Phillies beat out Indians in pursuit of prized Thome
Something tells me that it's really going to suck to be an Indians fan this season. Jim Thome has agreed to a six-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies worth a MINIMUM of $85 million. Yes, the mind boggles at the numbers, but there it is.
The expectations that Thome will have to shoulder will be HUGE. Phillies' fans are not known for being tolerant or pleasant under the best of cirsumstances, but Thome is one of the hardest workers in the game, not to mention one of the best people in the game. Though he is revered in Cleveland- he WAS the face of the Indians over the past few years, the franchise has not made the commitment to upgrade it's talent that some other teams (like Philadelphia, f'rinstance) have. In the end, though, the money was probably just too good to pass up.
"My wife and I want the people to know that we'll always remain in Cleveland," Thome said last night. "This is our home, no matter what.
"The fans of this town mean more to me than they will ever know and I will continue to try and do them proud. Despite what people may assume, this was not just a decision driven by dollars . . . and it was not an easy decision to make."
I saw Thome play against Minnesota this summer at Jacobs Field in downtown Cleveland. What I saw was a player who still gave everything he had, even though he was hurting and his team was going nowhere in a hurry. Let's hope the fans in Philadelphia will grow to appreciate Thome in something close to the way Cleveland fans adored him. He is one of the few baseball players who truly deserves it.
