Not Getting the Point
Straight-talkin' Ozzie Guillen was asked yesterday who he supports for the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award: Jim Thome, or Frank Thomas.
Guillen, of course, favored Thome. There's nothing wrong with that. Thome's having a great year, and you can't fault Guillen for supporting his own guy.
What I don't get is the rationale Guillen presented to defend his selection:
To summarize (to the extent that it's possible to summarize Guillen), Thome deserves the award because he got a lot of good press, and because no one thought Thomas would do squat this year.
Some people might think that the fact that no one thought Thomas would do squat this year actually works in Thomas' favor. And while expectations for the defending World Champions were higher than in Oakland, I don't think anyone expected the A's to put up a Cub-like season. Thomas has definitely pulled his weight as the A's have pulled away from the AL West pack.
Despite the "wrong" press, Thomas has had a hell of a year. It makes you wonder what kind of numbers he would have put up if he could run without worrying that his foot would break off at the ankle.
Oh, well. Maybe "comeback" means something different in Venezuela...
In a similar vein, I'm puzzled by the folks who are saying that the Tigers would be a major disappointment if they don't win the AL Central.
I'm sure Jim Leyland, the Tigers, and their fans would be sorely disappointed if they can't lock up the division title. But from an outsider's point of view, can a team that no one really took seriously in March be considered a major disappointment if they win 90+ games and stay in playoff contention deep into September?
Of course, this interpretation is a subtle put-down on the Twins and White Sox, too. Why talk about how those two teams made a race of it after it looked like the Tigers would run away and hide? It's easier to crack on the team for "blowing" it than to find reasons why another team won it.
There are still three weeks to go, and there is every chance the Tigers will make this discussion moot. Let's wait for the Tigers' corpse to get cold before we start kicking it, shall we?
Guillen, of course, favored Thome. There's nothing wrong with that. Thome's having a great year, and you can't fault Guillen for supporting his own guy.
What I don't get is the rationale Guillen presented to defend his selection:
I think Jim Thome because nobody thought he would have the year he's had this year, and the expectations for Jim were higher than for Frank.
Not to take anything away from Frank, but when he went to Oakland, he was another guy in the bunch, and he was hopeful of making the team. When we brought
Thome here, he was replacing [Pants] Rowand, and there were expectations to win. The expectations were higher.
Thome was all over the news. Frank was in the news in the wrong way. I think it should be Thome.
To summarize (to the extent that it's possible to summarize Guillen), Thome deserves the award because he got a lot of good press, and because no one thought Thomas would do squat this year.
Some people might think that the fact that no one thought Thomas would do squat this year actually works in Thomas' favor. And while expectations for the defending World Champions were higher than in Oakland, I don't think anyone expected the A's to put up a Cub-like season. Thomas has definitely pulled his weight as the A's have pulled away from the AL West pack.
Despite the "wrong" press, Thomas has had a hell of a year. It makes you wonder what kind of numbers he would have put up if he could run without worrying that his foot would break off at the ankle.
Oh, well. Maybe "comeback" means something different in Venezuela...
In a similar vein, I'm puzzled by the folks who are saying that the Tigers would be a major disappointment if they don't win the AL Central.
I'm sure Jim Leyland, the Tigers, and their fans would be sorely disappointed if they can't lock up the division title. But from an outsider's point of view, can a team that no one really took seriously in March be considered a major disappointment if they win 90+ games and stay in playoff contention deep into September?
Of course, this interpretation is a subtle put-down on the Twins and White Sox, too. Why talk about how those two teams made a race of it after it looked like the Tigers would run away and hide? It's easier to crack on the team for "blowing" it than to find reasons why another team won it.
There are still three weeks to go, and there is every chance the Tigers will make this discussion moot. Let's wait for the Tigers' corpse to get cold before we start kicking it, shall we?
posted by Bob at
8:50 PM
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