Our Jim Thome Plan
One way for Phils to use Jim Thome.
Our Jim Thome Plan
Bob Vetrone Jr.
Now that the Phillies are done with the designated hitter for this season (at least until the World Series), what do they do with Jim Thome?
Thome, whose back prevents him from playing any fielding position, served the Phillies well in nine games as a DH, but has never showed much promise as a pinch-hitter. (He’s 0-for-11 this season, 0-for-his-last-14 dating back to last July, and hitting .214 in his career.)
So we have a plan ... well, at least half a plan.
The Phillies have 44 road games remaining, games in which they will bat before they play the field. Why not put Thome in the starting lineup in the No. 3 slot for those 44 games and then just have a player replace Thome in the field after he bats in the top of the first inning?
At least this way, Thome will know about when his at-bat will come each night — and against which pitcher — and can plan accordingly. No more worrying about when Charlie Manuel’s going to tell him to get ready or eyeing the bullpen to see if the opposing team has a lefty up just to face him.
And maybe, just maybe, one of the first two hitters could get on base and set the table for Big Jim. Even if they don’t, with 608 career home runs, Thome himself is always in scoring position.
Last time we checked, runs scored in the first inning (in which Thome is a career .274 hitter) counted every bit as much as runs scored in later innings.
And Manuel will still be able to pick his PH spots for Thome in home games, when the Phils have to play the field first.
The Phils aren’t back on the road until next Friday in Miami, so maybe in the meantime Thome will turn into Ed Kranepool (who hit .447, 42-for-94, from 1974-77 as a PH).
But if he doesn’t, maybe this is one way to go.
| THOME as PH | |||
| H-AB | Avg. | HR | |
| 2012 | 0- 11 | .000 | 0 |
| Career | 28- 131 | .214 | 4 |
| THOME in FIRST INNING | |||
| H-AB | Avg. | HR | |
| 2012 | 2- 8 | .250 | 0 |
| Career | 278-1016 | .274 | 76 |
| THOME in NO. 3 HOLE | |||
| H-AB | Avg. | HR | |
| 2012 | — | — | — |
| Career | 534-1934 | .276 | 153 |
interesting, but Charlie would never waste his security blanket that early.— phils_tnj1- Really good idea. Unfortunately, the mess will be too difficult to clean up after Manuel's brain explodes trying to implement this strategy.— JimEisenreich
- And every time they need a PH later in the same game, or god forbid, go to extra innings, people will never let Charlie hear the end of it. It's creative but not the most practical.— T-Money
- I like the idea, but it is at best making lemonade out of a lemon, and at worst it underscores how mismatched Thome is here, even though he is one of the msost loved Phils ever. Thome is at the end, taking a victory lap. He's now a DH not a PH. Out of respect, assuming Thome would agree, Amaro should let him continue his encore lap with Cleveland, which needs a DH while Travis Hafner is DLed. I hope Amaro soon has the mindset of a seller who recognizes that, if he can sign Hamels, he does not need to back up the truck, but he had better begin getting some position prospects in the minors who can do more than pitch. It is time to retooling for next year. Maybe Charlie will need to use your idea for Utley.— keystonedave
- Great idea and yes, runs in the first are just as important as runs later. In fact, you could make the argument that they are better ...giving your pitcher a lead, especially in a foreign stadium. As for losing a power bat in a late inning situation ... if he's not sucessful doing that (and there is more than a small sample size that says he's not, why kid yourself into thinking he'll always come through. And he'll face something other than lefties.
But, egos do come into play here and it would be hard for ANY manager to make a big change like this at the suggestion of someone outside the club. Pardone me on this but especially from a sports reporter.— nc_bg - Isn't Howard coming back after the all star game? Haven't heard much about Howard recently?— bobcitydoc
Comment removed.- This is the dumbest Idea I have ever seen. Trade Thome today to an American League team and get whatever you can. His value will never be higher than it is right now and he is now useless to the Phils.— FetchDixon
- I love it; but I can just imagine Charlie thinking "That does not compute! That does not compute!"— rjw817
- Charlie would never do something that takes creativity, your last chance to implement something like that was when LaRussa was still in the game.— drbob1
- very interesting idea, but my guess is that Thome, like most hitters, needs more than one AB a game to stay sharp. I'd trade him to the AL and try to get back as much as the market will bear. That might be the two best prospects in an organization's farm system.— camdenlawprof
- Um, so who will replace him in the field and hit in the 3 hole from then on? You're not going to want a scrub like Michael Martinez hitting third the rest of the game, or you'd be taking out someone like Hunter Pence. Doesn't work.— hiphop_JORGE
- That's so crazy, it just might work!— willthethrill11
- I like the idea...Thome is a gamer and would give his best effort toward a idea like that...(I could see multiple 3-run HR's in many 1st innings, as long as we don't give the usual pop-ups at the 1st pitch). Now, trading Thome to AL for the best we can get (farm prospects), I'm just not all in..I see Thome going out as a Phil we eat the money and keep him around— pibby
- Why not just admit that signing Thome was a good PR move, worth a shot for nostalgia's sake, but ultimately a mistake? If he can't play the field to stay sharp at the plate, and he can't pinch hit worth a darn in the NL, why not do him and the team a favor and trade him for a prospect to an AL team where he can thrive and we can fill a roster spot with a player who can actually take the field if required? I'm sure it's great to have him in the clubhouse, but isn't he suffering too knowing that he could be much more productive in an AL setting? I think it's time to declare the "Thome-in-Philly Era" officially over.— Steve Landis
