Jim Thome: Modern-day Babe Ruth? Um..

I apologize to Ed and anyone who reads, I haven’t made a post in awhile. Between work, four fantasy football drafts, fantasy baseball, work, a sick family member and work, I just haven’t found the time. On top of that, the team just hasn’t really given me much to write about.

One of my readers (okay, it was my sister) asked me after my last post what I write when the Indians win. Apparently I come off somewhat bitter. Well, they didn’t win for some time after that, so I didn’t really have a chance to answer. My goal here is to say only positive things that I’ve seen lately.

Because this is only positive, I won’t even mention the White Sox series. The 4-game series with the Mariners was somewhat pedestrian, but the Tribe came out with a split in which they showed some ability to scratch out a win when they aren’t scoring much, and that was nice to see. King Felix pitched very well Sunday, so I will give them a free pass for that one. In the first game they were able to come back after being down 3-0, and in the third game they held on for a 4-2 win behind Mitch Talbot. Also in this series, Shin-Soo Choo carried me to the semifinals of my fantasy baseball league! Hooray!

In game one of the Angels series, Choo again came through for me (and I guess the team, too) with an RBI single in the ninth to break a 2-2 tie, and Chris ‘Pure Rage’ Perez (also on my fantasy team…) slammed the door on a 3-2 victory. Tonight, the Indians have done to the Angels what many teams have done to the Tribe before. After the Angels tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the fifth, Hafner, who has been mashing lately, lined a homer to right-center, then a few batters later Lou Marson, of all people, hit a grand slam to break the game wide open. Let’s hope they hold on.

One thing I did find on espn.com was an interesting article written by Jim Souhan of the Minnesota Star-Tribune. In the article, he refers to Jim Thome as a “Modern-day Babe [Ruth],” supporting a claim made by Twinkies manager Ron Gardenhire.

Um…what?

For those who don’t remember, Thome turned his back on the city of Cleveland long before LeBron James turned it into an art form. After always claiming that it wasn’t about the money, that they’d have to rip the jersey off his back before he’d bail on us, he walked to Philly for more money, giving the Indians and the fans who loved him the metaphorical middle-finger salute on his way out. I’m not saying Jim isn’t a nice guy, everyone says he is. So are con artists, otherwise no one would buy into their schemes. Some people choose to forgive and forget when it comes to these details. For me, I was 14 years old when it happened and it basically ripped my heart out as far as baseball goes. I’ll never forget.

How anyone could compare him to Babe Ruth is just beyond me. It’s blasphemy. Well, you could say they’re both overweight, I suppose. The Bambino is almost certainly the most recognizable name in baseball history, and possibly even in sports history altogether. Jim Thome is an aging farm boy who has hit all of his home runs in an era marred by performance enhancing drugs. Old Yankee Stadium was referred to as “The House That Ruth Built” and was home to 26 World Championships. The Sultan of Swat even owns possibly the most famous World Series moment ever, when he called his shot against the Cubs in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series. Jim Thome will be lucky to have a diner named after him. Maybe you see the similarities. I don’t. It is ludicrous to call Thome the modern-day Babe. Most people outside of Minnesota couldn’t give less of a damn what he does if it isn’t against their team. Ruth was a national icon.

So much for the positive note.