You can put it on the plaza. YESSSS!

Let's all thank Ozzie for wanting Mark Kotsay to DH instead of Jim Thome.

August 18, 2010 at 2:39PM

Thanks, Ozzie.

If Ozzie Guillen hadn't wanted to split up his DH at-bats among a number of players this season, Jim Thome could have easily been with the White Sox this season. Give Ozzie partial credit, though. If Thome had returned, the expectation could well have been that he'd resume his role as the White Sox' main DH. But everything we've heard from the Twins indicates that Thome is past the stage of getting the 600 or so plate appearances that were his norm through 2008. It looks like he'll get about 350 this season.

Still, it makes you wonder a bit why the White Sox didn't offer him a spot with the understanding that he'd be part of Ozzie's plan to share the DH at-bats. Did it have to be an all-or-nothing thing?

Of course, the White Sox pretty much disrespected Thome last August 31, sending him to the Dodgers for a minor-league infielder named Justin Fuller, who was described at the time of the deal by a White Sox blog as "a 25-year-old A ball middle infielder of no repute whatsoever."

It was a salary dump.

Have there been second thoughts? Introducing the Twins-White Sox highlights late Tuesday night on MLB Network, Hazel Mae talked about how Ozzie at the start of spring training told a Chicago reporter: "I might be in the dugout in May saying, "Wow, I wish I had Jim Thome right now.' "

In July, though, Ozzie did a 180: "I never regret any [decision] I made with Thome," he told mlb.com. "Never, never."

In this case, let's be happy to let Ozzie have it both ways.

OK, enough pondering.

Dang, that was fun!

(Yeah, I'm a bit concerned about Matt Capps and the hanging slider and Jon Rauch and the disappearing effectiveness -- and you're more than welcome to talk about 'em -- but that's not going to be me right now And if you don't like that, roast me in the comments, then go outside and throw rocks at a dog.)

It was one of those nights when you high-fived your neighbors at the end and maybe asked people dressed in black-and-white, "Hey, how did the White Sox do tonight?" as you left Target Field. Or maybe you tried to start one of those "THOME! THOME! THOME!" chants that broke out as people waited for the light rail or tried to remember where they put their cars.

Maybe you were among those wondering about Delmon, whether he's been in a slump lately (as all players go through) or a flat-out tailspin. He may have offered an answer with his 3-for-5, including the home run that put the Twins back ahead 5-4 after Scott Baker couldn't hold the four-run lead he was given in the first inning. Delmon also got the hit right before Thome's blast to start the 10th.

And there was the other hit, the one Delmon delivered on A.J. in the bottom of the eighth when he was an easy out at the plate -- and opted to try knocking the ball loose. This came a few pitches after Chicago reliever Sergio Santos almost decapitated J.J. Hardy with an up-and-in fastball. A.J. acted like the ball hit Hardy's bat; Gardy thought it might have ticked Hardy's helmet.

Delmon was tagged out and earned a standing ovation from the fans in left field when he trotted out to his position for the ninth.

All of that came in the aftermath of a Sunday radio interview in which White Sox bullpen coach Juan Nieves said, "There's nothing that would please me more than having a brawl with them and kicking their rear. I've even thought of telling guys, 'Hey [Matt] Thornton, smoke [Joe] Mauer, see if you can start a fight. We're not afraid of anybody. I mean, I don't care if we have to do anything. ... If we can't beat 'em, might as well fight 'em. I'm a firm believer in that."

Here's a link to the podcast. Nieves' silliness starts at about the 27-minute mark of Hour 1. It's so silly that it's not worth a response.

And here's Hawk Harrelson's call, if you didn't watch it above (or want to watch it again and again). It's four words long.

It's probably best to end with this: The blog South Side Sox summed up Thomefest with this stream-of-consciousness headline: "Thome Walks-Off Sox, Twists Knife, Continues To Make Sox Brass Look REALLY Stupid." (Have fun reading the comments.)

about the writer

about the writer

Howard Sinker

Digital Sports Editor

Howard Sinker is digital sports editor at startribune.com and curates the website's Sports Upload blog. He is also a senior instructor in Media and Cultural Studies at Macalester College in St. Paul.

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