The towel was officially thrown in last night as rookie general manager Rick Hahn began the dismantling of the very disappointing 2013 Chicago White Sox by trading veteran relief pitcher Matt Thornton to the Red Sox in exchange for minor leaguer Brandon Jacobs, a 2009 draft pick described as “toolsy”, but not considered a significant prospect.  Thornton had been the longest tenured member of the White Sox not named Paul Konerko, joining the team during spring training in 2006 in a trade with the Mariners for first round bust Joe Borchard.

Under the tutelage of pitching coach Don Cooper, Thornton found a home in the White Sox bullpen, eventually becoming their all-time leader in pitching appearances with 512.  The high point came in 2010, when Thornton was selected to represent the White Sox at the All-Star game, a rarity for a set-up man.  The only real knocks against Thornton were his inability to close, which he was asked to do occassionally when Bobby Jenks would go down with an injury, and his inability to consistently rely on a pitch other than his fastball, which has been his downfall more recently as his velocity has started to dip with age.

Personally, I have seen 1131 pitchers take the mound in games that I have attended, and Thornton leads them all in appearances, with his closest active competition 46 games behind.  It will be strange to not have him in the White Sox bullpen anymore, but all things must come to an end and, given his salary and the state of this year’s squad, it was time for him to move on.

Thornton’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →