Do you smell that folks? That's the smell of my favorite baseball team making another smart move.
No, O-Dawg didn't come back. However the Minnesota Twins did resign Jim Thome to a one year, three million dollar contract. This is wonderful news.
Should I be excited as ever to welcome back a 40 year old to the Twins? Absolutely.
Look, Jim Thome has made over 159 million dollars over his career and I think all of us assumed that the money never mattered to him. What matters to him is winning and winning now. Although his post-season average is not great (.217) and neither is his OPS (.790), he still brings the clutch bat that the Twins need. The man is first all time in walk off's. Who wouldn't want him back?
This isn't football people. We all knew when another 40 year old individual came back to play another season with my favorite football team that he would not be the same person as the year before. I expect the same to happen to Thome. His OPS was the fourth highest in his career (1.039) and in a replacement role for an injured Morneau, he hit 25 HR's. That just won't happen again.
But he will be a great insurance plan if for some reason Morneau is not ready to go. I think that he was a great protection for Delmon Young last year as well. Thome usually batted behind Young and allowed DY to have more freedom with the bat. Now DY having another great year? I certainly expect that.
Though as we wait for the new season to start, let's just smile and realize that this is probably the Twins most significant signing this off-season. More than that Japanese infielder and more than Pavano (soon trust me). And because the culture of the clubhouse is also important to our team, it helps that he's considered one of the best people in baseball. Baseball is all about numbers and memories. To play basically start just half the season and have a WAR (Wins above replacement) at 3.5 is fantastic in my book.
So let's remember the memories that he's given us and look forward to another great season for the Minnesota Twins.
Here's one to get you started: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=11084089
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