Sox may remove Jenks from closer's role
Bobby Jenks was a hero during the 2005 World Series run by the Chicago White Sox, but he's not real popular with Sox fans right now.
After blowing a save Wednesday night in a 2-1, 12-inning loss at Seattle, Jenks had his ERA balloon to 5.09 this season, though he's a respectable 20-for-22 in save chances this year. Manager Ozzie Guillen nonetheless said after the game that "all options are open now" regarding the closer's job.
Moving someone else into the role — and having good reason to expect them to do well — is a luxury few managers in baseball have but that Guillen does. J.J. Putz was once one of baseball's elite closers when he was with Seattle. He, Matt Thornton and Sergio Santos have all had fantastic seasons for the Sox in setup roles. Considering lefty Eric Threets' great start since being called up, Guillen could conceivably move Putz, Thornton or Santos into the closer's job and still feel good about what he has elsewhere.
But I think Jenks deserves more love than he's getting from Sox fans right now. It's true that he has been subpar in 2010 and just plain awful lately, but the guy has been one of the better closers in baseball over the past five seasons. He's got a career 3.41 ERA and has saved 160 games since 2006. Cut the guy a little slack ... even if you don't want him on the mound in anything but a mop-up role right now.
