Article: Thome or Not Thome: That apparently is the question

[Seth Stohs]

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1406-Thome-or-Not-Thome-That-apparently-is-the-question

[Oldgoat_MN]

Love Thome, but the Twins should give a lot of young players at bats.

Admit it is a rebuilding year and see what we have.

That approach will not only give more experience to some of these kids, but will get us a earlier draft pick.

Am I totally resigned about this season? Maybe.

[savvyspy]

On a 90-100 loss team I'd take Thome over any of those stiffs listed. The correct approach is to get as many ABs as possible for guys like Plouffe, Parmalee, or bring up Arcia. But would I rather see Thome hit a 3 run shot in a 10-4 loss where Correia went 2 1/3 innings? Sure.

[Mike Sixel]

Rebuilding teams should not be signing anyone older than 25 or 30.....I am baffled by the refusal to use young unproven players.

[Top Gun]

You can't rebuild with Thome.

[johnnydakota]

If the twins are deadset to add Thome , why not sign him as a coach reasign Ullger to golf cart driver for Tom Kelly,Then when September roles around activate The gentile giant Jim and let him have his farewell tour

[nicksaviking]

If the Twins (Gardy) are adament about having some bench power, I have to think the team will give Colabello a very long look before turning to outside help. He's not young, but he's still on the good side of 30; much younger than the other options.

 

Plus, it's probably not a bad thing to have another guy on the team pushing Parmelee to be the heir apparent to Morneau at 1B. Making it a foregone conclusion that Parmelee is the chosen one is dangerous and tempting fate.

[Oldgoat_MN]

If the twins are deadset to add Thome , why not sign him as a coach reasign Ullger to golf cart driver for Tom Kelly,Then when September roles around activate The gentile giant Jim and let him have his farewell tour

 

I love this idea. And it has no logic behind it.

Baseball fans are a sentimental group. Especially when it comes to a master of the craft and a true gentleman like Jim Thome.

[beckmt]

If the Twins (Gardy) are adament about having some bench power, I have to think the team will give Colabello a very long look before turning to outside help. He's not young, but he's still on the good side of 30; much younger than the other options.

 

Plus, it's probably not a bad thing to have another guy on the team pushing Parmelee to be the heir apparent to Morneau at 1B. Making it a foregone conclusion that Parmelee is the chosen one is dangerous and tempting fate.

 

Agree with this. The issue is can Colabello hit major league pitching. We will have a chance to give him some starts when Morneau is gone for the better part of two weeks. Twins should use them an see if Colabello has anything to offer. But he will be gone too, bad move for him as this is his best chance to open some eyes.

[righty8383]

I have absolutley no interest in Thome or any of the players listed in the article. While no one knows for sure what we have in Colabello, this year would be the perfect chance to see what he has.

[jmlease1]

I'd prefer that the twins give a bench slot to one of the younger players that grab one of the guys listed above who all seem...done. If I have to pick one of these guys, I guess it'd be Scott Rolen in hopes that he could help Plouffe get settled on defense?

 

But if they really want to add someone for the bench they're going to have to make sure they carry no more than 11 pitchers. Which should be a done deal, but with the Twins...

[Shane Wahl]

He bats left-handed. Full stop.

 

But I'll go on. Adding a guy who can do one thing when the bench already has a guy who can only do one thing (Butera) is not a good idea.

[nicksaviking]

He bats left-handed. Full stop.

 

But I'll go on. Adding a guy who can do one thing when the bench already has a guy who can only do one thing (Butera) is not a good idea.

 

I agree, but I suspect Butera may be the one pushed out the door if the team does chose to have a more powerful bench option. I don't see them sacraficing a bullpen spot with all the guys in the rotation being injury question marks. If the team is forced to pick between it's two loves, a 12 man pitching staff or a third catcher, I think they keep the bullpen fully stocked.

[Steve Penz]

I am pleased to log in at this point and not see folks advocating for Thome. A player like that has no place on this team with what they have in front of them. To have Thome in the Twins org as a coach and/or player advisor going forward would be great. Who does not love Jim Thome? Unfortunately that has nothing to do with it.

[Brandon]

On one side of the fence the Twins chose to rebuild and are not fielding a highly competetive team or a team that could compete if everything and i mean everything broke right. The Twins are likely to lose 200,000+ in ticket sales this year to an increasingly disgruntled fan base as we go through the rebuilding process. They could recoup some of that in having Thome around. There could be a Jim Thome as Paul Bunyon bobblehead if that hasnt been done yet and also if his last few games can draw crowds. Plus it would be fun to have him around and having an extra hitting coach around. all for what 500k to 1000k and 150-200 plate appearances?

[nicksaviking]

Plus it would be fun to have him around and having an extra hitting coach around. all for what 500k to 1000k and 150-200 plate appearances?

 

It's not the atbats as much as it is taking up one of only four likely bench spots. He can't play the field, the team would be pretty hampered when it comes to substitutions. And he's a lefty, the Twins need righties.

[luke829]

How much gas would someone his age realistically have left in the tank?

[snepp]

How much gas would someone his age realistically have left in the tank?

 

It depends largely upon his current broccoli intake.

[Brandon]

Just to reiterate thats 150-200 plate apprearances if he is producing. why not sign him?

[Jerr]

Give the at bats to the guys we are rebuilding with, so Thome? NO!!!!

[FrodaddyG]

Just to reiterate thats 150-200 plate apprearances if he is producing. why not sign him?

Because the DH spot already has a logjam of Mauer/Morneau/Doumit that will be rotating through the majority of the PAs, and Thome can't do anything but hit.

[jokin]

Because the DH spot already has a logjam of Mauer/Morneau/Doumit that will be rotating through the majority of the PAs, and Thome can't do anything but hit.

 

Willingham also will be in that mix of jammed logs of DHs for 2013. 25 games at DH last year. Given his health history, it's very possible he will need to be playing more than that number at DH going forward.

 

I've always loved Thome, even when he was on the enemy team, but it makes no sense to bring him back unless someone could demonstrate that he brings some intangible mentoring-value in coaching up the young up-and-comers in raising their power quotient in that allegedly "pitcher-friendly" Target Field.

[one_eyed_jack]

At this point I don't feel too strongly about this one way or the other. It's not a move that makes a lot of sense, but I'm not going to complain much of it happens.

 

Best case scenario is that Thome shows enough that a contender takes an interest in him and he's dealt at the deadline. The Twins gets a lottery ticket prospect, and Gentle Jim gets one last shot at a storybook ending to a wonderful career.

[diehardtwinsfan]

If you want to talk about moves that puts fans in seats, signing Thome is that... and given his abilities, he could win a few games during those late inning pinch hits as well. I see no harm in doing this other than a slightly lower draft spot next year... and you could argue that he'd be a great mentor for some of the younger guys.

[Guest USAFChief]

I would normally say no, a team in the Twins position shouldn't be giving ABs to guys his age, but if the only two choices are Butera or Thome, give me Big Jim. At least it'll bring some semblance of excitement to a few late ABs. Those saying there is a log jam at DH are assuming a lot about health through a 162 game season, too. So there's that.

[FrodaddyG]

I would normally say no, a team in the Twins position shouldn't be giving ABs to guys his age, but if the only two choices are Butera or Thome, give me Big Jim. At least it'll bring some semblance of excitement to a few late ABs. Those saying there is a log jam at DH are assuming a lot about health through a 162 game season, too. So there's that.

Of a team's concerns throughout a season, "depth at DH" is somewhere behind "who is the team's 6th catcher".

[Brandon]

Ok so here's what we have,

 

DH Doumit

C Mauer

1b Morneau

LF Willingham

RF Parmelee

 

All of these guys will need days off during the year. Yes they can get a breather at DH but i doubt any of these guys gets 162 games at their respective positions. Also Some one needs to hit for our dynamic MI Duo late in the games. that can easily be taken up by a player who can handle getting 150-250 plate appearances off the bench. If Thome gets 30-40 starts at DH and another 40-60 pinch hitting appearances I don't think that will affect anyones development as we dont really have anyone proven who can do that.

 

Thome may well prove to be done in which case he would be cut after 30-50 plate appearances. Attendance is going to lag and I would rather watch him hit than Butera if given a choice.

 

Not to mention if a player gets hurt the Twins won't have to rush Arcia or they can be able to put whoever they bring up in better situations. There is mostly only upside to this signing so why not. We will not keep him long if he is done.

[Guest USAFChief]

Of a team's concerns throughout a season, "depth at DH" is somewhere behind "who is the team's 6th catcher".

You seem to have totally missed the point.

[by jiminy]

He's not going to make them winners this year, and he's not going to help make them winners in the future. But if he makes people smile in an otherwise dreary year, that's not bad.

 

If he started at DH too much and kept people like Parmalee from getting at-bats, that would be a problem. But seeing Thome coming off the bench to pinch hit every now and then might provide a few much-needed bright spots. So wouldn't mind either way.

 

Signing Podsednik, though, would make me scream.

[nicksaviking]

Darren Wolfson is again Tweeting that the Twins have interest in Thome. He specifically mentions Gardy as interested (no shock) but says not all MN officials are on board. That would seem to imply that some officials ARE on board. I kind of doubt it, I think it's Gardy vs the front office on this one. Thome wants a MLB contract, the Twins obviously are not as willing to give one.

 

Coincedentally(?) MLBTR is reporting that Vlad Guerrero also wants to come back but he IS willing to take a minor league deal. I love Thome, but there's little doubt the right handed Guerrero is a better fit, though neither may be a great fit.