On April 25th 2006, Frank Thomas was batting .162.  He went on to hit .270 with 39 homeruns, 114 RBI's and was 4th in MVP voting while helping the Oakland A's get to the ALCS. 

On April 21, 2007, Frank Thomas was batting .197.  He went on to hit .277 with 26 homeruns and 95 RBI's, leading the team in both power categories.

Earlier today, the Toronto Blue Jays announced they released the future Hall of Famer after they said Thomas would see his playing time reduced.  This marks the second starting player to be released by the Blue Jays in a matter of weeks.  The other was Reed Johnson. 

For a team that ranks 4th last in the AL in homeruns, this move makes no sense.  The move also does not justify how a team would quit on the player who led their team in homeruns and RBI's the previous year.  It also makes you wonder why the team decided to announce Thomas' reduced playing time, yet continue to play Marco Scutaro everyday when he's batting .188 with 0 homeruns and 4 RBI's.  Unlike The Big Hurt, Scutaro does not have the track record of being a feared player offensively or defensively. 

Although the Blue Jays claim Thomas' reduced playing time was not about money, the real reason was money.  The release of Reed Johnson allowed the team to save over 2 million dollars in a cost-cutting move.  The team led people to believe Reed was not ready to play due to his previous back problems.  Reed sits with a .354 batting average for the 1st place Chicago Cubs and is becoming a fan-favorite in Chicago for his hustle, hard-work and ability to play all 3 outfield positions - the same way he was beloved in Toronto. 

What is also disheartening about this situation is how Thomas got to where he is now from 3 short years ago.  The consensus around baseball was that Thomas' injuries were too much to overcome and his career was deemed to be over.  He threw out the first pitch at Cellular Field in the 2005 World Series - which was won by the team he starred on for over a decade.  They won the title without the face of the franchise.  Then he gets one last opportunity to play when Oakland knocks on his door.  By mid-May the Athletics could have released him and nobody looking from the outside would have disagreed with the decision.  But they stuck with the man, and he delivered in a way none of us could have dreamed. 

In fact, someone asked me in May of 2006 if Frank was finished and I boldly said, "No, he's a hot streak away from having respectable numbers.  He has done this during his injury-riddled years." 

Frank proved me right, and without him Oakland would not have reached the playoffs.  He proved all his critics wrong and he showed that not only could he still perform, but that he also had a heart of a lion.  Although Toronto has lost sight of this.

You would think people would learn their lesson about doubting a man who has proved people wrong over and over again.  There is a very good chance that, if given the opportunity, he will turn it on again and prove Toronto wrong for letting him go.  Perhaps a team like Minnesota takes a chance on Frank the Tank and helps the team he use to destroy when he was in a White Sox uniform.  Or perhaps Frank realizes that he has nothing left to prove (which he has proved to be one of the greatest hitters of our generation), retires and begins working on his Hall of Fame speech early.  Regardless, he is a legend who deserved a better sendoff than this.

This should also stand as a wake-up call to Toronto Blue Jays fans and baseball fans in general that the Blue Jays organization needs a significant shake-up, starting from the top all the way down.