Early last evening, the White Sox made it official: Jim Thome is not coming back to the South Side. Ozzie Guillen’s rationale? Thome wouldn’t be able to get the at-bats he was seeking. Via the Sun-Times:

It came down to getting enough at-bats,” Guillen explained. “I don’t want a season where Jim sits three or four days in-a-row and the media comes up to him and asks, ‘You’re not playing … ” This thing will become a soap opera. It’s about at-bats.”

On the surface, this makes sense. Better to let Thome play every day as a DH — save for interleague play — then have him platoon in a bit of a DH by committee the Sox seem to be going with this season with Mark Kotsay, Andruw Jones and — gulp — Omar Visquel.

But you have to wonder if the Sox made a mistake here. Thome may not be the Thome of old, but for a team counting on Alex Rios and Carlos Quintin (and to a lesser extent Andruw Jones) to rebound, it wouldn’t have been the worst move in the world to bring back the guy that lead the team in on-base and slugging percentage a season ago. And they could certainly use a lefty bat in the lineup.

And with news that AL Central foes in the Twins and Tigers, as well as the Rays, have inquired about his services, you hope Thome doesn’t lead them to victories over the Sox.

That’d be a cruel twist of fate.

He’s still available. He says all the Sox have to do is call. So does it make sense?

Yes and no. Yes because if the Sox are looking for a designated hitter, they’d be wise to bring in a lefty — their lineup is righty-heavy right now. Thome is a team guy, a fan favorite and would likely come back and play on the cheap. That’s just the type of guy he is. He is a bro amongst bros.

No, because, well, he’s old. There are injury issues that come with that. There’s likely another dip in production in store for him next season.

But the free-agent market for DH’s isn’t exactly booming at the moment, and the Sox are already full in the payroll department with Alex Rios and Jake Peavy now aboard.

Thome presents a cheap option that could be somewhat productive. Projections put him in the 25- home-run department, and give him aaround 70-80 RBIs next season, and put his OPS above league average. Taken that into consideration, and if the Sox can get him for a low price tag, it’s not such a bad idea.

We’re a little late to the party here, but by now we’ve all heard the super-secret whispers about Jim Thome wanting to return to Chicago:

“I’ll be honest, I would still love to come back,” Thome said, tightening the blue batting gloves on each hand. “I still care about the city. I mean, we’re going to live there. Chicago’s very fond in my heart. The time that I spent there, [chairman Jerry Reinsdorf] treated me great. I guess we’ll deal with that when this is all over with.”

This line of thinking, while certainly heartwarming, also runs the risk of being mutually poisonous - not just to an aging, one-dimensional power hitter who would in theory be returning to a team full of them, but to a fanbase at risk of pinning their hopes on sentimentality rather than practicality. The Sox already chose Scott Podsednik over Chone Figgins based solely on cost, so what would make them pony up for Thome’s single-purpose services when they effectively already have him on board in the form of just-barely-more-versatile Paul Konerko?

But beyond questions of what Thome can possibly do for the Sox, we have to ask just why some reporter would raise this question in the first place. To get someone’s hopes up? To quell the tears of every No. 25-clad fan? Because he hit some home runs? Because he’s Jim Thome? We may never know, and all things considered we probably shouldn’t bother trying to find out; there are teams that could make better use of Jim Thome, and there are players the White Sox would be better off pursuing this winter. Thome’s a good guy and has done some wonderful things in his career (and in this time with the Sox), but talk like this only serves to cheapen all of those things. Thome, of all people, doesn’t deserve that. And we know this. And so does Jim Thome. And so, one would hope, do the reporters asking the questions.

I’ve always held a deep appreciation for Jim Thome, both as a player and a human being, and I’m certainly not alone. For example, Google “david ortiz sucks” and you get over 30,000 results. Google “jim thome sucks” and you get 10 results.

That speaks to Thome’s near-universal appeal, and it also speaks to the fact that despite all his on-field achievements and fan-friendly persona, he’s not quite a household name. He’s 12th on the career home run list. His career OPS+, 147, is ten points higher than Ken Griffey, Jr.’s. He’s played in large markets such as Philadelphia and Chicago, but the average man or woman on the street, generally speaking, does not know who he is.

Thome’s career with the White Sox came to a close when he was dealt to the Dodgers on Monday. His three years and change in Chicago have been memorable. When the Sox signed him in 2006, he was coming off a terrible year with the Phillies that prompted a lot of fans and pundits to declare his career effectively over. Upon returning to his home state, though, he hit 42 home runs, notched a .416 on-base percentage, and won baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year award.

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Last evening, shortly after another White Sox loss (shocking!), news broke that Jim Thome and Jose Contreras had been traded. Thome is now a member of Dodgers. The Sox sent cash and got a Class A infielder who’s hitting .254. Contreras is now a member of the Rockies. The Sox received Triple-A pitcher Brandon Hynick, who is 24, in exchange for the AL leader in losses. They sent cash to the Rockies as well.

Most will view this as the Sox throwing in the towel, and while there’s certainly a case to be made for that, it’s not the entire story. With Alex Rios and Jake Peavy coming aboard, the Sox needed to dump some salary. Instead of waiting till the off-season to try and pull some moves, Kenny Williams decided to do it now, while a few teams in the postseason hunt were looking to bolster their 40-man roster. Simply put: either Thome, Paul Konerko or Jermaine Dye were going to be gone before the start of next season. Williams just pulled the trigger a bit earlier than most expected on it.

Thome is a 39-year-old DH with a sizable salary, and he’s only hitting .249. Contreras has been downright awful this season. It’s not like the Sox got rid of their best talent here.

And considering Williams sent a memo around the league that his core players were available, don’t be surprised is Dye is gone before next season too, and possibly Konerko.

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Here are things I know about Peoria: the Mark Twain Hotel circa 2000 was a fun establishment, Detweiller Park is a great place to go for a run in early November and Jim Thome and Rick Telander are from there. And, apparently, the city is way more into Thome than Telander, because they at least thought about naming it “Thome Town” for the month of October.

The Peoria City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to table a motion to approve an honorary designation naming Peoria “Thome Town,” after White Sox slugger and Peoria native Jim Thome, for the month of October.

“Hopefully, we can table this until next fall so Jim Thome can make it to the playoffs so he can fulfill his dream and (pursue a World Series ring),” 4th District City Councilman Bill Spears said.

I once tried getting Smileyberg, KS to make me the honorary “Smiley Man” of the town, then I realized smiling all the time really hurts your cheeks. And that was a crutch I just could not bear.

A veteran of the Chicago beat reporting scene, David Schuster regularly writes about the sights and sounds of Chicago sports from the press box and locker room for MOUTHPIECE Blog.

This has to be unprecedented in Chicago sports history. Two champagne celebrations in two weeks and by two different teams.

Not to to be outdone by their neighbors to the north, the White Sox had just as much fun (and maybe more) in their division clincher last night.

The game was low scoring and intense throughout. And when Brian Anderson made a great diving catch to record the final out, the celebration was on. The players let loose their frustrations and inhibitions and partied like teenagers. And you would have never guessed who would be the one to really let loose. It was Jim Thome — who is normally the most reserved and professional player on the Sox. Thome couldn’t wait to pop open a host of champagne bottles and spray everyone in sight … and he didn’t stop in the clubhouse. He led a parade of his teammates back onto the field and sprayed all the fans sitting near the dugout. Then he ran down the left field line and jumped up on the tarp and danced like he was on one of those reality shows. What a sight.

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