Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Thome was my homey

You knew it was going to happen this way at some point: Jim Thome hit a come-from-behind game-winning two-run homer to beat the White Sox last night. As much as I like Thome, I can't be happy for him as a Twin. Great guy, but now he's a fish.

The pain is a bit harder to take on this one because Thome is the Twins DH, and the Sox could use a good DH right now to better compete with the Twins. When Thome was traded to the Dodgers ;ate last year, it was the right decision by GM Kenny Williams. It freed the Sox up to explore new DH options that might also be useful defensive players, and was an acknowledgment that Thome likely no longer had the stuff to be a full-time DH.

But, now, DH is a real sore spot in the line-up for the Sox, and Thome actually is playing full-time--mostly because Justin Morneau is injured. I'm not saying Thome should be the Sox DH, or that the Sox should have tried to get him back in the off-season. So, settle down, Ozzie. The problem, however, is that the Sox ended up not doing much of anything at DH except claiming they could bat anyone in that spot. Mark Kotsay has been the most frequent DH, and despite what people say about Kotsay being a tough out, he's still hitting only .233 (though, surprise, he hit a homerun last night). Mark Teahen might be a decent option down the stretch.

They still may have other options to acquire a DH before the season is over. But, they apparently don't think Jermaine Dye is worth the money, or Carlos Delgado worth waiting for. I'm fine with it not being Thome, but now he's making the biggest rival better while the Sox are still spinning their wheels looking for an answer.

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