Well, that didn't take long...

Ozzie has responded this time to Jenks, and it was with the fury of an erupting volcano. With all that Ozzie and the organization has done for Bobby, I don't think Ozzie's comments were out of line at all. Hopefully this feud dies out during Spring Training for the sake of both parties, much like the Ozzie/Magglio Ordonez feud back in 2005.

Just let it go already.

Well, it seems as if someone just can't let bygones be bygones. Former Sox closer Bobby Jenks is continuing to disparage his former employer, saying that "a lot of the stuff with Ozzie and the front office gets old," among other things.

I've remained silent on this topic for a while, as Jenks made a statement earlier in the offseason about how he was "looking forward to playing for a manager who knows how to run a bullpen." For all of the times that Ozzie has made cringe-worthy, foot-in-mouth statements, does anybody find it interesting that he's the one who is looking better in this situation?

While I know Ozzie's son Oney called Jenks a "punk" after making his comments, Oney is no longer employed by the team, so it really shouldn't matter at this point what someone in Ozzie's family thinks about a player who is no longer on the team. However, I do not recall Ozzie even wasting all that much time to lash back at Jenks for his comments. Can you believe that Ozzie is actually taking the high road for once, and he's just trying to move on?

Jenks needs to seriously let go of whatever grudges he had with the Sox organization, and just concentrate on playing for the Red Sox. Besides, I don't necessarily agree with him criticizing the Sox, especially after Ozzie was loyal to a fault with him last year, in spite of his struggles closing out ballgames. Ozzie had plenty of other options he could have used to close out games, but he still stuck with Jenks, much to the consternation of many, myself included.

I'm not going to pretend to know what goes on inside of the clubhouse, but I can analyze and evaluate what I see Ozzie and the team doing on the field on a nightly basis. Judging from what I've seen and read since late 2005, Jenks should really be thanking the Sox organization for giving him the chance to succeed in the majors, rather than throwing barbs at them for the way they do things. Besides, if the drama with Ozzie and Kenny Williams is such a distraction, why isn't it affecting guys like Konerko, Buehrle and Pierzynski? If they are such a distraction, then why were the Sox able to lure Adam Dunn to Chicago, when he could have just as easily signed somewhere else? Why did reliever Jesse Crain leave the two-time reigning division champion Twins to join the Sox?

My point is that in spite of all of the drama surrounding this team, there is a measure of accountability that each player must live up to in the organization. If they aren't up to the task, they will easily find someone who is up to it, and they really don't care if they are hurting someone's feelings in the process. The demand for excellence is high within the Sox organization, and Jenks unfortunately was no longer living up to the standard of excellence the team has come to expect from him. It's strictly a business decision, but there's no need to criticize the organization who gave you the chance to succeed at the major league level.

Sox win...barely

A win is a win, right? After the Sox hung on to defeat Detroit 6-4 in 10 innings today, they are still sitting comfortably atop the AL Central, a game and a half ahead of the Twins. The win also ensured a series win for the Sox over the Tigers, taking three out of four in a very important series.

While I am still very happy that the Sox pulled it out and took the series, I am NOT at all happy about how it ended up getting accomplished this afternoon. This all rests squarely on the shoulders of Bobby Jenks. In case you haven't watched the Sox during the second-half, or heck all year for that matter, Big Bad Bobby just ain't what he used to be. From 2005 through last year, he was a force out of the 'pen. Once he entered the game, you could all but count on him closing it out in quick fashion, using his blazing fastball and knee-buckling curve to shut down the opposition. However, Bobby's expiration date as a closer seems to have passed, since he has been blowing games in spectacular fashion lately.

Let's just begin with the last three he has failed to close out, shall we? The first one was back on July 18 in Minnesota. With the Sox leading the Twins 6-3 entering the bottom of the ninth, it appeared as if they were primed to leave Target Field with a series split, which is really the best you can hope for whenever you play a four-game set with the Twins. Jenks had already had his shaky moments earlier in the season, but after a solid month of June, my confidence was restored in him once again. Unfortunately, that confidence was soon broken as he immediately walked the first two hitters he saw before giving up back-to-back RBI singles to Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer to cut the lead to one. Ozzie wisely yanked him from the game after that, but the damage was already done, as the Twins would eventually win on an Alex Rios throwing error a couple of batters later.

Even though that loss sucked, you would think it was just an isolated incident against a good team. If it was a sub-.500 team he was pitching against, it would have been game over, right? Wrong. Let's fast forward three days later to July 21 in Seattle, when Jenks entered the game after the Sox took a 1-0 lead on the Mariners in the 11th inning. Jenks coming in against a sorry Seattle ballclub that's already playing out the string? I was thinking that this would be easy work for Bobby, and a nice confidence boost as well. Once again, I was wrong though, as Jenks gave up two runs in the bottom of the 11th for the Mariners to win 2-1, and avoid a three-game sweep. Making matters worse, the Twins won earlier that night against the Indians to gain a game on the Sox. Damn, damn, damn.

So with those two incidents already in the back of many Sox fans' minds, Jenks enters today's ballgame with the opportunity to slam the door on the game, and on the series. What does he do though? After getting the first out, he surrenders a single to Don Kelly, then hits Ramon Santiago to put two men on with one out. He strikes out Austin Jackson for the second out, then gives up a three-run homer to Ryan Raburn to tie the game at four. Ryan @#$&^%* Raburn. The same Ryan Raburn who has only hit two stinking home runs all year before that at-bat. Thankfully, Mark Kotsay got Jenks off the hook in the 10th inning, as he hit a two-RBI triple off of Jose Valverde to give the Sox a 6-4 win.

How mind-numbingly aggravating have these recent struggles by Jenks been? Ozzie Guillen was nearly speechless after the game as to what to do about him. When do you EVER see Ozzie speechless?

While I can understand the loyalty Guillen might have toward Jenks, you have to wonder how much rope he'll leave for him before he decides to make a change in closers. When you're in a tight pennant race, you don't have much room to simply hope that Jenks will snap out of his funk. Those games could potentially end up being the difference between playing in October or going home. There are three other viable options for closers in the 'pen, including J.J. Putz (who already has experience with closing games), Sergio Santos and Matt Thornton. All three are hard throwers, with good off-speed pitches to keep hitters off balance. After today's meltdown, it might be time to hand the ball to one of those three to close out games instead of Jenks.

Rundown of the White Sox's Offseason

Hello again, everybody! It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to really talk about the Sox in-depth on here, so let's get down to business and make up for lost time, huh? I have missed quite a bit of their transactions this winter since the Vizquel signing back in November, so let's recap the Sox's offseason so far, starting with their most recent moves.

Arbitration Sensations

Just yesterday, it was announced that left-handed starter John Danks avoided arbitration, signing a one-year contract worth $3.45 million. Danks was the final player in what ended up being a metaphorical game-winning grand-slam for the Sox in the game of arbitration, as they locked up all four of their arbitration-eligible players (Danks, reliever Tony Pena, Carlos Quentin and Bobby Jenks). While Danks and Quentin were virtual no-brainers for the Sox to lock up (Quentin signed a one-year, $3.2 million deal himself), Jenks was possibly the most surprising signing of them all.

When the Sox signed reliever J.J. Putz to a one-year deal worth three million dollars back in December, it seemed as if Jenks' days on the South Side were numbered. After all, Jenks appeared to be heading into arbitration at full-steam, which prompted rumors that the Sox might have looked into trading him during some point this offseason. However, the Sox have not gone to arbitration with a player since Keith Foulke in 2001, and in recent years, owner Jerry Reinsdorf has been willing to spend a considerable amount of money on players he feels are worth it. This time would be no different, as the Sox inked Jenks to a one-year, $7.5 million deal for the 2010 season. Now that the cloud of uncertainty around Jenks has cleared, the Sox can look forward to the prospect of another solid bullpen for 2010, as Jenks, Putz and Thornton will hopefully prove to be an effective trio. Their presence during the last three innings of a game will effectively shorten it, and when you combine them with a starting rotation that will feature Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd and John Danks, their pitching staff will as formidable as ever this year.

Outfield Additions

In the field, the Sox would acquire two new outfielders this offseason, one via trade and the other through free agency. Andruw Jones- who was once the star center fielder for the Atlanta Braves- signed a one year minor-league deal worth $500,000 on November 25, with the potential to earn $1 million if he performs well enough. A couple of weeks later on December 15, the Sox would acquire center fielder Juan Pierre in a trade with the Dodgers, sending two players to be named later to Los Angeles in exchange for him. The Sox have also agreed to pay part of his contract as well, as Pierre will receive $3 million from the Sox in 2010 and $5 million in 2011. While I believe that both of these deals were pretty good for the Sox, I especially liked the Jones acquisition in particular, because it came at a dirt-cheap cost, and it gives the Sox some flexibility in the outfield, and the DH hole, provided that he becomes remotely decent at the plate this year. While he is certainly not my number one option as a DH/outfielder, he is a good insurance policy for them if they cannot land a DH in free agency, or if someone in the outfield gets hurt this season.

As for the Pierre acquisition, I am all for it; however, getting him still raised some questions for me, though. Scott Podsednik, in his return to Chicago last year, put together a fine season in the lead-off spot, as he hit a team-best .304, with a modest .353 OBP and 30 steals in 132 games with the club. These numbers are pretty solid for your lead-off hitter. Well, when the Sox let "Pods" walk after the season and acquired Pierre to take his place, I told myself: "They're getting the same player!" How so? Well, for starters, Pierre will usually hit for around the same average as Podsednik will, as evidenced in the four point difference in their averages last year (Pierre- .308, Podsednik- .304). Also, they will steal roughly the same amount of bases (they both had 30 steals), score just as many runs (Pierre- 57, Podsednik- 75; Pods was the beneficiary of a slightly better offense), and feature the same kind of fielding in the outfield (below-average glove, weak arm). Comparatively speaking, the Royals would end up signing Pods to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million, which the Sox could have easily given him, considering that they're paying Pierre $3 million this year to do the same thing!

I would understand the Sox's motives behind this if Pierre was much younger than Podsednik. But he's not! Podsednik will be 34 in March, while Pierre will be 33 in August. Oh well, perhaps I am just being too sentimental with Pods, seeing that he was one of the key members of the 2005 championship team. My hope is that Pierre will provide the same kind of spark and excitement from the lead-off spot, and that he will be just as productive as Pods was in '05, if not, better.

A Growing Concern

In spite of all of these transactions, the Sox are still in need of a legitimate DH as Spring Training draws closer. Their preference for a DH who can play the field has been a puzzling one, at least for me. General Manager Kenny Williams had to know what he had in mind for this offseason as the 2009 season was coming to a close, and he had to have at least an idea of who would likely be available in the free agent market. If it was in his shopping list to have a DH who could also play the field, then why on earth did he not at least try to bring back Jermaine Dye? While I know that Dye had a sub-par second-half last year, he still finished with some solid numbers, hitting 27 home runs while driving in 81. Since it was pretty much a given that the Sox were not going to go after Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, that relegated them to the second-tier of available DHs in free agency. They were really pursuing Hideki Matsui aggressively at one point, before ultimately losing out to the Angels in that chase.

Why on earth would you rather have Matsui instead of Dye? "J.D." will hit for roughly the same average, will drive in more runs and hit more homers than Matsui. Also, Dye is more more capable of playing an adequate right field whenever necessary, and he would not be the defensive liability that Matsui would be. So why would the Sox let Dye go, when he still has probably two more good seasons in him as a DH/outfielder?

Now that Matsui is off of the market, and Dye won't be eligible to re-join the Sox until May 1 (since they failed to re-sign him during the allotted negotiating period immediately after the season), the Sox are now stuck with two options: they can either take a gamble with what they already have heading into Spring Training, or they can possibly entertain the idea of bringing back Jim Thome to fill the DH void. It is not out of the realm of possibility that they could do this; Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Heyman hinted at this possibility just the other day on MLB Network's "Hot Stove" program, and, in my opinion, bringing the big man back is not such a bad idea (considering the situation they are in at this point). Trading him to the Dodgers back in August gives the Sox a loophole they never would have had if he would have finished the season in Chicago; they no longer have to wait until May 1 to sign him, and they can also bring him back at less than half of the cost of his previous contract (basically meaning that they can get him at a discount).

Plus, we all know that Thome can still mash, and that is all the Sox need for him to do for at least one more year. What is even better is the fact that if Jones ends up panning out, the Sox could potentially platoon Jones and Thome at DH, having Thome hit against righties and Jones against lefties. I know that this idea sounds goofy, but if they do sign Thome and if Jones becomes a major-league player again, it is what they will likely have to do.



Well, to sum things up, it was just another "wheeling-and-dealing" kind of offseason for Kenny Williams and the White Sox, one that is likely not over yet if they decide to go after a DH. Even though I do not exactly agree with every move Williams makes, I do appreciate the fact that he is an aggressive GM that will do all he can to try to assemble and maintain a championship-caliber team. It is also nice to have an owner who is more than willing to spend the bucks to make Williams' vision become a reality as well. When you have a pair like those two, whose primary goal is to win another championship, the offseason will always be an interesting one for Sox fans.