Jim Thome wants to return to the White Sox in 2010. Or play for the Twins :(

A friend brought up a good point recently regarding the sendoff of Jim Thome and Jose Contreras from the South Side: Thome drew far more adoration from the fans and media after the trade, but shouldn't it have been the other way around?

Thome is one of the best power hitters of his era and arguably the nicest person the universe has ever seen. This much is fact, and it's why everybody loves him. MPS even took the time to break down the numbers:

Google "david ortiz sucks" and you get over 30,000 results. Google "jim thome sucks" and you get 10 results.

There you go. 29,990 Google results can't be wrong.

In Chicago, Thome had one monster season, helped the Sox to a division title, and hit his 500th career home run. That's great and all, but didn't Contreras have a far greater impact on the franchise? Contreras was the ace of the staff during the 2005 playoffs. From the second half of 2005 through the first half of 2006, the Sox didn't have a better pitcher.

With his new team on the brink of elimination, I felt like we needed to show Jose some love today. After all, this may be our last chance. Who knows if (or where) he'll pitch next year.

None of this is meant to be a shot at Thome, either. Jim Thome is still awesome, and he will continue being awesome in 2010. That could just happen in Chicago again.

''I'll be honest, I would still love to come back,'' Thome said, tightening the blue batting gloves on each hand. ''I still care about the city. I mean, we're going to live there. Chicago's very fond in my heart. The time that I spent there, [chairman Jerry Reinsdorf] treated me great. I guess we'll deal with that when this is all over with.''

I'm cool with Thome coming back, assuming the price is in the $5-7 million range. Someone's got to play DH for the 2010 Sox, and if it's Scott Podsednik then Kenny Williams may as well take all my boyish baseball optimism, crumple it in a ball and light it on fire.

A Pods-Rios-Quentin outfield would be horrible defensively, but I think it's better than the alternative of letting Pods - who seems like he'll almost certainly be back - act as the full-time DH.

So the Sox will likely decide between Thome and Jermaine Dye for DH next year. I'm sure this decision will be based partly on money, but I also think there is something else to consider: if Thome doesn't sign with the White Sox, he could go to the...

If the Sox say no, Thome seems determined to make a return to the American League Central and his next call likely would be to the -- brace yourself -- the defending division-champion Twins.

We cannot let this happen. Minnesota would love Jim Thome so much that they may never let him go. He speaks their language! They probably enjoy the same cheeses and nighttime activities! 

I could live with Jim Thome going to the Tigers or returning to the Indians, but I could not live with him playing for the Twins. I'm not sure why Thome would want to go there anyway: remember Jim, as of yesterday, the dome is gone. It's going to be pretty cold in Minnesota in April. If there's one thing I know about old people, it's that they don't like the cold.

So return to Chicago, where the sun never sleeps and the temperature never drops below negative five. Plus, if Thome returns, then Stompy will forced to write an emotionally-charged JD tribute. That could be fun, too.