CHICAGO -- The trading deadline approaches, and Frank Thomas isn't going anywhere. Neither is his team, unless you count a possible slide down the standings in the American League Central, even if it is baseball's weakest division.

For better or worse, the White Sox and Thomas are stuck together. And these days, "for worse" clearly carries the day.

With Minnesota at Comiskey Park for a three-game series that once looked like must-see TV, the Sox must wonder how a season they anticipated so highly could turn out so ugly. While Chicago was the preseason pick in the diluted waters of the Central, a strike is the only thing that can keep the Twins from their first trip to the playoffs since 1991.

	Frank Thomas' once intimidating swing has produced just 14 home runs and a .245 average this season.

You get the feeling that few White Sox fans would mind this mess of a season ending early. Jerry Reinsdorf's franchise is 22nd overall in attendance and will struggle to draw 1.6 million fans overall as walk-up traffic slows to a trickle in August and September.

With an Opening Day payroll of $57 million, the break-even mark was projected at 2.3 million. Talk about a big hurt.

In the 22 years Reinsdorf has operated the White Sox, his group of investors have never taken money out of the franchise. But until recently they weren't losing money, either. The Sox lost a reported $7.6 million in 2001 and could easily lose another $15-20 million this season.

Given the dreary late-season outlook, they might actually lose less money if Donald Fehr took his players off the field. But that's another story.

This one is about how Reinsdorf has essentially three choices: strip the payroll, as he did in 1997; accept that baseball has become a money-losing proposition on the South Side; or sell the team. The most likely of those three is to find a way to spend less on players, if not immediately then for 2003.

Between them, Magglio Ordonez, Paul Konerko and Thomas could easily make $25 million next season. Which one of those three would you try to move if you could?

Thomas, once considered a slam-dunk Hall of Famer, is an easy choice as the odd man out.

After all, his production has slipped so badly -- his .778 OPS is fifth on his team and 45th in his league, where he sits between Trot Nixon and Adam Kennedy -- that manager Jerry Manuel has benched him 11 times in the last 34 games. Lately he's been hitting sixth, behind Carlos Lee, Ordonez and Konerko.

Earlier this month, after Konerko and other teammates had called him out for his childish pouting, Thomas said he'd agree to waive his no-trade rights. "If they don't want me here, sure, I'd do it," said Thomas, who has since stopped talking with reporters. "I don't want to be somewhere I'm not wanted."

Where would Thomas prefer to go if he traded? "Anywhere but Alaska," he said.

There's one problem, however. Unlike Ordonez (signed through 2004) and Konerko (arbitration-eligible as a four-plus player after this season), Thomas is signed through 2006. He makes almost $10 million per year.

That makes Thomas what general managers call "an immovable object." The Boston Red Sox had interest in him a couple years ago, but that was a different regime. Given the increased questions about Thomas since he missed most of last season with a torn right triceps, it's hard to see how any club would commit itself to the 34-year-old designated hitter for four more seasons.

Reinsdorf can postpone the pain of paying Thomas, but it seems unlikely he'll be able to avoid it. The complicated deal Thomas signed after winning the 1997 batting title -- and barely two months after the infamous White Flag trade -- will give Reinsdorf the right to defer all but $250,000 per season once Thomas fails to rank in the top 10 in MVP voting this season.

Only compassion kept Reinsdorf from invoking this "revised payment right" after 2001. He'll almost surely exercise it this time. But the eventual impact on the franchise could be minimal.

Thomas would have the right to test the free-agent waters but could put his old contract back in place if he doesn't find a better deal in 45 days. And what are the chances of him finding a better deal than his current one, which would allow him to borrow money at a bank against future earnings? Thus the only thing likely to change is the size of the chip on Thomas' shoulder.

Seattle has won for two years after declining to make Alex Rodriguez a partner in ownership. Anaheim is winning after ridding itself of Mo Vaughn. But the White Sox, it seems, will have to find a way to way to co-exist with Thomas for four more seasons.

It's safe to say fans aren't chanting, "Four more years, four more years, four more years!"

Thomas entered the Twins' series hitting .245 with 14 homers and 58 RBI. He's looked little like the two-time MVP who entered the season with a .319 batting average.

While Thomas is showing signs of hitting better, he's batting .208 with one home run in his last 28 games. He's on a pace to strike out 122 times, which would make it his first triple-figure years in strikeouts since 1991, which was his first full year in the majors. His walk total is likewise way down, perhaps because he's trying to put the ball in play earlier in the count.

Teammates hope for the best.

"Frank was the greatest and I feel he still is," said Lee, who idolized Thomas so much as a minor leaguer that he even wore No. 35. "When you're a great hitter, a natural hitter, you don't forget. Anybody can go through a slump."

Is this a slump or a sign that Thomas' career is headed toward an ending straight out of the Nixon years? That's as in Richard Milhous, not Trot.

Spotlight: Giants RHP Ryan Jensen
Don't look now, but San Francisco is getting its mojo back. The Giants entered the week having won nine of their last 13 to make up six games on Los Angeles in the NL West/wild-card race, in which two teams from a group that includes Arizona will probably advance to the playoffs.

During this time, Jensen has quietly extended his winning streak to four games and his record to 10-6. Nobody ever seems to notice the pride of Southern Utah University, which is OK with him.

"I don't want to be known," Jensen said. "I just want to be the quiet guy in the locker room nobody knows about. I've always been the underdog. I've always been the sleeper. I'd like to keep it that way. You go in there, nobody knows who you are, nobody expects anything of you. There's no pressure on you. You just go out there with nothing to lose and everything to gain. That's the way I like it."

Jensen, who is scheduled to face St. Louis on Thursday, doesn't have any overpowering pitches but has developed into a very consistent starter since having surgery on both knees prior to the 2001 season. A knucklecurve he learned last season also contributes to his success.

Jenson won 12 games between Triple-A Fresno and San Francisco last season but worked only 42 1/3 innings with the Giants, finishing under the cutoff for Rookie of the Year eligibility. He deserves legitimate consideration this time around.

New face: Devil Rays RHP Jorge Sosa
In only his second season as a full-time pitcher, the 24-year-old Sosa just picked up his first big-league win. His victory at Toronto on Sunday put an exclamation point on his rapid rise, which began after a sharp-eyed Seattle scout spotted his potential.

"I'm very surprised how fast everything has developed," Sosa told the St. Petersburg Times.

Sosa, signed out of the Dominican Republic by Colorado when he was 17, hit .222 with 11 homers in six pro seasons as an outfielder, never advancing higher than the short-season Northwest League. The Mariners selected him in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft two Decembers ago, and then immediately converted him into a pitcher.

Milwaukee selected him in the major-league portion of the draft last December but lost him to Tampa Bay on waivers in March. The Devil Rays have carried him on the roster all season, with shockingly good results.

In five starts since replacing the injured Ryan Rupe in the rotation, he's 1-2 with a 5.67 ERA. He's held opponents to a .232 average while walking 13 in 27 innings.

Sosa's fastball hit 94 on Sunday. He has learned how to throw breaking balls for strikes.

"He holds his own," manager Hal McRae said. "We just hope he continues to make progress and give us good outings. And he's been very composed on the mound."

Team to watch: Kansas City Royals
Here's why baseball is such a seductive game.

On July 12, Kansas City was 33-54 and on pace for a 61-101 season. Since then, it has won 10 of 11 games, including a nine-game winning streak against Anaheim, Texas, the White Sox and Cleveland.

During a 10-3 homestand, the Royals tied Cleveland for third place in the weak American League Central and pulled within two games of second-place Chicago.

The Royals have been winning without All-Star Mike Sweeney, who hasn't played in 10 games because of pain in his back and left hip. Raul Ibanez (.333-13-49 in 153 at-bats since June 1) has been producing monster numbers of late. They've been getting yeoman work from a group of rookies, led by right fielder Aaron Guiel and pitchers Runelvys Hernandez, Shawn Sedlacek, Miguel Asencio and Ryan Bukvich.

"We're going to keep going one step at a time," said manager Tony Pena, who has a 30-32 record since being hired to replace interim manager John Mizerock. "We were thinking about Cleveland, and we caught them. Now we're thinking about the White Sox, and I know we're going to catch them. Then we're going to catch the Twins. That's what's in my mind."

Realistic? Of course not. But it beats speculating about who might get called up when rosters expand on September 1.

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