Big Hurt doesn’t mind cheerleading

CHICAGO – Everyone knows Frank Thomas can hit. Turns out, he’s a pretty good cheerleader, too.

The best slugger in Chicago White Sox history is missing the team’s first World Series appearance since 1959 because of a broken left foot. But he was smiling Friday as he watched his teammates work out, insisting he’s happy just to see the White Sox in the World Series.

“I tell people that honestly,” Thomas said. “Getting to the World Series, I’ve been watching it year in and year out. I’m just going to take it all in and really help do my part in the clubhouse.

“If I didn’t play this year, it’d be different,” he added. “But I played this year, I had an impact. I was able to help the team win some games. I helped do my part.”

Thomas has spent his entire career with the White Sox, and the two-time A.L. MVP was the only thing the team had going during many lean years. Even at 37, he hit 10 homers in his first 69 at-bats this year.

Thomas hasn’t played since July.

Mariners waive Madritsch

Making room on their roster for players they consider more promising, the Seattle Mariners placed injured left-hander Bobby Madritsch on waivers – and the Kansas City Royals claimed him Friday.

“I was at breakfast and my agent called to tell me,” Madritsch said. “I just got up and left. I lost my appetite.”

An emotional jolt for Madritsch, it was strictly a business decision for the Mariners, who cleared a spot on their 40-man roster by waiving an injured player who will undergo shoulder surgery on Tuesday.

Dodgers to interview Hershiser

Orel Hershiser, one of the key members of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 1988 World Series championship team, will interview for the club’s vacant managerial job.

General manager Paul DePodesta confirmed the club had requested and been granted permission by the Texas Rangers to speak with Hershiser, who was among baseball’s top pitchers from 1983-2000.

Tigers hire Hernandez

The Detroit Tigers hired Chuck Hernandez as pitching coach, completing new manager Jim Leyland’s staff.

Hernandez, 44, spent the last two seasons as pitching coach with the Devil Rays. He began his coaching career with the White Sox in 1985.