Sam Donnellon: 'Heartwarming' story of Howard, Thome

CLEARWATER, Fla. - They stood side by side again yesterday, the Big Piece and the man who 9 years ago kick-started the drastic change this once-downtrodden franchise has undergone. Once, Ryan Howard's promise ushered an aging Jim Thome out the door. Now, doubts about Howard's balky Achilles' has added weight to the offseason signing of his predecessor at first base, has once again laced their fates together.

And so, as they stood next to each other this week, taking grounders at first one day, hitting in the batting cage yesterday, one man looking a little heavier than when the season ended and another looking slightly slimmer, well, it was just impossible not to think how this could all play out - how "cool" it might turn out to be, as Howard said yesterday when asked about being reunited with the man he replaced in 2005.

"It's funny because when I heard we had signed him back this offseason, I was like, 'Man, everything kind of comes around full circle,' " Howard was saying. "I was excited for it."

"It's a heartwarming thing," Thome said as he rocked back in his clubhouse chair. "And I take it as that. I know where I'm at. I know where I'm at in my career. And as much as I think there are things I can help him with, there are things he can help me with, too."

It sounded like polite talk until Thome, who will turn 42 this summer, reminded you that he has played just 28 innings at first base since the Phillies traded him to the Chicago White Sox, that the way National League pitchers approach him will be similar to how they approach Howard, and that Howard probably has some tips on what to do against them as well.

Still noticeably gimping from his operation, Howard is in no position to be a tutor right now. Indeed, Thome, his body lighter from a winter of careful eating, his body more limber through Pilates, looked smoother when both were fielding the other day, and farther ahead when they rolled in and out of the batting cage yesterday at Bright House Field.