Can we be Frank?

Please?

For $9.9 million a year, I’ll stick my neck out and suggest that any one of us would swap jobs — and bank accounts — with Frank Thomas.

Apparently, however, that’s not enough for the DH/occasional first baseman of the Chicago White Sox.

Frank Thomas sees what Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mike Hampton are getting these days and wants more. To make the point, after passing his physical exam last Wednesday, he skipped a team meeting, walked out of the White Sox camp and hasn’t been back.

“You can’t have A-Rod making $25 million and we’re coming in at seven, eight, nine million,” Thomas said. “It’s a business. It’s just like Hollywood. You can’t have the top actor making $25 million and the rest making $10 million.”

Earth to Frank: Yes, you can.

Players tend to have selective — and short — memories when dollar signs are involved.

Thomas wasn’t complaining when the White Sox signed him to a deal potentially worth $85 million following the 1997 season.

And after he batted just .265 in 1998 and saw his power numbers dwindle to 15 homers and 77 RBI in 1999, the only grumbling to be heard came from Chisox fans, moaning that Thomas had a deal guaranteed through 2006.

Then came last year.

After an initial blowout with manager Jerry Manuel, Thomas got his head on straight and revamped his batting stroke as well as his attitude. The result: career highs in home runs (43) and RBI (143) on a team that surprised everyone by going wire-to-wire in the American League Central Division.

The White Sox were Team Harmony and a lot of credit went to Frank Thomas. How soon he forgets.

Thomas, 32, has made it clear that he wants to rank among the top 20 highest-paid players in his sport. He’s also unhappy with some clauses in his existing contract. A .321 lifetime hitter with 344 home runs, one can presume that Thomas would be in line for more favorable terms were he free to re-sign today. But he is not.

Mark McGwire, a slugger with a salary similar to Thomas, put things in the proper prospective last night in an Up Close interview on ESPN. “Nobody puts a gun to your head to sign a long-term deal,” McGwire said. “If you sign it, play it out. It’s that simple. If you have three or four years left on your contract, there’s no complaining.”

Unfortunately, there is complaining in Major League Baseball.

What the sport is seeing are the ripples of the A-Rod signing coming back to soak it. The White Sox are not alone in what they are experiencing. Gary Sheffield is demanding to be dealt because the Dodgers refuse to extend his contract, which has three-years remaining. Barry Bonds wants out of San Francisco unless the Giants talk contract extension. These are megastars in search of megabucks.

On Wednesday, Thomas said he’d honor the remainder of the nine-year deal he signed after the ’97 season, but his words and his actions make one wonder.

Thomas missed his fifth consecutive workout yesterday, although he did chat with Manuel by phone. He won’t be subject to a fine until tomorrow, the players’ mandatory reporting day.

But that doesn’t mean his attitude and his actions have not been unsettling to the White Sox. Coming in the midst of the Mike Sirotka/Blue Jays commotion, this isn’t exactly what first-year general manager Ken Williams needed to deal with during his first spring training.

Even if one were sympathetic to Thomas, his timing was lousy. Players generally try to get these sort of issues resolved long before they interfere with their team’s spring training preparations.

“I do know he is a stubborn man,” said Manuel. “Through my first couple of years here, he was so stubborn. He didn’t make adjustments at the plate.”

To his credit, Manuel hasn’t been slamming his head against a wall, waiting for Thomas to report. He’s had veteran Harold Baines, creaky knees and all, taking ground balls at first base.

“We have to do what we have to do to get ready without Frank,” Manuel said.

Baines, who’ll turn 42 on March 15, wants to play. Needing 145 hits for 3,000, he’ll take all the at-bats he can get.

Chances are the White Sox won’t have to rely on Baines to back up Paul Konerko at first base. If it’s all about making his point, Thomas will return, perhaps today or tomorrow. If it’s about pure greed, this thing could drag on a bit longer.

“What I’m being paid now is way off the pay scale,” Thomas said. “I’ve never been greedy. I’ve never tried to be the top paid player in this game when I could have been. The bottom line is what’s fair is fair.”

Right now, Thomas is not being fair. Neither is any other player attempting to hold his club hostage with raise-me or trade-me demands. In what other occupation can a worker sign a guaranteed deal then demand more because the guy in the next cubicle gets more dough?

Frankly, it’s un-American.

BELOW THE RADAR: Ears perked when word broke that the Dodgers had traded a veteran outfielder yesterday. But the outfielder wasn’t Gary Sheffield. It was Devon White, who went to the Brewers in exchange for Marquis Grissom. White, sidelined much of last season by a shoulder injury, was disenchanted with his fourth outfielder status in LA, but could be in a similar situation with the Brewers who, at present, have Geoff Jenkins, Jeffrey Hammonds and Jeromy Burnitz as starters. Yet the more important action came Saturday when the Brewers locked up young sluggers Richie Sexson and Jenkins for four years apiece, committing more than $35 million to a pair of players who weren’t yet eligible for arbitration. It’s easy to see why Milwaukee has chosen to make Sexson and Jenkins cornerstones of their rebuilding plan. Both are 26 years old, both had 30-homer seasons in 2000 and both appear ready for bigger and better things this year.

Milwaukee isn’t getting much respect, yet. In our initial USA Today Baseball Weekly Super Power Rankings, the Brewers placed 26 out of 30 teams and last among NL Central teams. Yet keep an eye on them this season — they could be tough with Burnitz-Hammonds-Jenkins-Sexson at bat, the continued health of Jeff D’Amico and the development of Olympic pitching hero Ben Sheets.

CHATTER: Jim Morris, one of the “feel-good” stories of 2000, has called it quits. Morris, 37, who spent 10 years away from the game and had been a school teacher, pitched in 16 games for the Devil Rays. He had surgery on his left shoulder on June 30 but was invited to camp by the Dodgers. Discomfort, due to tendinitis in his shoulder, made it impossible for Morris to continue. But that doesn’t mean the end of his story in LA. In March, Disney plans to begin production on a movie about Morris with Dennis Quaid in the starring role. Morris, originally drafted by the Brewers in 1983, became the oldest rookie pitcher to make a big league debut in 40 years. … Baseball lost a legend yesterday when Hall of Fame writer Phil Collier died at age 75. Collier, who covered the Dodgers, Angels and Padres for 40 years in San Diego had waged a long battle with cancer. … And a ray of sunshine from Players Association chief Donald Fehr, who on Sunday visited the Chicago White Sox, his first stop on a tour of all 30 spring training camps. “Both sides have made a real effort to cooperate and find ways to solve problems,” Fehr said. “In 1994 by this time, there was overt hostility, there were overt threats. There are some rumblings and people talking the way they always do. But the rhetoric is not as loud, not as insistent and not as confrontational as it was then. I think if you’ll notice, there is no open hostility between the parties. Nobody is making any threats.”

Rickey Henderson hasn’t shown up for training camp. That’s usually a story this time of year. It is again but with a different twist this year. Rickey wants to show up. Except there’s no camp for the future Hall of Famer. Wouldn’t that be a heck of a way for a great career to end, although we shouldn’t bet against Rickey getting picked up somewhere along the line.

At this point, Henderson can’t even get a non-roster invitation to someone’s camp. That’s not easy.

Major league teams listed 551 players with non-roster invitations to their camps this year. Add the 40 guys on each roster and 1,751 players are at big league spring training.

It’s not a half-bad squad you could put together with this year’s NRI’s. Check it out.

Catchers: We could assemble a decent two-or three-man combo from among Jim Leyritz, Scott Servais, Brian Johnson, Jeff Reed and Matt Walbeck.

Infield: Wally Joyner would start at first base with pinch-hitter and utility man Matt Franco as a backup. Tony Fernandez and Shane Andrews are the top contenders at third with Ed Sprague and Charlie Hayes also possibilities. The middle of the infield could have Mickey Morandini or Miguel Cairo at second base with Craig Grebeck, Kurt Abbott, Ozzie Guillen and Jeff Reboulet to choose from at shortstop.

Outfield: Plenty of useful choices from among Darren Bragg, Butch Huskey, John Mabry, Rich Becker, Turner Ward, Roberto Kelly, Bernard Gilkey and Mark Sweeney.

DH: Jose Canseco, Harold Baines and even Marty Cordova could make a lot of teams.

Starting pitchers: No Cy Youngs on the horizon but plenty of experience from Willie Blair, Tim Belcher, Kent Mercker, Peter Schourek, Ken Hill and Ariel Prieto. Plus guys like Scott Kamieniecki, Doc Gooden and Chris Peters could start or relieve.

Relievers: The NRI bullpen could include Jesse Orosco, Marc Wilkins, Hector Carrasco, Jeff Brantley, Jerry Spradlin, Joe Slusarski and Pat Mahomes.

Look closely at those non-roster lists. You’ll even find Matt Williams. OK, so it’s the left-handed pitcher in the Milwaukee camp. But there must be room for Rickey somewhere.

CHATTER: It’s not unusual to see representatives from equipment companies at spring training, lining up players’ orders for bats, shoes and other gear. Expect some special attention in a hurry this week. More than a few players have discovered their body armor will need replacement or at least alterations. Beginning with exhibition games this week, elbow pads can be no longer than 10 inches long. San Francisco’s Barry Bonds told reporters it was none of their business how long his pad is. But the word is it will need a trim. … Count Twins manager Tom Kelly among those who don’t think the higher strike zone is a good thing. Managers have been briefed in a series of regional meetings near spring training sites the past few days. They’ve been told Major League Baseball is aiming to raise the zone 10-11 inches. Managers and GMs will be happy to see half that.

BENEATH THE RADAR: One the most unheralded but astute signings since last season is Pittsburgh’s addition of veteran manager Bill Virdon as bench coach. He’s a perfect guy to sit next to rookie manager Lloyd McClendon. Virdon should be able to help with a lot of nuances of managing. … Maybe it’s the effect of the modern prototype shortstops like Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra but a lot of incumbent middle infielders — guys who are not offensively spectacular — are looking over their shoulders at job challengers. Pittsburgh’s Warren Morris and Pat Meares both could be pushed, Alex Gonzalez is under scrutiny in Florida, and Minnesota wants improvement from Cristian Guzman. More guys like Mark Grudzielanek in Los Angeles, Orlando Cabrera in Montreal and Julio Lugo in Houston could feel the heat down the road.

The names came almost rapid-fire on Friday afternoon:

Ryan Anderson, Garrett Stephenson, Luis Rivera.

We could debate their immediate impact, wonder about their long-term importance. But the message was the same.

Surgery — for a pitcher. Somewhere between certain and likely in each of these cases. All or most of the season lost is a real possibility. And three more reminders how precarious the most important position on the field is.

Anderson is the towering youngster the Seattle Mariners figured could be in their rotation by midseason, or at least as soon as he could fireball his way onto an already strong staff. Stephenson is coming off a steady year that helped solidify the St. Louis staff. Now, he could be creating the chance for Matt Morris to return to the rotation for the first time since his own serious arm injury. Rivera was operating below the national consciousness but the Baltimore Orioles quietly told themselves he could be quite the payoff from last year’s deadline deal that sent B.J. Surhoff to Atlanta.

For this year anyway, it will be none of the above, it seems.

On the same day all that sobering news was filtering out of Florida and Arizona, Colorado’s Mike Hampton was taking it slowly in the Rockies camp because of a minor leg problem. Hardly worth noticing, a tough guy like Hampton with little more than a twinge.

Except that Hampton is the guy with the new eight-year contract. A pitcher, of all fragile things, with an eight-year deal. Forget the money. Never mind what Hampton is being paid. Never mind what Alex Rodriguez or Manny Ramirez of Derek Jeter are being paid. The biggest gamble of the past offseason is the length of Hampton’s contract. And it has to be alarming that more and more pitchers are being enticed to new cities with years as much as with money.

Debate if you will whether Rangers owner Tom Hicks can recoup his A-Rod investment. Eight-year deals for pitchers tempt fate. They’re the stuff of dreams, or nightmares if you compute odds like an insurance company.

Ask around about free-agent busts. Odds are you’ll get a pitcher as an example. Pitchers have been atop the list for decades, since the Cleveland Indians made Wayne Garland a rich man and a household name a couple of decades ago. And it’s not usually about something like a 5-12 record and a 6.87 ERA. It’s more likely about not going to the mound at all.

The real rub is that there’s little chance of predicting trouble in a trade where even the best take the macabre view of “any pitch can be my last.” Some folks might want you to believe they could have seen Kerry Wood’s injury coming. That’s expertise after the fact. Experts helped create the Mike Sirotka mess because they misjudged the mysteries of the human shoulder. Who saw John Smoltz’s season on the sidelines coming? We’re watching Smoltz’s comeback this spring, just as we’re keeping tabs on Tom Gordon, Billy Wagner and Mike Jackson. Wagner was the only one able to get some major league action last year before having his season wiped out. This is merely a partial list — very partial.

Pitching is at a premium in this offensive era. The medical community has never known more or could do so much about repairing rotator cuffs and transplanting ligaments. Yet, no doctor or trainer or fitness guru can predict the next snap, pop or even the dreaded twinge.

There’s only one thing we can be sure of. Before Opening Day, we’ll have a new list of names. Getting cut, under the knife. And what will hurt more? Battling through the rehab or paying out the rest of the contract?

Angels in the outfield?

Angels outfielder Garret Anderson isn’t thrilled about moving to left field in a swap of positions with Darin Erstad. But Anderson says he won’t cause trouble. Manager Mike Scioscia cited Anderson’s arm strength as the reason for last year’s outfield layout, but has indicated Erstad’s range has become a determining factor this season. … The Tigers are leaning toward a Billy McMillon-Wendell Magee platoon at designated hitter.

Below the radar

Former catcher Gary Carter doesn’t get quite enough support for Cooperstown but he became a Hall of Famer this week. He’s been elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted in June along with Cardinals coach Dave McKay. In case you weren’t sure, the Canadian Hall is in St. Mary’s, Ontario. … Making the rounds of training camps is another Japanese batting champ. Makoto Sasaki, a left-handed-hitting outfielder, is 35 and won the title in 1992. He worked out for Detroit and has several other visits pending.

Out of the desert, just in the nick of time, come 10 strong men. Some brawny, some lean and a few even a little bit mean. Just when folks were standing around, wringing their hands, lamenting about this heap of trouble we’re in …

Well, 10 members of the Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t exactly ride in on horseback and save the town, but they didn’t pillage the vault either. The decision by the entire Diamondbacks starting rotation and five key position players to defer large portions of their salaries is stunning. More than that, it’s a breath of fresh air in a week when the baseball atmosphere was polluted by just a few too many “gimme’s” and “I want’s.”

Ironically, some of that grousing was emanating from the other side of the parking lot at the Tucson Electric Park complex. Frank Thomas’ apparent unhappiness with the current value of his contract still was reverberating through the Chicago White Sox facility when, several hundred yards away, Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo revealed what his players had done.

And to think some people like to call these guys Snakes as shorthand for Diamondbacks.

Randy Johnson, Matt Williams, Todd Stottlemyre, Brian Anderson, Curt Schilling, Jay Bell, Tony Womack, Steve Finley, Luis Gonzalez and Armando Reynoso agreed to Colangelo’s request for the deferred payments in the midst of cash-flow problems for the franchise. Employees were laid off this winter and, predictably, comments were made about how the little guy suffers while the stars flourish.

Make no mistake. This isn’t a charity donation. The Arizona 10 will get their money. But there’s also an element of team at work here. And there’s even an element some other owners might not want to hear: These 10 players made significant brownie points with some of their lesser-paid teammates. So much for the theory a rift can be created between the player “haves” and “have-nots.” If there’s any rift, it seems to be between the “haves” and “have-mores.”

Many of these Diamondbacks are the ones Colangelo threw money at — with plenty of unsolicited advice about the sanity of the contracts — to build an almost instant contender. Arizona slid out of the NL West race last season but probably has at least one big run left in it before age does the inevitable to a solid club. Give the players credit for recognizing that.

Colangelo says he has a plan and this deferred money won’t come back to haunt the team. The plan had better include a farm system producing the next wave of talent when many of these guys head into the sunset over the next several years. The franchise’s share of the cost of the ballpark won’t go away, nor will a rising salary structure in baseball.

This game isn’t likely to ever see a salary cap, but Colangelo may have created a “de facto” one for his team. Down the road, as the payments to these players come due, the Diamondbacks could find themselves in a position many NFL and NBA teams face in dealing with their salary caps. It catches up to you sooner or later. Good chance Jerry is going to be bending the ear of whoever handles cap issues for his NBA Phoenix Suns.

Rangers talk contract with other Rodriguez

There’s more sanity, or at least the appearance of such, on the salary front. The Rangers have opened talks with Ivan Rodriguez on a new contract. Remember, Pudge was a guy a lot of people assumed would be upset by the money for new teammate Alex Rodriguez. But like those Arizona players, Rangers management is engaging in some good-faith tit-for-tat. Remember, even though Texas ownership has changed in the meantime, Pudge was the guy who went over his agent’s head once before to get a deal done just hours before he would have been traded. … Pedro Martinez and Nomar Garciaparra also were on a lot of “most likely to be disgruntled” lists in the wake of recent mega-deals. It’s not happening, even though some of Pedro’s comments were twisted or at least misconstrued. All the game’s best pitcher did was point out that the Red Sox would probably save money if they acted now rather than pay the going rate when his deal runs out in 2004. He wasn’t asking to renegotiate but he’s right. Just ask the Yankees how much it cost waiting to get Derek Jeter done.

Below the radar

The expanded strike zone is getting most of the attention this spring but look for another change in what goes on around home plate. A crackdown is coming on body armor for batters. Some front office people would love to see a rule that would allow batters to wear only equipment that they also wear in the field. It might not be that strict, but the guidelines will be in managers’ and players’ hands soon. … The bobbing head doll craze is booming. Maybe even out of hand. Want evidence? I’ll bet you never thought you’d have the opportunity to get a Dale Sveum bobbing head doll. For free, no less. Or should that be for free, of course? If you have a soft spot for the former Brewer, Phillie, White Sox, Athletic, Mariner, Pirate and Yankee, you’ll need to be in Altoona, Pa. on June 5 for the bobbing-Dale giveaway. Why, you ask? He’s the manager of the Eastern League’s Altoona Curve.

With apologies to all my colleagues and fellow scribes, John Valentin is the early leader for best question of the spring.

“Are you going to beat up Jimy Williams?” the Red Sox third baseman asked teammate Carl Everett.

A decidedly jovial Everett didn’t answer but it was a particularly insightful moment in what has become Sulk and Snarl Week all across Florida and Arizona.

— Gary Sheffield has the Dodgers camp in an uproar, not to mention general managers racking up the cell phone charges and players in a handful of clubhouses wondering if they’ve been offered in trade.

— Barry Bonds wants to know if a contract offer from the Giants is somehow lost in the mail. More like the Giants intentions haven’t gotten through to Barry. They’re gambling on their slugger being the most motivated man in baseball in the final year of his contract.

— Frank Thomas says comparing his just-under-$10 million annual salary for the next six seasons to the current market, “didn’t sit well in my stomach.” He said it won’t be an issue but also chose the same day to skip workouts. Manager Jerry Manuel allows his players a set number of excused absences during the spring.

— Even Manny Ramirez has had a few things to say recently, though they’ve been directed at his former employers, the Indians.

Manny and the Red Sox are all hunky-dory. Manny gets to play left field, and don’t think he hasn’t had his eye on that. At a mid-winter photo shoot for Baseball Weekly at Fenway, Ramirez insisted on putting on his new jersey, heading out onto the frigid field and being photographed in front of the Green Monster.

But Boston’s is a training camp ripe for turmoil. And that’s why Valentin’s question could be an important indicator. A great unifying factor in the Red Sox’s surprising 1999 run to the playoffs was an “us against the world” clubhouse attitude that began almost from the moment the team was written off in the wake of Mo Vaughn’s free agent departure.

When the Red Sox clubhouse had more than its share of upheaval last season, a majority of the fingers were pointed at Everett. After all, he was new to the team and there was no ignoring his volatile moments with teammates, umpires and his manager. But don’t overlook the fact that Valentin also was missing for much of the year because of injuries. His effectiveness on the field might be waning but not his sense of what it takes to keep a clubhouse tight-knit. He was a crucial element to that ’99 attitude.

Rekindling it is going to be a challenge. Manny might be happy in left. But Troy O’Leary certainly isn’t and Trot Nixon isn’t saying about their remaining options: right field and left out. Or: Somebody could become the DH.

But that would bump Dante Bichette, who’s also been told to work out at first base.

Which happens to be where four other guys already are contending for the job.

Not to mention talk that backup catcher Scott Hatteberg could get some time there, too.

Get the idea? Universal happiness isn’t going to be easy without a trade or two.

And for all those GMs looking for a little more pop in the lineup, O’Leary just might be the best bargain of the bunch.

BELOW THE RADAR: Yankees first base prospect Nick Johnson could miss several days of workouts because he apparently has chicken pox. There’s been a pox on the Yankees pipeline for more than a year now. Johnson, likely the best hitter in their system, checked a swing in last year’s camp and missed the season with a hand injury. A broken neck from an offseason traffic accident limited middle infielder D’Angelo Jimenez to 124 late-season minor league at-bats. And the well-hyped Alfonso Soriano generated mixed results at Triple-A. The Bombers need to see what all these guys can do and need to see it this year. They may be champs but this is a team in transition. Tino Martinez’s contract is up after this year. Likewise Scott Brosius. Uncertainty surrounds Chuck Knoblauch. Paul O’Neill’s career is winding down. The Yankees can buy a lot of what they need but they’d sure be better off if a large portion of their 2004 starting lineup came from the farm system.

And, just wondering: Did the Yanks do themselves a disservice touting Soriano so highly? Laying it on thick about a hot-shot kid might not have seemed like a bad idea at the time, possibly creating leverage in the early talks about a long-term deal for Derek Jeter.

CHATTER: Rick Ankiel threw out of sight of the media and away from teammates on Wednesday. Comments about his control from manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan were vague at best. The Cardinals are trying to do the right thing by their talented young pitcher but every move is a gamble. Giving him a relief inning in the final playoff game last season was designed to send him home for the winter on a positive note. It backfired. Putting him on a back field early in the morning is supposed to reduce the pressure. But couldn’t that remind him further that he’s become a “special case?”

… Members of the Expos ownership group have been asked to ante up $17.3 million in the next month because the team has reached the major league debit limit. Here’s another reason to get the labor situation solved before next spring. Get this team moved. A thought: Put it in the Washington, D.C., area and convince Cal Ripken to invest. Ripken, who has expressed interest in some sort of sports franchise ownership (he got involved in a minor league basketball operation), could retire at about the right time and give instant credibility to a team that would be just outside the Orioles’ territorial rights but well within Cal’s icon territory. Would he do that to current boss Peter Angelos?