yeah, im completely over Thome at this point. I want him no where near this team as a player.

 

agreed, the first breakup is the hardest, lets move on

I'm all for Thome, if we get a really good RF/LF and don't need Thome to be the monster RBI guy.

I'm all for Thome, if we get a really good RF/LF and don't need Thome to be the monster RBI guy.

I really doubt we're going to find a "really good RF/LF" outside of the guys we have now unless someone develops suddenly. We're not spending the money on Holliday, Bay, or Figgins. Outside of that though, I still think we need a LH bat who can hit 5th/6th and give a good OPS. Thome is one option, and i'm not ruling him out, for all we know he'll give a "I live in Chicago" discount.

Basically it boils down to we are looking for one of these guys to blink and offer to sign cheap. That will be our DH for next year.

Basically it boils down to we are looking for one of these guys to blink and offer to sign cheap. That will be our DH for next year.

And given his Chicago roots and where he is relative to 600, thome is as likely of a candidate as anyone.

It's time to move on. He has become a role player without a position at this point. I hope this team has its' sights set a little higher.

I agree, much as I love the guy. This would be too much like in 2000 getting Harold Baines back for a last go-around. I think Thome probably has more left in him than Harold did but it's just time to move on. I would LOVE to have him in the organization in some kind of coaching capacity if he were so inclined.

I sure hope Big Jim does not sign with Cleveland. s*** he'd probably hit 10 home runs alone against us.

And given his Chicago roots and where he is relative to 600, thome is as likely of a candidate as anyone.

 

That's my guess. Plus everyone loves the guy in the organization.

Move on. The last two seasons, the baserunning was like watching Mammoths in LaBrea.

 

 

Thome is a real stand up guy but no thanks,let's move on.

I'm honestly wondering who you guys are thinking of that we could possibly acquire.

 

I think right now a lot of people are thinking "There have to be better players out there...it's the offseason! Anything is possible!"

 

But when you actually sit down and look at the options out there, even when considering players signed on other teams, there just isn't much available.

 

I think many teams will share the same feelings as many on here do - Thome is over the hill, on the decline, and not worth anything more than a few million dollars, if that - and if that is the case, I think you offer Jim a $2m/year contract, with some incentives that are unreachable unless he does somehow return to form, and hope that he wants to come back and finish his career here. He then becomes a solid bat you can start 3-4 times a week, and a dangerous pinch hitter off the bench.

 

As much as people want to rag on the guy, Balta is correct in pointing out that he still brings good pop and excellent OBP to a team that, to be honest, is in desperate need of that right now.

 

To immediately dismiss the guy as somehow beneath the talent necessary to play for this club is really being a bit blind to the realities KW is operating under currently. Barring some sort of major trade (Read: Paulie or Mark), there simply isn't a whole lot of $ to go around right now.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,2069805.story

 

Regardless of the White Sox's intentions this offseason, Jim Thome plans to make Chicago his home.

 

And if the Sox can find a way to squeeze Thome into their plans, he can settle down permanently.

 

"Everyone knows my feelings toward the White Sox," the Peoria native said Thursday before heading into a meeting. "I enjoyed it here. It's home."

 

Thome, however, isn't certain about his future because he is a free agent for the first time since after the 2002 season. Thome, 39, also is resigned to designated hitter duties to preserve his health throughout the season.

 

He needs 36 home runs to achieve his goal of 600 and likely would need to sign with an American League team that could assure him ample playing time.

 

Sox general manager Ken Williams hasn't ruled out re-signing any of his free agents. Although Williams traded Thome to the Dodgers before the Aug. 31 trade deadline, he includes Thome in that group.

 

At the same time, Williams reiterated Wednesday at the end of the general managers' meetings that he might not try to re-sign his own free agents until late this winter, if at all.

 

"If everything works out, then that would be fine," said Thome, who said he was unaware of Williams' comments. "But we need to hear from some (team) and go from there. This is new to me. I know Pat Rooney and SFX (the agency that represents Thome) have done a great job, and we'll sit down at some point and see what happens."

 

Thome hasn't cut all of his ties with the Sox. He and first baseman Paul Konerko have continued their efforts to help foster children in Illinois by aiding Children's Home + Aid in seeking holiday gift contributions for children victimized by abuse or neglect.

 

"I credit my wife (Andrea), first and foremost, with this involvement," Thome said. "Paul and his wife (Jennifer) have done a lot on their end. We still live in Chicago, so it's still special to be a part of something."

 

mgonzales@tribune.com

I vote for move on as well. Not that I don't like Thome, but the idea of that middle of the lineup again... I can't bear it.

It depends on how everything shakes out by then, but if Thome is still around in January, and we still need a DH, and if we have less than $5M to spend, I'd rather it be him than whatever else would be left on the board.

I would have no problem bringing Big Jim back short-term and for cheap, as long as we pick up an athletic right fielder to bat between him and Paulie. I'm hoping that addition goes a long way towards remedying our "base-clogger" problem.

In fact, the more I think about it, the more I buy the idea of going after a guy like LaRoche, who had a pretty damn solid season and did great with Atlanta this year.

 

I can't imagine LaRoche costing a ton and he's not a significant downgrade from Paulie. If you can move Paulie you can really free up the funds to make a move for one above average offensive player and than sign LaRoche and another guy for 1st/DH.

I mentioned him somewhere before on this board and I am a big fan of bringing LaRoche in.

I'm ready to move on as well. I don't like the idea of having a player on the roster whose primary position is DH.

 

 

Where have you been for the past 35 to 40 years?