via Prospect Retro: Frank Thomas

about 1 year ago The Wizard 16 comments 2 recs |

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this article

is an interesting parallel to draw for those on here who really want one of those guys in the draft who is all hit, no field.

4/29/08: the ginger ninja strikes again

by larry on May 4, 2008 2:54 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

you mean they should be encouraged?

The players drafted ahead of him that year were (in order): Ben McDonald, RHP, LSU; Tyler Houston, C, Nevada HS; Roger Salkeld, RHP, California HS; Jeff Jackson, OF, Illinois HS; Donald Harris, OF, Texas Tech; Paul Coleman, OF, Texas HS. All the position players were considered far toolsier than Thomas.
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Someone asked what kind of prospect he was, so here’s the answer: he was a terrific hitting prospect and the fact that he wasn’t a great fielder or as toolsy as Jeff Jackson, Don Harris, Paul Coleman, or Tyler Houston didn’t end up mattering one bit.

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on May 4, 2008 6:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

if i meant they should be encouraged, i would have said that. there’s a reason a guy like thomas dropped to the sox. but he’s the poster child for what one would hope those guys in this years draft would become.

4/29/08: the ginger ninja strikes again

by larry on May 4, 2008 6:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

oh, I see

if i meant they should be encouraged, i would have said that

I guess when you wanna discourage “those on here who really want one of those guys in the draft who is all hit, no field” you don’t point to an article that says “the fact that he wasn’t a great fielder or as toolsy … didn’t end up mattering one bit”

otherwise you confuse The Wizard!

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on May 4, 2008 6:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

sorry

i wasn’t clear. i wasn’t meaning to either encourage or discourage anyone. just pointing out the sox could (and likely will be) in a similar position as they were in 1989, in terms of the type of player available to them. if you, since you are of the ilk i was referring to, want to take encouragement from the parallel, by all means go ahead. i just find it interesting at this point.

4/29/08: the ginger ninja strikes again

by larry on May 4, 2008 7:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

ok, what do you think the sox should do professor?

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on May 4, 2008 8:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

same as i always think: take the best player available

since the sox aren’t on the clock, i don’t know who that is. whoever is picked before their spot, the sox are going to have a few players who are roughly similar to choose from. i’m not really much for mock drafts and i imagine there are people who remember my position that, once you get past the first four or so picks (depending upon the draft), it’s tough to really separate players much more than saying for a given spot that “these five guys are about equally as good.”

4/29/08: the ginger ninja strikes again

by larry on May 4, 2008 8:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i have that card

it’s beat to shit, but i have it.

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on May 4, 2008 6:44 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

i had that card, too. that and my oklahoma state robin ventura were my pride and joy back then.

i loved the big hurt in the mid -90s. i actually think he made me a better baseball player watching how disciplined he was at the plate.

i wish someone had told me that sportsnation had replaced rationality with caps lock.

by MarketMaker on May 5, 2008 2:24 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

that guy in the picture with him must be a midget

or david eckstein.

4/29/08: the ginger ninja strikes again

by larry on May 5, 2008 1:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Is that called a reach-around?

Hurt’s expression looks as if he’s asked the guy to turn his head and cough. (And it does look like he’s putting the tag on a Little Leaguer.)

I took the "under".

by winningugly on May 5, 2008 3:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Frank was a beast

Jeez, what a physical specimen – imagine his career if he would’ve kept himself in this kind of condition? He had really good speed when he first came up.

"The little things are always in my mind," he said. "I always like to move the guy over, I like to bunt."

by ChicagoPete on May 5, 2008 5:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

a guy his size was not going to keep himself in that kind of condition

like i said, there’s a reason he dropped to the sox.

Jesus H. Larry! I said the first half!

by larry on May 5, 2008 6:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Discrimination against the mesomorph?

I wonder if he was always a pain in the ass or if he developed it as a major leaguer. His expression tells me he had the chip during that photo-op.

I took the "under".

by winningugly on May 5, 2008 8:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Too bad he didn't juice up in his mid-30s

By that picture he looks about 5-10% body fat and totally football condition ripped. He larded up and backed off on the conditioning big time when he got older, the juice would’ve fixed that up real good. I can’t even imagine what kind of numbers a chemically-enhanced Frank would have thrown out there, he was scary enough clean.

"The little things are always in my mind," he said. "I always like to move the guy over, I like to bunt."

by ChicagoPete on May 6, 2008 8:35 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs