Its almost as funny as the annnal Brian Roberts trade.

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Awesome

Both teams at one time lusted after Juan Pierre and both eventually got him. Ozzie has talked about him since he got there.

And Jake Peavey.

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Checking back.

Jim Thome signed with the Twins as a BACKUP DH. He was going to be a backup.

He has played very well, and good for him. But he was going to get a mere handful of at bats per week if Morneau is still playing.

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good dolphin always keeps his promise

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

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Of course now it looks terrible, with the benefit of hindsight. That post was made in January.


We did not know Mr. Incredible would sign with the Twin for a bargain basement contract. Had KW known that would occur, he probably would have brought him back just to spite the manager.
Had Morneau never gone out, Thome would never have gotten enough ABs and would have been giving Kubel, Young, or Cuddyer an occasional day off. Thome has had a great year but at age 39 he could have easily gone the other way without regular playing time.

We also did not know that Williams would never bring a professional hitter in until late August in the person of a washed up Manny Ramirez. Instead Sock fans got a shitload of ABs from flotsam like Kotsay and Jones. Nobody not named Kotsay or Jones thought this was a good idea, except maybe Guillen. The onus is on Williams however for not taking care of this in the offseason.

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

I wouldn't go so far as to say Thome made the difference in the division, but he sure played a big part. I understand that he's had back issues and missed significant time over the past couple seasons. But he didn't want any money to return. He just wanted to come back. And he's everything you want in a ballplayer. It wouldn't have cost the Sox anything more than a roster spot. And if they didn't bring him back they needed to replace him with someone who could actually hit.

If you visit any MLB message board you'll read discussions about "all-around" players vs. hitters. Some idiots will actually say stupid shit like "Roberto Clemente was a better all-around player than Ted Williams". Sadly, I think the White Sox manager agrees. It just shows a lack of understanding about the game. Hitting (or pitching, which is simply the flipside of hitting) is the most important component of the game- by far. If you played Thome in leftfield and he allowed every ball to drop in front of him, he's likely still more valuable than Juan Pierre. An exaggeration perhaps, but you understand where I'm coming from.

The '77 Sox won 90 games. They had a shortstop that made 40 errors and Eric Fucking Soderholm who could barely walk at third base! Steve Stone and Frankie Barrios were their best pitchers. If that team had had a pitching staff like the current Sox team, they probably would have won 110 games. They slugged the shit out of it. There's no such thing as "clogging the bases", Ozzie.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Yeah, Thome would have cost less than Manny (zero RBI and zero extra base hits) Ramirez will have cost the Sox for 4 lousy weeks. Meanwhile, Thome has helped win a number of games for the Twins. Plus, he's a guy every ballplayer he's ever played with, has said is a great teammate. Always a class act and a productive hitter, who would want that???

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Go Cubs!!!!