Thome
When I read what the Phillies were going to pay Jim Thome and what the length of the contract would be, I believe my quote to Erik Cassano (fellow sports writer, and a damn good one at that) was "They'll choke on that contract."
My reasoning was that Thome's injuries (he had a bad back and shoulder) would catch up to him and he'd have to play first every day.
I figured he'd fall back to being an all-or-nothing hitter--hit 35 homers and 100 RBIs, but hit only .240.
So far, I could not have been more wrong.
Thome is having arguably the best year of his career. He has 30 home runs, 68 RBIs and a .295 batting average.
The only thing that's puzzling is his RBI total-- he only has 68, which isn't a high ratio considering his number of homers.
Still, Thome is just as dangerous as Barry Bonds--in many ways moreso, because people have not learned not tpitch to him.
If the Phillies win the NL East, he's my MVP.
-The Indians are starting to roll.