I would like to offer my most sincere apologies to not being here with you yesterday (that's what good ol' editing homework will do to you). According to this article on the Chicago Tribune website today, Jim Thome is apparentlty still receptive to the idea of returning to the Sox in 2010. The Dodgers are not making any plans to re-sign him because he does not fit within their future. With such a young core on that team, it only makes sense. Why would you want another old, slow dinosaur on your team who cannot play first base anymore when you have James Loney, who is young and more than capable of playing first? Plus, Loney is only 25 years old, and he still has the potential to improve offensively.
So what does that make of the White Sox's plans, then? In what direction is Kenny Williams trying to go with the team? I am not trying to be snide, because Kenny has done a fantastic job with assembling the team in his tenure on the South Side. He has proven me wrong more often than not. One example this was back in 2004. Williams, trying to assemble more team speed, traded Carlos Lee to the Milwaukee Brewers for Scott Podsednik and reliever Luis Vizcaino. At the time, I thought it was the worst trade ever. "How in the hell can you trade a guy who hit 31 homers last year for a little flea who didn't even hit .300 last year, and some weak-ass reliever?" I was certain that the Sox (who finished 2004 at 83-79) were destined to have their worst season since the '90s ended. Well, I was wrong; they ended up winning the World Series that year. Williams not only proved me wrong, but a lot of baseball prognosticators wrong as well.
However, if Williams brought Thome back, it makes you wonder why they even bothered getting rid of him in the first place. They traded Thome on the final day of August to the Los Angeles Dodgers for some 26 year-old, Single-A infielder named Justin Fuller. The Sox also were kind enough to pay for the rest of Thome's contract as well. To sum it up in a more succinct fashion: they gave him away. If you just "give" someone away like that, does that basically mean you have absolutely no use for him anymore, whatsoever? It just seems puzzling to me that Williams is even entertaining this idea.
Despite the fact that I am questioning this, Jim Thome is still one of my all-time favorite players, and I cannot wait for the day he gets inducted to the Hall of Fame. He's a class act, he plays the game the right way, and he appears to not have a single conceited bone in his body. However, when Williams parted ways with Thome, that basically sent a signal to fans that he is ready to move in a different direction with the team. What that direction may be, I am not sure of. Nonetheless, it does not involve Thome. So why are you considering bringing him back?
Also, if you bring Big Jim back, you are only going to get one year out of him, at best. He will be 40 years old next year. Even though he still possesses prodigious power, his bat speed has slowed down considerably, he cannot hit lefties well and he cannot play any other position other than DH. Even though the Sox have stated that they will not have any significant jump in payroll next year (as evidenced in their lack of interest in many players, including Aroldis Chapman), would it really kill them to put their hat in the ring for Matt Holliday or Jason Bay?
All in all, if the Sox do bring back Thome at a reasonable price, I would still welcome him with open arms, as a fan. He will always be one of my favorite players, and I hope he can somehow get his 600th career home run next year, win the World Series, and ride off into the sunset as a champion with the Sox. But if you are looking to be competitive in 2010 and beyond, is bringing back a 39 year-old Thome for one last hurrah the right answer?
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