That Hurts, Part 5

"I don’t know if we have the luxury of waiting two to three months for someone to kick in because we can’t let this league or this division get away from us." -J.P. Riccardi

Days since Frank Thomas was released : 56

Blue Jays' record since Frank Thomas last appeared in their lineup : 27-25

Number of times Blue Jays have scored more than 5 runs : 11 in 51 games

Frank Thomas's batting line since his release : .319/.417/.516 (OPS+ 164), same as it was last update. Right quadriceps tendinitis has kept him out since May 28 and for at least a few more weeks.

Shannon Stewart's batting line since Thomas's release : .241/321/.305

Stew's on a 2-for-27 kick after his three hits in the 12-0 game. Wilkerson's OPS+ of 83 is the highest among himself, Mench, and Stewart. The Jays scored six runs in three games against the league's worst team.

That Hurts, Part 4

A day early today.

“I don’t know if we have the luxury of waiting two to three months for someone to kick in because we can’t let this league or this division get away from us." -J.P. Riccardi

Days since Frank Thomas was released : 39

Blue Jays' record since Frank Thomas last appeared in their lineup : 19-17

Number of times Blue Jays have scored more than 5 runs : 7 in 36 games

Frank Thomas's batting line since his release : .319/.417/.516 (OPS+ 164)

Shannon Stewart's batting line since Thomas's release : .264/.331/.321

Stew was on a very impressive 11-game hitting streak until last night during which he hit .359, but with no power. Mench and Wilkerson are hitting a combined .183. The offense is beginning to pick things up but in their last 12 losses the Jays have scored 18 runs - 1.5 per game. 8 of those 12 losses have been by 1 or 2 runs, or in extras.

Inappropriate Names on the All-Star Ballot

(Otherwise known as "who I voted for")

1B Richie Sexson, SEA
2B Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE
SS Luis Hernandez, BAL
3B Melvin Mora, BAL
OF Jacque Jones, DET; Brad Wilkerson, SEA; Adam Jones, BAL
C Kenji Johjima (only if Washburn gets the start), SEA
DH Frank Thomas, TOR

1B Dan Ortmeier, SF
2B Kazuo Matsui, HOU
SS Cristian Guzman, WAS
3B Pedro Feliz, PHI
C Ronny Paulino, PIT
OF Andruw Jones, LA; Jim Edmonds, SD; Michael Bourn, HOU

That Hurts - Part 3

“I don’t know if we have the luxury of waiting two to three months for someone to kick in because we can’t let this league or this division get away from us." -J.P. Riccardi

Days since Frank Thomas was released : 30

Blue Jays' record since Frank Thomas last appeared in their lineup : 15-14

Number of times Blue Jays have scored more than 5 runs : 4 in 29 games

Frank Thomas's batting line since his release : .269/.390/.343

Shannon Stewart's batting line since Thomas's release : .253/.321/.333

Stew's picked it up a bit lately, but not by much. Both players basically sat all weekend during that despicable sideshow of interleague play. Mench and Wilkerson haven't done much yet.

That Hurts - Part 2

“I don’t know if we have the luxury of waiting two to three months for someone to kick in because we can’t let this league or this division get away from us." -J.P. Riccardi

Days since Frank Thomas was released : 20

Blue Jays' record since Frank Thomas last appeared in their lineup : 8-10

Number of times Blue Jays have scored more than 5 runs : 1 in 18 games

Frank Thomas's batting line since his release : .267/.400/.356

Shannon Stewart's batting line since Thomas's release : .224/.283/.286

The decision looks worse than ever with the looming arrival of Brad Wilkerson and the lovely 0-for-6 Stew put up in the 2 hole last night.

That Hurts - Part 1 of a long series

“I don’t know if we have the luxury of waiting two to three months for someone to kick in because we can’t let this league or this division get away from us." -J.P. Riccardi

Days since Frank Thomas was released : 10

Blue Jays' record since Frank Thomas last appeared in their lineup : 2-7

Number of times Blue Jays have scored more than 5 runs : 0 in 9 games

Frank Thomas's batting line since his release : .313/.476/.500

Shannon Stewart's batting line since Thomas's release : .143/.250/.190

We're doing this one all summer, boys.

Frank Thomas Released

Frank Thomas has been released after he complained about being benched in order to prevent his option kicking in (let's be adults here, it's obvious this is what is going on).

I have defended J.P. Ricciardi for an awfully long time, but it's become more and more obvious as time goes on that he is a very poor manager of risk. Just how getting rid of one of your highest-upside players is supposed to help you win the pennant, I haven't the faintest idea. Ricciardi has become more and more conservative in his decision-making the longer he's been in the job, and the results are the disheartening mess of an attempt at "contention" we've seen the last two years. The original contract to Thomas was an excellent piece of risk management in my view. This latest move, though, repudiates all the good work put into it.

Frank, my dear

In response to the "does Thomas have anything left" discussion at Da Box:
--

I'm sure Thomas has something left, too. I'm just not sure what it is.

He's hitting just .159 on balls in play, his lowest ever. His .177 in 2005 at least came with a slugging average near .600 and a homer every three games. That may correct itself if he gets more playing time, but his line drive rate has been dropping steadily for five or six years, and with it his power. Even if you ignore this year. Subjectively, of course, Thomas looks awful (though I recognize that he looked similarly bad last year and still ended up above-average).

And this "Thomas is always a slow starter" nonsense needs to be put to rest. It's only lately that he's really struggled in the beginning--i.e., April 2006 and May 2007. In his career, his March/April line is .283/.407/.513 vs. .302/.420/.559 overall. Doesn't seem that far off to me.

I know we're all supposed to think warm and fuzzy thoughts about Frank the teddy bear, but unless that bear is going to maul someone like Dana Eveland, it looks as clear to me as the lack of hair on Magpie's head that Thomas' career is either done or close to it.

FREE ADAM LIND.