A day after bitching about playing time and how the Blue Jays are conspiring against giving him at bats so his '09 option kicks in, Frank Thomas gets released by the Blue Jays. Would have been nicer if this happened a few weeks ago before he beat up the Red Sox pitching staff, but, it still takes a power bat away from the Blue Jays. Can't see him going to the NL or back to the White Sox, so only teams I think could be possibilities are the Mariners or the A's, if they think they might be able to stick around. Now, do the Blue Jays take a shot at Piazza to take Thomas' spot, or do they really roll the dice and bring in Barry Bonds as a DH. The Blue Jays have very good pitching, but they still are at least 1 bat away.
I can see an awful lot of mediocre teams that could use a good power-hitting DH to get them over the hump. The Mariners were already mentioned and I can see that happening, though Richie Sexson's quietly getting his stroke back.
If Baltimore's serious about continuing their hot start, I'd heavily consider signing Thomas. They started this hot a few years ago and quickly fizzled, but Thomas might keep them in it a little while longer.
There is a zero percent chance that Barry Bonds will sign with Toronto. First of all, can Bonds legally leave the United States?
“How is it that I am a good actor? What I do is I... pretend to be the person I’m portraying. You’re confused. Case in point: in Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson comes to me and says ‘I would like you to be Gandalf the Wizard,’ and I said ‘You are aware that I am not really a wizard?’ and Peter Jackson said ‘I would like you to use your acting skills to portray a wizard for the duration of the show.’ So I said ‘Okay’ and then I said to myself ‘Mmm.. How do I do that?’ And this is what I did: I imagined that I was a wizard, and then I pretended, and acted, in that way on the stage. How did I know what to say? The words were written down for me in a script. How did I know where to stand? People told me where to stand." -- Sir Ian McKellen, Extras
Originally posted by It's FalseI can see an awful lot of mediocre teams that could use a good power-hitting DH to get them over the hump. The Mariners were already mentioned and I can see that happening, though Richie Sexson's quietly getting his stroke back.
If Baltimore's serious about continuing their hot start, I'd heavily consider signing Thomas. They started this hot a few years ago and quickly fizzled, but Thomas might keep them in it a little while longer.
The problem for him landing in Baltimore is that the Birds are going with 13 pitchers/12 position players. That means, 9 starters, a back-up catcher, back-up middle infielder, back-up outfielder who can play centerfield. Since they have Millar and Huff, it would cause the Birds to eat money to sign Thomas, and he doesn't provide an flexibility at all. In past years, the Angels would have been the perfect fit, but they seem set. Oakland is the wild card because Thomas would be short money and the A's love short money.
Originally posted by redsoxnationThe problem for him landing in Baltimore is that the Birds are going with 13 pitchers/12 position players.
I read that three times before it registered that you meant 13 frikkin' pitchers. It really doesn't sound like you could do this, much less find enough work for all those pitchers, unless they all stink. Yet, I don't doubt it's happening.
Maybe the biggest question is why we don't see more Brooks Kieshnick types these days?
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Big Hurt is back in the Bay Area -- and it's as if he never left.
The Oakland Athletics agreed to terms Thursday with designated hitter Frank Thomas, who was released Sunday by the Toronto Blue Jays to become a free agent after getting frustrated with his lack of playing time.
Crap. The A's were already playing surprisingly good and are already near the top of the AL West. With the M's due to surge any day now, the AL West has become a surprisingly competitive division.
Originally posted by redsoxnationThe problem for him landing in Baltimore is that the Birds are going with 13 pitchers/12 position players.
I read that three times before it registered that you meant 13 frikkin' pitchers. It really doesn't sound like you could do this, much less find enough work for all those pitchers, unless they all stink. Yet, I don't doubt it's happening.
Maybe the biggest question is why we don't see more Brooks Kieshnick types these days?
After watching yesterday's O's/White Sox game, where the O's went through 4 pitchers in one inning, I can totally see how they keep 13 pitchers.
Originally posted by redsoxnationThe problem for him landing in Baltimore is that the Birds are going with 13 pitchers/12 position players.
I read that three times before it registered that you meant 13 frikkin' pitchers. It really doesn't sound like you could do this, much less find enough work for all those pitchers, unless they all stink. Yet, I don't doubt it's happening.
Maybe the biggest question is why we don't see more Brooks Kieshnick types these days?
After watching yesterday's O's/White Sox game, where the O's went through 4 pitchers in one inning, I can totally see how they keep 13 pitchers.
The Brewers were carrying fourteen pitchers during their series with the Cardinals last week and currently have thirteen, as do the Cards. It seems to be a burgeoning trend of sorts.
This thread was revived, so let me add, for the record, how goddamn stupid it was for the Jays to just outright drop their offensive leader in several categories from last season. If JP didn't want to pay Thomas' option for 09, then just try to deal him in the offseason. As it stands, Toronto just made its already-weak lineup significantly worse and receive no benefit from it.
“How is it that I am a good actor? What I do is I... pretend to be the person I’m portraying. You’re confused. Case in point: in Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson comes to me and says ‘I would like you to be Gandalf the Wizard,’ and I said ‘You are aware that I am not really a wizard?’ and Peter Jackson said ‘I would like you to use your acting skills to portray a wizard for the duration of the show.’ So I said ‘Okay’ and then I said to myself ‘Mmm.. How do I do that?’ And this is what I did: I imagined that I was a wizard, and then I pretended, and acted, in that way on the stage. How did I know what to say? The words were written down for me in a script. How did I know where to stand? People told me where to stand." -- Sir Ian McKellen, Extras