Jim Thome HOF

This was the very first thing I thought of when I heard Jim Thome was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Congrats to Thome, Chipper Jones, Vlad Guerrero, and Trevor Hoffman.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- JFK the worst President of the 20th century? He was over-rated but not close to the worst.

- Five reasons Jim Thome’s run to 600 homers isn’t getting buzz. I agree with the reasons given and while I think it is too bad Thome isn't getting more recognition - I don't think he cares. He seems like the low profile preferring type (not like a Jeter or A-Rod)

- STARS WARS done as a western. It took me a minute to get C3P0 and R2D2.

- A fast-spreading invasive plant in northern US that causes severe burns and blindness. Wow - I'll have to keep an eye out for this plant.

- Hunter Pence attempts up to cheer up two young men with unimaginably sad stories.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

This week some journalist will drive the Boston Marathon route from Hopkington to Boston and they will not be able to beat Kenyan racer Geoffry Mutai's time. That will make a nice story for out of towners but locals know that's just the way the traffic works... President George W. Bush to host 100 km bike ride with wounded Iraq and Afghanistan veterans... The only excuse I can think of for Mike Leake was if he was rookie hazed into stealing ala Animal House Food King run... I saw that Gary Glitter was trending on Twitter and I really hoped it was because he was dead... This Jim Thome video promotional video for the Twins is awesome... There should be a word for when a guy wades into the ocean and the waves break over his groin and he finally feels OK to dive in. We all know that feeling but there is no word for it... Some of these ideas are pretty nifty... I agree that the trip on the screen by Garnett was the key to Ray Allen hitting game winning 3-pointer. As a Celtics fan though you felt they were going to win no matter what. Even if they lost you had the feeling they would still win the series. I imagine that Knick fans were feeling just the opposite. I also have to think Knick fans are thinking, "We traded away half the team for that?"... These were pretty amusing... Next week is bad for me. Jonas Brothers are in town.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Zack Greinke has changed agents and is requesting to be traded. The Rangers seem to be the favorite to land him but you know the Yankees will put on a full court press since they are in desperationland. FWIW - Greinke was 0-2 in 3 starts with an 8.82 ERA at old Yankee Stadium. Makes you wonder whether it was the Yankees or the city?... The world would have been a much better place if John Wooden started a religion instead of L. Ron Hubbard... Does the Clash lyric "He who f*cks nuns will later join the church" explain the Red Sox signing of Carl Crawford?... Just as an FYI - "Britney Spears" is an anagram for “Presbyterians”.... I could see the Yankees spending for Rafael Soriano to be set up guy and as insurance for Mo Rivera especially given weakness of their rotation... Heh heh - great line by Steve Rushin, "In span of 12 days, McRib and McNabb both discontinued"... Can you imagine the number of HR that free agent Jim Thome could hit for the Rangers playing half his games in Arlington? Sure he's slowed some but for his career - Thome has an 1.025 OPS with 15 HR in 206 AB (that's a HR every 13.7 AB)... Interesting fact pointed out by Peter Gammons - Brandon Weeden, the Oklahoma State starting QB was once traded by the Yankees for Kevin Brown...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Trivia Question: Who held the home run record before Babe Ruth came along?... Last night Bill Simmons was making excuses for Obama's weak first pitch saying that you had to give him a break because he was wearing a big bullet-proof vest. Some people can't drink enough of the cool-aid. George Bush wore the same vest but he didn't throw like a girl... Someone named David Wells cashed in 603rd place at the WSOP. Could this be Boomer Wells? $21k could buy a lot of hamburgers if it was... Interesting to note that Jim Thome of the White Sox has a CAREER OPS of .965 while Justin Morneau of the Twins has never equaled that OPS in a single season... I've become a fan of Michelob Golden. I understand that it has a very limited distribution area of just Minnesota and Wisconsin. However, Summit Extra Pale Ale is my new favorite Minnesota beer... Jon Heyman of SI speaking of the first pitch by Obama tweeted last night that George Bush's biggest tool was his pitching arm. I disagree. His biggest "tool" was Ari Fleisher... Trivia Answer: His name was Roger Connor and his old record for home runs was just 136

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Jermaine Dye is quietly having one of the best seasons of his career. The 35-year old Dye hit his 17th HR of the year last night and is on pace to hit 40 for the season... This is very funny. Elvis Grbac you sexy thing - or not... Today would have been the 313th birthday of William Pepperrell one of the original American Horatio Alger-type success stories and the man for whom Pepperrell, Mass is named for... A-Rod passed Reggie Jackson in HR last night for 11th place on the all-time list with 564 HR's. Jim Thome is now just 10 HR away from catching Reggie too... I have seen every episode of Band of Brothers dozens of times and it never dawned on me that the actor who played Lt. Jones - Colin Hanks - was the son of Band of Brothers executive producer and uber star Tom Hanks... As I mentioned in an earlier post - the Red Sox magic number is now 86 which happens to be the number of episodes made of the HBO blockbuster The Sopranos. The Wire had fewer episodes but was the much better show... Opponents are hitting better than .300 against the Twins' Kevin Slowey. His 10 wins are a mirage... Today would have been Willie Mosconi's 96th birthday. In my mind Mosconi is without a doubt the greatest pool player who ever lived...

The Lost Generation

Ask not to know for whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee

The phrase "the lost generation" was made famous by Ernest Hemingway. It described the generation of American writers who lived in Paris and other parts of Europe, some after military service in World War I. Members of the Lost Generation included Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson, Waldo Peirce, and John Dos Passos.

Baseball has their own Lost Generation - the players of the so called Steroids Era.

Take a look at the Top 20 Home Run Hitters of all-time. There are 11 players on the list who played from roughly the time of Ernest Hemingway's original Lost Generation back when Babe Ruth first took the field for the Red Sox in 1914 til Mike Schmidt retired in 1989. That's 11 players from a span of 75 years. The Steroids Era put 9 players into the all-time top 20 in just 20 years.

Of those 9 players - 3 are proven steroids users (Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Alex Rodriguez) and two are assumed by pretty much everybody to have been users (Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa). That leaves just 4 players on that list who have not been tainted - yet.

Ken Griffey Jr. - injuries have robbed Junior of much of his career. He was considered the natural (pun intended). After A-Rod's revelations would it be so shocking to find out that Junior juiced too? It should be remembered that the accepted story is that Barry Bonds decided to juice after meeting with Junior at Griffey's home and being upset at the attention McGwire was getting.

Jim Thome - let's be honest. If you asked people who knew nothing about baseball to pick out the players on steroids from any team picture of any team Thome has been on - then the stocky muscular Thome gets picked almost every time.

Manny Ramirez - I was the biggest Manny apologist for the longest time but I wouldn't be surprised at this point if his name was among that list of 104.

Frank Thomas - Oh no - not the Big Hurt! Many people point out Barry Bonds magic hat size expansion as proof of his juicing. Who has a bigger noggin in baseball than Frank Thomas?

The point is that none of the home run hitters of the steroids era are above suspicion anymore. If feel bad for Junior, Thome, Manny and Frank Thomas if they did things the clean way because now they will forever be lumped in with the Bonds, Palmeiros and A-Rod's.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for you and your favorite home run hitter.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Everyone wants to put the Tigers into the elite category of teams in the AL but I wonder if their pitching rotation is really all that great. Sure Justin Verlander is a stud but after him there are lots of question marks. Kenny Rogers is 43 and is not only coming back from an injury plagued season but one where he was awful on the road (5.79 road ERA). Do you really want a 5.00 ERA out of your number 3 starter? That's what you get with Jeremy Bonderman. Speaking of ERA's over 5.00 - how about Dontrelle Willis' 5.17 last year in the NL? Normally there's like a half run jump in ERA for pitchers coming over to the AL - so does that mean that Dontrelle is looking at a 5.67 ERA this year? Nate Robinson has a career 4.60 ERA and if he can match that this year he just may have the second best ERA among the top 5 starters for the Tigers. Oh and have I mentioned that Todd Jones is still the closer for the Tigers? I'm just not sold on this pitching staff getting it done in 2008.... Oh and I should point out that the Tigers are also a very old team. Only Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson among the starters are less than 33-years old. Outside those two - the average age for the other 7 players in the starting batting order is almost 35-years old. It may turn out that the Tigers are one of those teams that just looks great on paper... Is it the pressure of being a hometown hero? Last season Joe Mauer hit just .248 at home for the Twins but a blistering .342 on the road. Maybe Mauer's poor production at the Metrodome has something to do with being occupied with Chelsea Cooley (Miss USA 2005) while at home. Poor guy could be exhausted. Just one of those things that make you say hmmm... Is Jim Thome a Hall of Famer? He could end up this season ahead of Joe DiMaggio and Rod Carew in runs scored. He could easily pass Ted Williams and Willie McCovey in home runs this year. With a good year he could catch or pass Mickey Mantle for career RBI. I used to be on the fense about Jim Thome and the Hall of Fame but I think if he can finish his career up with two decent seasons (not great - just decent) then he will have the numbers that will make it impossible to keep him out...

Jim Thome for the Hall of Fame? Take II

SI's Tom Verducci has a very well thought out article on whether Jim Thome is Hall of Fame worthy. Verducci says "no".

I agree 100% with Verducci's reasoning and argument. However, I also agree with his disclaimer:

Thome, 37, may play three more seasons and finish his career with about 575 home runs and 1,600 RBIs. He's the kind of player, like the pre-steroid tested Palmeiro, whose greatness is an accumulated one, rather than one that is defined by a fabulous peak. Thome's power, even with the other limitations, ultimately may be too prolific to ignore.

Jim Thome - Hall of Famer?

Jim Thome just hit his 500th HR and now people are asking if Thome is a Hall of Fame player. Last February I looked at which active players should be considered as potential Hall of Fame players. Here's what I said about Thome:

Jim Thome - he'll probably finish in the top 25 in HR and the top 75 in RBI but I don't think that will be enough. Thome never even finished higher than 4th place in MVP voting. Nice guy but so was Andre Dawson.

I still stand by that assessment.

Yes Jim Thome is both an excellent hitter and just as good a person. However, as good as Thome is as a hitter consider that he only has one Silver Slugger award to his credit (given to the best hitter at each position). And that one Silver Slugger Thome won was for 3rd base in 1996! That means that for the past 10-years that the managers and coaches who vote for the Silver Slugger may have thought that though Thome was good he wasn't better than some other player. Each and every year since 1996.

Thome was a true "three outcome" hitter. When he got to the plate he usually either walked, hit a home run or struck out. In fact besides now being in the 500 HR club - Thome is 3rd on all-time strikeout list with 2,031 and counting and over 58% of the time he got an AB he either had one of those three outcomes. Three times Thome led the league in walks and three time he led the league in strikeouts. Maybe if he does get in the Hall of Fame his plaque should read, "He was a selective hitter who swung from his ass."