
UT Jayson Nix
Alex's Take: While this is mildly surprising, the Sox seem committed to giving the rotating DH idea a try. It's not the ideal situation. It's understandable why Ozzie wants to try it - just not with the personnel on hand. One has to hope that Andruw Jones can channel some positive vibes - and he can earn some starts. There's some talent there, but it's been hiding for quite a while. The Sox may not address the situation during the preseason, but one would think it's an issue that could very well be addressed before the trade deadline. Adam Dunn, anyone?
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11 Comments
jesox38 said:
as much as I love jim thome, I dont think signing him would have been the right move. i was torn though. They need power, but he doesnt offer anything besides the occasional 3 run HR now a days. good luck to him, hopefully he goes to an AL east or West team.
Dan Santaromita said:
Blah. Not ideal, but we'll see how it unfolds. I look forward to Omar Vizquel playing DH so I can bang my head against a wall. As absurd as it sounds everyone knows it's going to happen.
JimH. said:
We'll see how Thome's health holds up. I wish him the best and I suspect other Sox fans do too.
Now Guillen can carry 12 pitchers which is key in his mind. He wants to take the strain off Buehrle and Freddy Garcia, especially early when they have 12 days without an off day.
Lots of things can happen and usually do. Let's see how it plays out.
Dr. Fumbles said:
I almost like the rotating dh idea.
I remember back in 05 Ozzie was resting all his veterans on get away days and everyone thought that was crazy... but things turned out ok for us yea?
I think aside from just having a Dh rotation of essentially our bench our fielding vets will be a part of the rotation as well. I kind of think this is Ozzie and Kenny clever way of resting veteran players while still retaining thier bat in the linup.
I think this is gonna benefit Pauly alot, possibly AJ and possiblY Pierre.
So I dont know. thats my 2cents. But I, definatly optimistic about this idea and this season!
UMinOH said:
JimH. I totally agree with your comments. Even though Thome has done nothing but great things for the White Sox he just does not fit in this years scheme of things. We need 12 pitchers and if we would have added Jim then Omar is the only utility middle fielder not a great idea. I know there is a need for another power bat lh preferably but Jim has jammed the base paths too long now. Lets have the season begin and if we need it later then we could revisit the Thome idea. I actually like this team the way it looks now.
Jeff Buchanan said:
All Jim Thome jams the bases with is his big fat body and that's fine with me.
Men on base > Men not on base.
Speed and versatility rank a distant 3rd behind getting on base and hitting for power. I don't care what the makeup of the team is, refusing to sign Thome so you can go with Jones/Kotsay at DH is always a mistake.
SHollingsworth said:
Gosh. If you had just stopped with the first two sentences, then you would have made a valid point.
It's not that Thome isn't productive with the bat in his hands. Great power numbers - if that's all you are looking at.
However, his BA ain't all that great anymore and his singlemindedness about hitting with terrific force (chasing the HR)has led to an easy defense against him. Not to mention his propensity to strike out.
Thome isn't able to do anything but hit HRs or walk. Both seemingly help, but his getting on base doesn't really.
The good that his OBP represents, is overtaken by the harm he does to the offensive effort, when he gets on base with less than a double: Maybe, just maybe, a more versatile batter could help keep a rally alive with a bunt; or, a hit and run play. Neither of which has ever been asked of Thome; AND, neither of which you could even try with Thome on first base. You see, even a .225 hitter can make the kind of contact needed to advance a runner on a 1 in every 5 at bats rate. Whereas, Big Jim is no longer going to hit a homerun at a rate better than 1 in every 20 at bats. Thome on base really limits your offensive strategies. And,it isn't just the makeup of this y3ars team, bub, as we have all witnessed over that last four years: Thome on base rarely extends the inning for the good guys. He might as well have struck out every time he walked. You see, in that part of the game of Baseball, speed and versatility trump all else.
It was a good decision to not bring him back. There are at least 9 better left handed "power hitters" that would help this current team more than Thome could. Hell, Kotsay will advance to 2nd base 50 times more often than Thome and get to 3rd base 25 times more often. Will there be DPs? Yeah, but far fewer. And, nobody is going to strikeout as much as Thome does, or, hit into the shift.
Remember, the DH will not only be Jones and Kotsay, but we will see Quentin, Konerko and Pierzinski as regular DHs. The 2010 DH position could be far more productive than Thome has been in any of the past 4 years. It's way too early for y'all to be callin this a mistake.
baseball jones said:
Excellent post. I was torn only because Thome was a guy you couldn't help but root for, and couldn't wait to see if he centered one, where (how far) it might land when it finally came down...the waiting for that came too often between dingers, and cost the team too many games when he whiffed in key spots. It wasn't that he was getting beat by ace relievers, it became any lefty that could punch him out, and that was too painful to watch. He'll get to 600 eventually, but thankfully it will be elsewhere, unless the Sox are out of it a few seasons down the road, and they decide to bring him back for the "curtain call". I also agree, this rotating DH thing, not only is it the best move, but should actually work well even with the "unpopular" names attached.
SHollingsworth said:
What do you think the Twins were thinking?
Kubel had a hell of a season last year; and, appears to have better and better power numbers every year. He is exactly what you want as a DH. He carried that team - powerwise - at the end of last season. Now, he has to share the DH spot?
They are already set up with four left handed batters in the lineup, so I seriously doubt that they have any serious plans to play Kubel more often in the OF, in order to get Thome's bat in the game.
Maybe the $1.5 they are spending on Thome is affordable in their eyes in order to keep Thome off our roster. Or maybe, that's a cheap enough price to get more fans in the seats of their new stadium, if Thome gets hot and starts getting close to #600. He would only have to pull in 800 or so a game more to pay off his salary.
I just don't see how they aregoing to manage to carry two DHs. Who gets dumped from the 25 man roster to make room for this?
Like you, glad to see him hook up with a team. Too bad its a division rival.
baseball jones said:
Not sure exactly what they were thinking, other than what you listed, "Publicity stunt" to sell more tickets in the new yard, or it could be as simple as they have a hard time banking that Kubel can/will be relied on to repeat his numbers. As much as Thome has accomplished as a slugger, they may be banking on the money is more than well-spent if he passed on any nuggets of info to their young guns like Mauer & Morneau, Kubel & Cuddyer, like we are banking on Vizquel doing for our youngsters....Keep him off Detroit's roster was more my thought, since JT was a sinch for ours if we woul've only said "yes". We'll see who's the bigger brain (insert laugh track here) come October, KW or OZ.
baseball jones said:
*cinch, wow, that's why it didn't look right!
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