Closer Bobby Jenks wants to stay in a White Sox uniform, despite all the speculation that the club could move him this offseason, but if he does stay put, he also doesn't want to feel as if he's been put on an island. Because fair or unfair, that's how the right-hander has been feeling since late in the 2009 season.
A calf injury ended his season on Sept. 22, and it also set the stage for strained feelings to emerge. Jenks said that he thought the club was overly critical of his conditioning after he was shut down, specifically comments made by manager Ozzie Guillen.
"From the Ozzie thing, did I feel I was being picked on? No," Jenks told the Chicago Sun-Times. "But I felt I was the easy scapegoat because I had struggled in the end with some nagging injuries.
"This organization, just like most in this game, tells you, 'Come in, our door is open and tell us what's on your mind,' and when you do, they turn it around on you and make you feel bad. They're playing on your own words. They want you to come in, be honest, and then they turn it around."
According to Jenks, the back problems that hampered him in previous years were not an issue, but he did let the club know in midseason that he had tweaked the back and needed just a few days off. Then in the second half of the season, the club stated that Jenks had a back problem.
The kidney stones that sidelined him were "just a freaky thing," and then there was the calf. The White Sox said he hurt the calf simply stretching in batting practice. Again, bringing more attention to what could be a conditioning problem.
Jenks, however, said the injury first happened in a game, covering first base, and "could happen to any pitcher."
"The back thing, I just took a few days off and they made it seem like it was more," Jenks said. "All I can say is I considered myself in the best playing shape since I had been with the Sox this past year."
Jenks stands to make $7 million to $8 million in arbitration next year. So have the Sox been setting the stage for a trade by putting Jenks' conditioning in question?
Jenks had no idea.
"(General manager) Kenny (Williams) is probably going through some tough decisions whether to keep me or trade me," Jenks said. "His decision is the tough one. Mine is easy, I just sit back and see what happens. Until that decision is made, he's the GM and I'm the player.
"I'm not angry with the club at all, and never will be. No matter what happens, they picked me up from a bad situation, gave me an opportunity and made me what I am. No matter happens, it's a baseball decision, nothing personal."
Guillen wasn't thrilled to hear Jenks' feelings made public, but he said that some of the closers' concerns are his own doing. The manager also said that there were no current plans to move Jenks -- "current" being the key word.
"Bobby is always going to have the problem that when he doesn't perform, fans think he's hurt or out of shape," Guillen said. "Bobby has to stay in shape if he wants to play for White Sox. That goes with any player. I don't know where this is coming from."
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