Thornton thinks door not closed on his chances to finish
Matt Thornton is one of the candidates to take the closing duties now that Sergio Santos is in Toronto because of a December trade, but while some might think Thornton's chance came and went last season when he blew the opportunity to win the job, Thornton feels the numbers didn't tell the whole story.
The left-hander lost the gig after he blew his first four opportunities last April, with then manager Ozzie Guillen opting to go with Santos. But it wasn't like Thornton crawled into a hole after the terrible start to his 2011 season.
After posting an 8.64 ERA with an 0-2 mark in April, Thornton posted a 2.89 ERA in May and then an 0.77 ERA in June. After going 0-for-4 in his first four save opportunities, Thornton finished the year converting all three of the save opportunities he received after that slow start.
So as far as all the talk that rookie Addison Reed will be the closer, it was almost a not-so-fast moment for Thornton with spring camp now just a few weeks away.
"For me, any time I have failed in my career at anything ... it doesn't matter what it was, whether I was young, throwing strikes, I have always worked hard to get back to that point and be able to do it," Thornton told reporters recently.
Thornton took it even further, pointing out that after an inconsistent 2007 season, he came back with a chip on his shoulder for 2008, and once again had a dominant season.
As far as what the coaching staff is saying, new manager Robin Ventura hinted that Thornton is the early leader and will get the first look at the closer vacancy this spring.
Pitching coach Don Cooper, who has a lot of say in all things pitching with the White Sox, isn't that committed.
Cooper said the closer's spot is wide open, with Thornton, Reed and Jesse Crain each getting a chance to win it.
"Robin obviously has made comments about me supposedly having the lead for the closer job right now," Thornton said. "Well, we haven't started spring training yet so you don't know what will happen. I'm not worried about roles. I'm just going to go out there and be ready to go wherever they need to help us win games.
"We have a great division. Kansas City's youth, Detroit's juggernaut lineup, Cleveland's team last year and now with another year of experience. It's going to be a fun division. It will be fun for us too and I'm looking forward to surprising teams."
Copyright (C) 2012 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
