2011 V3 - Eric Thorne - the Tale of Two Halves

[kestu]

The Chicago Black Sox offense was disappointing on many levels in 2011, but for the first half of the season, the primary bright spot was infield Eric Thorne. Voted in for his first All-Star game, Thorne's inclusion was well deserved as he sported a .274 average with 15 home runs and 50 RBI's along with a .839 OPS through the first half of the year.

The second half of the year was a different story as he hit .209 with 9 home runs and a .605 OPS.

"I don't have an explanation" a dejected Thorne commented following the team's season-ending 4-0 loss to Baltimore, "I need to get back to work this offseason and show this team that I am a player that can be counted on to help lead this offense."

Thorne is a highly regarded 26 year old that can play both 2B and 3B at a high level. His performance in the first half of the season, combined with Enrico Torres' demoted team leader John Wilkinson to the bench for the first time in his career. With Wilkinson a free agent after the season that seemed to spell the end for Wilkinson in Chicago, but GM Keith Stuart denied that anything has been decided.

"Our offense this year was VERY disappointing" Stuart said, "with the talent on this team we should be higher than 8th in the league in runs scored. Every avenue will be pursued this offseason and we certainly hold John in very high regard."