Jim Thome traded to Orioles

And Manky didn't even need his grandma.

 

Bless you.

 

His prowess at his age has been pretty amazing. It will be interesting to see if playing much more often will wear him down, though. When I think of Thome, the first descriptor that comes to my mind is "broad-backed."

He's no Barry Bonds, but as far as left-handed power hitters go, he's up there.

 

He's a Hall of Famer and a good guy. My best to him. The Phillies did him a favor. He can't field any longer but can still swing the toothpick.

 

According to a guy in baseball I talked to: "The only major leaguer who doesn't cheat on his wife."

Allegedly he catches shit about that fact from other players.

 

I take that as a hint to reach out to Nick Punto, you know.

Also, this still makes me laugh.

 

Have there ever been steroid questions about Thome? I don't remember any and of the recent sluggers, I think the only two you could say that about were Thome and Griffey.

 

I've heard all about the less than pleasant feelings Thome left Cleveland fans with. However, as a Phillies fan, I'm glad he came to Philadelphia.
By 2002-03, that franchise sucked. The 1993 miracle notwithstanding, it had been about 20 years since the team was relevant. They hadn't signed a top-notch free agent since Pete Rose in 1979. Most of the free agents they signed, were mediocre players at best that management tried to sell to fans as game-changers (like Steve Ontiveros and Danny Tartabull). The '93 World Series run only happened because all of those type players had career years in the same season.
Thome finally was a game-changer. More than that, he was a culture-changer. Every at-bat he had in that 2003 season, you felt like he could hit a home run. He made baseball in Philadelphia fun again. It was the start of the run they've been on the past decade, where they finally have opened the wallet, made moves for A-list guys, and become perennial contenders.
Even though he was gone by 2008, I'm not sure that championship happens without Thome coming over in 2003.
For that alone, he ought to have a special place in every Phillies fan's heart.

 

Got to meet him once -- work-related, but it still counts. He couldn't have been more gracious.

I never was a fan of any of the teams he played for, but I'm a fan of him.

That said, I'm shocked we're this far into a Manky thread with no mention of the baseball deity that is Derek Jeter.

For that matter, why does Jim Thome get his own thread? I like the guy plenty, but this probably could've had a 1- to 2-page lifespan on the Baseball thread, which would have been more than appropriate.

My 2 cents, in any case.

 

I don't think there have ever been any serious rumors, but it has been noted how much Thome's physique changed during his career. He was a beanpole in the early to mid-1990s. By the 2000s he was being compared to Paul Bunyan.

 

But Manky has to have his own thread ...

Don't you know that by now? [/blue]

 

Yes, please, let's just make it so the whole fucking board is 10 threads. Running threads for each sport, plus a weather thread, entertainment thread and an anything goes thread.

When will you fucks stop with the goddamn running thread shit? NO one HAS to post where you want them to post. If the mods hate it, they will move it.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck. Running threads fucking suck. Why should I have to read about Bryce Harper's balls to find out Jim Thome got traded? Tell me WHY, KY.