Frank Thomas Released

[oakfanintheeast]

the fact that the blue jays didnt want to have his option kick in just goes to show how shady they are.

go back and look and frank thomas' last 60 ABs last year, and his year with oakland.

[Schad]

the fact that the blue jays didnt want to have his option kick in just goes to show how shady they are.

go back and look and frank thomas' last 60 ABs last year, and his year with oakland.

His batspeed is totally gone. Pitchers were throwing 90-92 MPH pitches by him in fastball counts; he was 3 for his last 35 without a single extra-base hit, and looked every bit that bad.

[oakfanintheeast]

-= original quote snipped =-



His batspeed is totally gone. Pitchers were throwing 90-92 MPH pitches by him in fastball counts; he was 3 for his last 35 without a single extra-base hit, and looked every bit that bad.

Frank through 60 AB in 2006 with the A's: .167/.231/.400, 5 BB, 9 K
Last year through 61 AB: .197/.329/.328, 11 BB, 13 K
This year through 60 AB: .167/.306/.333, 11 BB, 13 K


Blue jays didnt want his option to kick in.its that simple.

[studcrackers]

yea his batspeed may not be what it used to be but even through june he was hitting .211 and finished with some respectbale #'s

[oomalay]

^ May be true but we're usually out of the playoff picture by June. We need production now to stay in the hunt. Not in July/August when it doesn't matter.

[Bleeding Green]

Well, Thomas is a likely upgrade at DH for several teams. The Angels (Garret Anderson), Orioles (Kevin Millar!) and Mariners (Jose Vidro) and a few teams don't have a set DH.

Did you know there is only one DH in baseball with an OPS over .760 right now? That's ridiculous. Average DH on the season is hitting .241/.335/.390. It's early, but this is a 1200 PA sample.

[Schad]

yea his batspeed may not be what it used to be but even through june he was hitting .211 and finished with some respectbale #'s

Some of his numbers from last season were odd...his line drive percentage fell, grounded out more than ever, and the percentage of fly balls that went for homers fell right off the table. The results were still there, but he outperformed his peripherals by a pretty fair margin thanks in part to his best BA/bip in seven years.

Anecdotally, pitchers seemed much more comfortable working in the middle of the zone than any time I can remember; he was getting all of his hits in dead-fastball counts, and when pitchers stopped nibbling early in the count and simply grooved pitches, he was dead to rights.

I don't doubt that the option year played a factor, but his performance was a component of that decision...200 plate appearances (roughly what it took last year for) is quite a while to wait, especially if the team was resigned to releasing him before the 350 PA mark.

[Chach]

How is saving money shady? Thomas isn't giving the team the production they need so he was going to get benched. If Thomas really feels like he can be productive and get another contract, is he really going to get that playing part time? No, he needs to play full time and cutting bait with him was the best thing for Frank and the team. It's not exactly kosher, like the Rays sending Longoria down to start the year, but as we saw with that situation, this stuff tends to work itself out. mahalo
~Chach~

[TSC25]

I'd like to see him back in Oakland,but hate seeing him take away Mike Sweeney's spot,even thou Mike's power has dropped I like what he brings to the A's clubhouse.