CHICAGO -- For most of us, it's hard to feel a lot of sympathy for big men or millionaires. Frank Thomas has both of those bases covered.

Yet at age 32, the White Sox icon is becoming startlingly human. He's had major problems managing his marriage and his money. Now he's breaking down physically.

	Frank Thomas was hitting just .221 with four home runs before his season came to an end due to injury.

For the second time in three seasons, Thomas faces season-ending surgery. His future in Chicago is up in the air along with his place among baseball's elite hitters. And in 2001, as in 1999, it was hard for even those who are around Thomas every day to believe that he could be as fragile as the next guy.

Two seasons ago, White Sox manager Jerry Manuel thought Thomas should have been able to play through the pain in his right ankle. Doctors later removed a walnut-sized body that was pressing against his tendon. They said it was a wonder he had been able to take the pain as long as he did.

This time it was David Wells who doubted Thomas. The White Sox ace strongly criticized Thomas on his radio show for going out of the lineup after he hurt his right arm diving to make a play at first base against Seattle on April 27.

Wells let Thomas have it with both barrels of his verbal shotgun. He said, "If you don't have the guts to be out there, you know what, you don't need to be here. You need to be somewhere else and learn to play the game with guts and glory." Thomas replied that Wells is "no (bleeping) doctor."

Because of his father's death, Thomas left the struggling White Sox the day after that exchange on May 3. He didn't rejoin the team until Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Sox discovered that Thomas' injury was more serious than anyone had thought. He had torn a tendon in his right triceps and would require a major piece of surgery. So much for the diagnosis of "Doctor Dave" Wells.

"I've been doubted my whole life as a professional athlete, or as an athlete, period," Thomas said. "It doesn't bother me. I know what I'm made of. It's character-building. People don't know what makes me tick."

Manuel admits that the size that has helped make the 6-foot-5 Thomas such a feared hitter can also work against him. He has never gotten much sympathy from management or his teammates, who believe he has been gifted with skills that they covet. It's hard to see the person behind the .319 batting average and 348 career home runs.

"I think what happens is we see Frank as a guy who's so big that we forget his injuries are probably more severe than anyone else's," Manuel said. "When he had the bone spur, there were some things he could do that we thought were better than the average guy. Again, we didn't know the severity. When you take out a (calcium deposit) as big as a Coke can, we figure, 'Hey, something's wrong.' ... When Frank is half bad, he's half better than anyone else in the big leagues, so we tend to push that."

It's possible (Frank) Thomas has played his last game for (Jerry) Manuel and the White Sox. He is owed $49.6 million in 2002-06 but has a quirky contract that allows owner Jerry Reinsdorf to defer all but $250,000 per season if he is no longer an All-Star, a Silver Slugger winner or among the top 10 in MVP voting.

It's possible Thomas has played his last game for Manuel and the White Sox. He is owed $49.6 million in 2002-06 but has a quirky contract that allows owner Jerry Reinsdorf to defer all but $250,000 per season if he is no longer an All-Star, a Silver Slugger winner or among the top 10 in MVP voting.

Should Reinsdorf be cold-hearted enough to exercise that option after this season, Thomas could shop himself as a free agent for 45 days before deciding whether to go elsewhere or stay in Chicago under the new, belt-tightening terms. If the injury doesn't eliminate interest in him, he'd be gone faster than you can say two-time MVP.

Cash flow is an issue for Thomas. In recent years he has experienced an expensive divorce while losing millions from failed businesses and blown endorsement deals.

It was the revised payment right in his contract, which is sometimes called the "diminished skills clause," which led to Thomas' brief walkout at the start of spring training. Upon Thomas' return, he told reporters Reinsdorf had assured him he would make changes in the contract. Reinsdorf responded with a statement saying he had made no promises to Thomas.

So here we are. Will Reinsdorf take advantage of this chance to take Thomas off a suddenly high payroll? Nobody knows, but since this is the man who began dismantling his team when the White Sox were only 3½ games behind Cleveland in 1997, how can you bet against it?

Reinsdorf could have put this speculation to rest but declined to return a telephone call to his office. If he's not going to take advantage of the leverage Thomas and the late agent Robert Fraley inexplicably handed him in their negotiations late in the '97 season, then he should make that clear as soon as possible. If he doesn't address the issue, the silence will speak volumes.

To use a player's injury for a club's advantage would be reprehensible, but there's apparently nothing to prevent it from happening in this case. You'd think Reinsdorf's conscience would be enough, but this is the same ownership group behind the White Flag trade and that embarrassing, half-hearted contract offer to Robin Ventura after the '98 season. Barring an amazing turnaround by a team that has lost Thomas, Jim Parque, Cal Eldred, Bill Simas and Antonio Osuna to injuries, history will almost certainly repeat itself this summer.

Reinsdorf believed the White Sox were gaining on their first World Series appearance since 1959 when he allowed GM Ken Williams to hike the payroll to $62.3 million, about double what it was at the start of the 2000 season. The team's season-ticket base increased by about 50 percent after winning the AL Central, yet the Sox are currently 13th in the American League with an average crowd of 18,714. They're also losing sight of Minnesota and -- more to the point -- Cleveland after a start that saw them win only eight of their first 27 games.

Something's got to give, especially when Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Lee, Keith Foulke and Bob Howry will be looking at major pay raises after this season. A Wells trade is a distinct possibility at some point, perhaps even within the next month, but otherwise there are no easy moves to clear salary.

James Baldwin is eligible for free agency after this season, but he and Wells are currently the only Sox pitchers with more than four years of big-league experience. The Sox have pitching prospects like Jon Rauch, Matt Ginter and Danny Wright coming, but they've already got 24-and-unders Rocky Biddle, Mark Buehrle and Jon Garland in the rotation. Can they go into 2002 with a surgically repaired Parque (out for the season with a torn labrum) as their most experienced starter?

Probably not, but that's a question for another day. For now Manuel is trying to see if there's a way to win without Thomas, who contributed 43 homers and 143 RBI to last year's 95-win team.

When Jose Valentin homered in the 10th inning off Mike Venafro on Friday night, it gave the Sox five wins in their last six games. They follow a weekend series against Texas with a two-week trip to Seattle, Oakland, Toronto and Detroit.

While Triple-A slugger Jeff Liefer was recalled to replace Thomas, Manuel's plan is to give most of Thomas' at-bats to 42-year-old franchise icon Harold Baines, who hasn't been able to get going as a bench player. He is hitting only .190 in 100 at-bats since beginning his third stint with the White Sox last August.

Baines will start against right-handers with Valentin playing third base and Herbert Perry moving to DH against lefties. Manuel had been starting the switch-hitting Valentin exclusively against right-handers, but he responded with two homers from the right side in Friday night's 6-5 win over Texas. Valentin's versatility and the availability of outfield prospects Aaron Rowand and Joe Borchard along with third baseman Joe Crede give Manuel a myriad of possibilities with the DH slot.

The last two years have shown that Thomas is not immortal. The next few weeks, then months, will determine whether he's still essential.

Maybe this is the time to feel sorry for him.

Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com.