Supposedly, we should know by today or Tuesday whether Jim Thome will return to the White Sox in 2010.  And I guess we should be thankful that it’s still a rumor, considering how strongly he wanted to manage a National League lineup in the quintessential American League park. Maybe the people will be heard after all.

I’m going to wait until Guillen retreats to Venezuela before launching full-bore into the issue.  It’s a risk of a lot of wasted words at this point.  I’ll just share one thought I had after reading the Trib story:

First, playing time earmarked for left-handed hitter Mark Kotsay and Andruw Jones would be trimmed because Guillen reiterated his commitment to rotate players into the DH role to maximize roster flexibility.

What the hell has Andruw Jones done to deserve earmarked playing time?  Over the last two years, he blimped up and burned an organization that invested heavily in him… and that’s about it.

I’d recommend Joe Cowley’s perspective and the Cheat’s analysis of the Angels comparison the interim, but I’ll have plenty to say if Thome — or an equivalent — isn’t on board.

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From the weekend:

*After following Mark Teahen’s tweets over the weekend, I almost feel bad for questioning his presence on the roster.  I hope he’s able to reverse his slide, because otherwise he’s going to be the player you hate to hate.

*J.J. Putz talked to Chuck Garfien about his elbow problems, saying the Mets never gave him a physical, even though they knew about the bone spurs. It’s amazing that this still happens, nine years after Mike Sirotka.

*Carlos Quentin’s plantar fasciitis hasn’t caused lasting damage to his knee, as was originally feared.

*My wish-I-could’ve-seen-it-moment: A fan rattling off evidence of Greg Walker’s ineffectiveness during a Q-and-A.  Since he hasn’t been fired, I can say that I’ve devoted an entire essay in White Sox Outsider 2010 to why he’s still around when others have gotten the axe.