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

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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.

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.

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

You can't rebuild with Thome.

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

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.

Originally Posted by 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

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

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.

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?

Originally Posted by Brandon

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.

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

Originally Posted by luke829

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

It depends largely upon his current broccoli intake.

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

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