OAKLAND -- To celebrate his 40th birthday yesterday, Frank Thomas' family hired a woman in a gorilla suit to dance and throw confetti and toss balloons at the birthday boy when he came out for batting practice.
When she had finished her schtick, Gorilla Girl left the Big Hurt with a message.
"Don't get mad, get even," she said.
See, Thomas expected to celebrate the start of his fifth decade as a member of the Blue Jays, not the Oakland Athletics. That changed within three weeks of the start of the season when the Jays, concerned about Thomas' .167 batting average and lack of power, combined with the possibility that an addition $10-million US option for 2009 to kick in after 376 plate appearances, decided to cut him loose.
On April 19, manager John Gibbons told Thomas he no longer would be the everyday DH. A day later, after Thomas went off in the press, Thomas asked for his release in a meeting with general manager J.P. Ricciardi. After thinking on it for about a nano-second, Ricciardi agreed. Four days later, Thomas had signed with Oakland, the team he left after 2006 to sign with Toronto.
Thomas vowed that he would hit, in time, and he has. In 28 games with Oakland, he is hitting .319 with four home runs and 16 RBIs.
Last night against A.J. Burnett, Thomas struck out in the first inning and doubled in the third inning. However, he apparently suffered a slight strain of his right quadriceps muscle running the bases and left for a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning.
"I'm a slow starter and that's just the way it is," he said yesterday of his stats. "I always have been. I think DHing is a part of it. It takes a while to get comfortable. You look at the other DHs in the league and everyone is off to a slow start. It's a tough position, especially in the cold weather. Middle of May and June, that's when I heat up."
While you can argue it was a mistake to make the move so soon, fact is, the Jays were 8-9 when Thomas last played. Since then, they were 20-16 before last night. That said, Thomas says he understands where the Jays were coming from. He believes Toronto management didn't believe he was going to bounce back.
"I think they doubted it. I was closing in on 40. They just had to weigh things for the future and I understand it. I got too expensive. I got too expensive for a DH going into next year and they just didn't really know, because I had such a horrible spring and they made a decision for the future early in the season. The option had everything to do with that. In my heart, I have to believe that the option had everything to do with that.
"There are no issues. It was just a bad fit at the time. There are no hard feelings. J.P. did what he had to do and at least we had a good conversation before I left. Paying a DH that much money didn't fit the plan, didn't fit the budget."
There is little question Thomas, future Hall-of-Famer that he is, would have been a lousy part-timer and a distraction in the locker room. Needless to say, he is thrilled to be back in Oakland.
"I've been used properly here," he said. "I've been in the four hole every day. It's where I belong and it's where I've been my whole career. I'm hitting where I deserve to hit. I've been able to get relaxed.
"Things were unfinished when I left and it was great to have open arms coming back. Billy (Beane, the Oakland GM) reached out right away and I'm happy. It's been easy for me. Hopefully I can stay here because I love it here. I shouldn't have left in 2006 but I've had the same type of feeling since I've been back."
Now he's 40, playing for $8 million and looking to squeeze a little more blood out of the stone with a contract for next year.
"I don't feel 40," he said. "I don't know what that means but I don't feel 40. I always said I want to play until I was 41. Hopefully I can play one more year.
"I want to have a big second half and earn one more year. I don't want something given to me. I want to go out and earn it."
So far, so good in that respect. He doesn't even feel like he has to get mad to get even.
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JAYS BUZZ
ECKSTEIN RETURNS
After three weeks on the shelf recovering from a hip flexor injury, David Eckstein was back at shortstop and batting ninth for the Blue Jays last night against Athletics lefty Greg Smith.
"You go a little nuts when you're just sitting there and can't do anything to help the team," he said. "But it's one of those injuries that can nag you for a long time if you're not careful."
As a veteran, Eckstein knows himself well and agreed that the Jays did the right thing by keeping him off the field.
"I told them they needed to do it because if they ask me, I'm going to tell them that I can play," he said.
SUPER SUB
Marco Scutaro, who filled in so well for Eckstein, has proven himself so useful, it's tough for manager John Gibbons to keep him out of the lineup. Last night, he found himself starting in left field.
"He's been one of our hottest hitters, played great shortstop. He showed us something. We couldn't have asked for anything more than he's given us."
HOT STEW
Shannon Stewart was in the lineup at designated hitter for the Blue Jays and leading off. The Jays went into last night's game with seven wins in the eight games in which he batted leadoff. Stewart took an 11-game hitting streak into last night's game, batting .359 in that span, but the streak ended with an 0-for-4 performance.
JANSSEN SIGHTING
Pitcher Casey Janssen is going to join the Jays in Anaheim for a couple of days, just to touch base with his teammates and the team trainers.
Janssen is recovering from season-ending surgery in March to repair a torn labrum.
NEXT UP
Tonight, Blue Jays (RHP Roy Halladay, 5-5, 3.11) at Athletics (RHP Rich Harden, 3-0, 2.93) 10:07 p.m., Sportsnet, Fan 590
