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White Sox Thu Jun 11 2009
Frank(ly) Speaking
He didn't leave Chicago on the best of terms (as if we expected it to end amicably), but Frank Thomas looked like he was back amongst family yesterday when he visited his old White Sox pals at The Cell yesterday prior to their 2-1 loss to the Tigers.
As the Big Hurt pressed the flesh with Ozzie Guillen (and no, the flesh being pressed wasn't his hands and Ozzie's neck), fans in the stands couldn't be blamed if they wondered if Thomas were making a return trip to the South Side. After all, the Sox' bats have been in a state of slumber lately. And the post-game news about Paul Konerko's thumb might warrant musing on the possible return of the Big Hurt.
But, nope, Thomas wasn't there for that, though he hasn't officially retired yet and he and Sox GM Kenny Williams have reportedly been chipping away at that block of ice that was formed when Thomas made negative comments about the team while playing for the Oakland A's. (The White Sox website says the two talked Wednesday and described the meeting as "cordial".) Williams allegedly wants Thomas to retire (and, one assumes, enter the Hall of Fame) as a White Sox and making nice would seem to be part of that deal.
No, Thomas, instead, was roaming foul territory Wednesday with a mike in his hand as a member of the Comcast Sports Net reporting team, conducting pre-interviews for the upcoming White Sox-Cubs interleague series where he'll serve as an on-field reporter. And yes, the irony is pretty thick: the recalcitrant, media-shunning Thomas on the other side of the camera shoving microphones in the faces of ballplayers and asking the questions.
The worm, it would seem, has turned.
