Frank Thomas goes back into the starting lineup Friday when the White Sox face veteran Atlanta left-hander Tom Glavine in Turner Field.
Or at least that was the plan before Thursday’s game in Philadelphia.
“I’ll probably play Frank against Glavine,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “Unless Paul [Konerko] hits three or four home runs.”
Konerko wound up hitting only one home run, paving the way for Thomas, who has had only one start at first base in the first six games of interleague play in National League parks.
But Thomas wasn’t buying it.
“I heard that last Saturday,” he said. “I’ll wait until I see it on the lineup.”
In sitting Konerko for Thomas, Manuel will be replacing one of his team’s hottest hitters with one of the team’s coldest. Konerko has six home runs and 11 RBIs over his last nine games, jumping over Alex Rodriguez for the AL lead in RBIs on Thursday with 60.
“I don’t like sitting down,” Konerko said. “Pitches the day after you sit down are always a little faster. . . . If I had my choice, I’d be in there every day. Jerry knows that. But he also knows I won’t moan about it if I don’t play.”
Thomas is hitting .189 (10-for-53) since June 1 with 14 strikeouts. He has three strikeouts in three pinch-hitting appearances in the games he has been forced to sit because designated hitters can’t be used in NL parks in interleague play.
“It’s very difficult,” Thomas said. “It’s like wasted days.”
How is he handling it?
“It’s making me bitter,” he said, laughing. “All these games are slipping away and I don’t get to swing the bat. It’s weird. It’s not fun at all.”
Career-wise, June is usually Thomas’ hottest month. He came into this season with a .324 lifetime average in June with 71 home runs, the most he has hit in any month.
Bullpen blues: Antonio Osuna was in the bullpen in the ninth inning Wednesday and hadn’t allowed a run in his last nine appearances dating back to May 28. But Manuel said he could not use him because Osuna worked 1 2/3 innings in Tuesday’s 12-inning victory. Instead, Keith Foulke and Rocky Biddle turned a two-run lead into a 4-3 loss.
“Remember, Osuna is still coming back from surgery,” Manuel said. “The only ones fresh were Rocky and Foulke.”
Osuna threw 41 pitches Tuesday, though he had been averaging only 10 pitches per outing in his previous seven appearances. Foulke hadn’t pitched since Sunday when he threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings against the Cubs, requiring 33 pitches. Foulke convinced pitching coach Nardi Contreras that he felt like he could go another inning.
“Of course I want the ball,” Foulke said. “I was coming off a pretty good outing against the Cubs. I felt confident.”
Foulke retired the first batter before giving up a single and a walk. Biddle gave up hits to the three batters he faced and the Sox had blown a ninth-inning lead for the third time.
Will Manuel hesitate to put Foulke back into a pressure situation?
“I’ll probably try to let him get fresh again,” Manuel said. “And then try to find a spot where he can have some success and then bring him back along.”
Manuel said that when he demoted Foulke last week, but he had only three outings before being thrown back into the fire again. If Foulke continues to fail in game situations, there’s no telling if it will damage his psyche further.
“Only time will tell,” Manuel said. “I think he’s going to eventually get out of it. We’d need him to, obviously, for us to get to where we need to be.”
