July 9, 200619 yr I think that the title is funny. His old form? You mean, what he had in Seattle?!? Poor word choice by the author, I think. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb...t=.jsp&c_id=cws Notes: Thornton regains old form Left-hander confident after earning first career save Thursday As it was happening Thursday night, Matt Thornton didn't even know he was recording his first career save. "It was neat. I didn't even know until after the game," Thornton said. "I look back at it and it definitely was a unique situation. It was fun, a good situation to be in." After struggling in his undefined role in the bullpen at the beginning of the season, and sitting out from April 14-28 with a sore lower back, Thornton has come back strong. He has made six straight scoreless outings, striking out nine and allowing only two hits in 5 1/3 innings pitched. "I think I'm at the point where I'm pitching like I knew I could pitch. I believe in myself, and [manager] Ozzie [Guillen] and [pitching coach, Don] Cooper believe in me, too," Thornton said. Thornton was acquired over the offseason in a trade with Seattle, where he went 0-4 with a 5.21 ERA in 55 relief appearances last season. He has now been working steadily with Cooper for the last four months and feels like the work is finally starting to pay dividends. "My control is back now. I'm throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters right away," Thornton said. "That was always my Achilles heel. I would fall behind... and get in a jam and not be able to get out. I'm avoiding that now, for the most part. I'm kind of pressing their hand to swing the bat a little more." Thornton has also recorded three wins and six holds this season.
July 10, 200619 yr QUOTE(Jake @ Jul 9, 2006 -> 09:16 PM) Our bullpen is really very good without Cliff in it. hahah, funny yet so true.
July 10, 200619 yr QUOTE(Jake @ Jul 9, 2006 -> 09:16 PM) Our bullpen is really very good without Cliff in it. He did well today. It is a start.
July 10, 200619 yr That changeup Cliff brought with him to teh mound today went a long way to making me think maybe he has a slight bit of usefulness left in him...
July 10, 200619 yr Author QUOTE(Capn12 @ Jul 9, 2006 -> 11:32 PM) That changeup Cliff brought with him to teh mound today went a long way to making me think maybe he has a slight bit of usefulness left in him... He might be good for one inning in certain games, but I don't expect much from him otherwise. In most his outings of late, he gets through his first inning fine, and then totally dies in the second. Besides, two of his outs today were JUST missed.
July 10, 200619 yr QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 12:39 AM) He might be good for one inning in certain games, but I don't expect much from him otherwise. In most his outings of late, he gets through his first inning fine, and then totally dies in the second. Besides, two of his outs today were JUST missed. I agree, if he can string together some MEDIOCRE outings (damn the expectations have fallen for him) he'll have use as the mop-up guy. If he can't even do that, he needs to be DFA.
July 10, 200619 yr Matt has easily been our second best reliever the last two months or so. I'm so happy we've got this guy.
July 10, 200619 yr i still cant figure out how he throws 97-98 mph. It looks like hes warming up with the catcher. I like it though.
July 10, 200619 yr I have been very impressed with Thornton and his progress... another great steal for KW and the Sox!! Edited July 10, 200619 yr by EvilJester99
July 10, 200619 yr Author QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 08:13 AM) i still cant figure out how he throws 97-98 mph. It looks like hes warming up with the catcher. I like it though. I love the way he throws.
July 10, 200619 yr back in april if you told me thornton was going to be this good i would have laughed. i really thought he was going to be a disaster. thank you for proving me wrong matt and coop.
July 10, 200619 yr Cliff Politte v. 2006 (from the left side) Hard throwing reliever who's been around for a little while, all the sudden has a breakout year. I'll take it.
July 10, 200619 yr QUOTE(SoxFan76 @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 01:47 PM) Cliff Politte v. 2006 (from the left side) Hard throwing reliever who's been around for a little while, all the sudden has a breakout year. I'll take it. If Politte could throw as hard as Thornton, he'd be doing a LOT better this year.
July 11, 200619 yr I forgot the guy's name, maybe Flash, but he'd probably agree with me when I say that Matt Thornton is a perfect example of why the Sox should be drafting a greater mix of pitcher-types. Between Thornton and Jenks, two flamethrowers with spotty pasts, the Sox and Don Cooper have groomed these guys into, dare I say, dominating relievers. Any guy who can throw 95-100mph can't just be ignored because they'd be a "project". The dividends paid by these project prospects is often worth the work.
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