Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
ANDREW SELIGMAN
Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. - Jim Thome had an ace bandage wrapped around his midsection as he sat by his locker, but no, he's not injured.
His back's fine. So are his wrist and hamstring.
One year after re-establishing himself as a premier power hitter, Thome has a chance to reach 500 career home runs. And, he hopes, win a World Series.
"I certainly feel very, very strongly about winning," he said Sunday. "Winning a championship should be in everybody's plan. I certainly would like to accomplish that."
Thome put up some impressive numbers last season, his first with the White Sox - a .288 batting average, 42 home runs and 109 RBIs after being limited to 59 games because of injuries with Philadelphia the previous season. He has 472 homers, meaning he could reach a milestone this season.
But the most important number is this: 90.
That's how many games the White Sox won last season after capturing the championship in 2005. Not bad. But not good enough for a team that had visions of repeating - or at least getting back to the playoffs.
The champagne had barely run out when the White Sox added Javier Vazquez to the starting rotation and Thome's booming bat to the middle of the lineup. But instead of another celebration, there was a third-place finish in the AL Central.
Although he won two pennants with the Cleveland Indians, Thome's chase for a championship enters its 17th season.
"It's not over yet," said Thome, who turns 37 in August.
He sees another good opportunity, especially if Scott Podsednik provides the spark at the top of the order that he provided in 2005. It could also come from veteran outfielder Darin Erstad, a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner who signed with the White Sox last month.
While the top and bottom of the order struggled last year, the middle was solid.
Jermaine Dye and Joe Crede set career highs with 44 and 30 homers, and maybe that was no coincidence, with Thome in the lineup.
"He's always on base," said Paul Konerko, who hit 35 homers. "You get more chances to drive people in."
The White Sox led the majors with 236 home runs, were third in runs with 868 and tied for fourth with a .280 batting average. Thome saw some similarities to the teams he played on in Cleveland, where he was surrounded by sluggers like Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez.
"It becomes contagious," Thome said. "Having a nice year, helps make you fit in a little more. You become a part of the group."
The White Sox gambled when they traded popular center fielder Aaron Rowand to Philadelphia for Thome following the 2005 season.
He was coming off a season filled with injuries and frustration.
A lower back strain put him on the 15-day disabled list in early May that year, and he went back there two months later - this time with tendinitis in his right elbow. After five rehab appearances at Class A, he shut it down and underwent surgery in August.
He finished with a .207 average, seven homers and 30 RBIs in 59 games in his third season with Philadelphia after hitting 42 and driving in 105 a year earlier. Thome's one concern heading into last season was whether he would hold up physically.
"After you have surgery, you don't know," he said.
"If he's healthy, he's going to do his thing," Konerko said. "The year before, it wasn't because he had lost something; he was injured. As soon as he got healthy, that was that."
Thome got off to a strong start with his new team, batting .298 with 30 homers and 77 RBIs before the All-Star break last year. Back, hamstring and wrist problems limited him in the second half, but it was an impressive turnaround.
"He's going to see less at-bats during the season, but we're going to pick our spots to get him a couple days off here and there," manager Ozzie Guillen said.
Thome has a chance to reach a milestone this year that Konerko thinks would give him "an automatic ticket" to the Hall of Fame. Thome said joining the 500-homer club would be a special honor, especially if he did it en route to the championship.
"I've never been one to focus on individual things because winning is No. 1," he said. "When you win, all those other things take care of themselves. It's a neat number to think about, for sure."