NUKE_CLEVELAND Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 What is up with this guy? If he's not trying to kill every pitch then he's watching while 3 strikes go right past him ( I'm using that one AB of his today as an example ). Thomas was his most dangerous as a hitter when he went with whatever he got. He was dangerous when he was slapping little flares into RF or fighting em off for a little duck snort. He's still drawing a fair mount of walks but his average really sucks & it's falling with each passing day. Someone has to get a hold of this guy & tell him to stop worrying about hitting homeruns & worry about making some solid contact & getting on base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 You are correct. I think he is seeing the 500 HR mark as his ticket to Cooperstown when IMHO he should be thinking a WS appearance is his ticket to the HoF. Very few guys have made it without a WS appearance the past 25 years. One lost lineup idea is Uribe DHing to give Frank a break. One small indicator is PTC wins this season compared to last. IIRC he isn't winning once a week like he use to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubsSuck1 Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 You are correct. I think he is seeing the 500 HR mark as his ticket to Cooperstown when IMHO he should be thinking a WS appearance is his ticket to the HoF. Very few guys have made it without a WS appearance the past 25 years. One lost lineup idea is Uribe DHing to give Frank a break. One small indicator is PTC wins this season compared to last. IIRC he isn't winning once a week like he use to. I'd rather have Valentin DH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubKilla Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 What is up with this guy? If he's not trying to kill every pitch then he's watching while 3 strikes go right past him ( I'm using that one AB of his today as an example ). Thomas was his most dangerous as a hitter when he went with whatever he got. He was dangerous when he was slapping little flares into RF or fighting em off for a little duck snort. He's still drawing a fair mount of walks but his average really sucks & it's falling with each passing day. Someone has to get a hold of this guy & tell him to stop worrying about hitting homeruns & worry about making some solid contact & getting on base. You haven't heard? Frank's a "power hitter" now. "That's what he (I'm) is supposed to do." At least that's what he said last year when we needed him to play unselfish baseball. The only time Frank hits to RF now is when he's fooled by a pitch and swings late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 You haven't heard? Frank's a "power hitter" now. "That's what he (I'm) is supposed to do." At least that's what he said last year when we needed him to play unselfish baseball. The only time Frank hits to RF now is when he's fooled by a pitch and swings late. It's a shame, isn't it? Frank was so fun to watch hit when he really cared about hitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSF Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Wow. A guy who's leading the AL in walks, and not putting up bad HR numbers, and some of you are still getting on him? Unreal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NUKE_CLEVELAND Posted May 17, 2004 Author Share Posted May 17, 2004 Wow. A guy who's leading the AL in walks, and not putting up bad HR numbers, and some of you are still getting on him? Unreal. One thing this team doesn't need is another shammy soso on the team & that's exactly what he's becomming. Only difference is that Thomas doesn't have s*** for an average. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 One thing this team doesn't need is another shammy soso on the team & that's exactly what he's becomming. Only difference is that Thomas doesn't have s*** for an average. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSF Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 One thing this team doesn't need is another shammy soso on the team & that's exactly what he's becomming. Only difference is that Thomas doesn't have s*** for an average. No, if he were Sosa, he'd swing at a 2-0 pitch 3 feet outside of the strike zone and average 150 K's a year. With the exception of yesterday, I saw Baltimore and Twins pitchers pitching around him. Greisinger made a mistake on Saturday, and Thomas made him pay for it. I guess you also believe the 7th inning strikeout pitch on Saturday was over the plate and at the knees. Because it looked to be way off the plate and at his shin if you ask me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NUKE_CLEVELAND Posted May 17, 2004 Author Share Posted May 17, 2004 No, if he were Sosa, he'd swing at a 2-0 pitch 3 feet outside of the strike zone and average 150 K's a year. With the exception of yesterday, I saw Baltimore and Twins pitchers pitching around him. Greisinger made a mistake on Saturday, and Thomas made him pay for it. I guess you also believe the 7th inning strikeout pitch on Saturday was over the plate and at the knees. Because it looked to be way off the plate and at his shin if you ask me. I think he did get screwed on Saturday night. That pitch was low as hell but one at bad does not an argument make. He wont get any respect from me till he stops worrying about damn homeruns and starts hitting the ball again. When there's RISP we dont need a big wave & a miss, we need a poke out into RF or a smash through the hole at short. Seems to me like the harder he swings the more foolish he looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSF Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 I think he did get screwed on Saturday night. That pitch was low as hell but one at bad does not an argument make. He wont get any respect from me till he stops worrying about damn homeruns and starts hitting the ball again. When there's RISP we dont need a big wave & a miss, we need a poke out into RF or a smash through the hole at short. Seems to me like the harder he swings the more foolish he looks. I do miss Frank going to the right side more, and I don't like it when he tries to expand his strikezone either trying to go to the right side or trying to jack it out of the park. But what I do like the fact that he is being patient at the plate again, something he wasn't doing for the past 2 years. I think as he sees better pitches, he'll start using the entire field again. I also think once Carlos Lee starts to hit more consistently, Frank will see better pitches instead of every pitcher trying to go around him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 The irony here, of course is that NO White Sox player gets as many border-line strikes called 'balls' as Frank does. It's gotten to a point where he is glaring and jawing at the ump after taking a pitch right there. Solution? Frank doesn't have the batspeed to drive the ball to RCF-RF, but he CAN spoil the f*** out of away pitches and dump them one by one into RF-RCF for singles - like he did in Baltimore. I know Hurt doesn't want to "sacrifice" power but at some point he has to say to himself, "O Great One, 'tis better to bloop than to pop" If he is ahead in the count, then by all means cheat and drive. But if he's behind, esp with 2 strikes, with RO/RISP......Maybe shortening that big swing and punching it to RF will work, too. Selfishness IS stupidity when you go up against ML pitching that will exploit your weaknesses in a nano-second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 In the beginning, wasn't Frank known mainly for getting those silly little bllop singles that nobody could get to? Well, basically wasn't it for the fact that he would put the ball almost anyplace he could? No matter what, he was going to get the job done? He just seems to be trying too hard still. I still love the guy, and think the Sox should keep him around for his whole career, but when he isn't hitting strong, he just isn't hitting. He is still a very smart hitter in the box, unlike many of our other "power" guys who swing at the first pitch and always seem to get out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quade36 Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Frank is doing fine.... I am more concerned about Konerko, Lee, and Rowand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Frank is doing fine.... Unfortunately, 'fine' is acceptable from Schoenweiss and Koch.....From Frank Thomas, anything less than "excellent" is uncivilized. Frank's unbelivably bad on the road. There are 81 road games, and with the rest of the Sox offense underachiving again, as someone who wants a salary increase and bids for HOF, Frank should be Sluggin and driving in runs there WAY, WAY more than he does now. With Rowand, if he can Slug 500, you are ecstatic. With Frank, it's an absolutely MINIMUM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Frank is doing fine.... I am more concerned about Konerko, Lee, and Rowand good point. Frank is finishing a career and rounding out some numbers. He has average points to burn, he needs HR for HoF consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Wow. A guy who's leading the AL in walks, and not putting up bad HR numbers, and some of you are still getting on him? Unreal. How is his average? Or RBI numbers? Sure he has 7 or 8 homers...I ask, how many of them have been solo? Frank is having a good season, but a guy with his talent and his ability to swing the bat should not be hitting .250 and getting rung on up 3 pitches. The White Sox are no longer sink or swim with Frank, but if he can put up numbers he should put up(.280 40 120 atleast, maybe more), instead of trying to swing for the fences(.260 45 105), they are going to have a much better chance of swimming. Frank is one of the few guys on the team making $5+ mill who is actually earning his paycheck. He should be doing better though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 How is his average? Or RBI numbers? Sure he has 7 or 8 homers...I ask, how many of them have been solo? He has one HR that wasn't a solo job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 He is also on pace to draw twice as much walks from last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 He has one HR that wasn't a solo job. That's the perfect example of why we do not score a lot of runs. We are a team based basically on the Earl Weaver philosophy of baseball, that is, get good starting pitching and wait for the 3-run homer. That's fine and dandy, if you're hitting 3-run homers. In fact, many teams today do it...the Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox, Padres, Athletics, Braves, Rangers(though their starting pitching is never that great), etc. However, when your 3-run homers are solo homers, you lose 4-3(with 2 solo homers and a RBI single) instead of winning 7-4(two 3-run homers and an RBI single). What's the point of 220 homers if 140 of them are of the solo variety? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NUKE_CLEVELAND Posted May 17, 2004 Author Share Posted May 17, 2004 good point. Frank is finishing a career and rounding out some numbers. He has average points to burn, he needs HR for HoF consideration. His job is to win ballgames for us not to pad his personal stats to enhance his chances of making the hall. I want to see him make it too but not at the expense of us winning ballgames and ultimately the division & the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 He has one HR that wasn't a solo job. The sox were winning 12-0 when he hit that one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 The sox were winning 12-0 when he hit that one Why does that not surprise me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSF Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 For the record, the one run during this Sox-Indians game was on an RBI by Thomas when he hit it to the right side. Nevermind it was a little nubber near the 1st base side on an excuse-me swing and he was tagged out, he went the other way and brought in the run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Socks Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 Jason, I did not see the AB. But he often goes to the right side, because he can't get around on the ball. You think all those pop ups to the right side the last 3-4 yrs are on purpose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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