Season Of Adjustment For Red Sox' Jenks
FORT MYERS, FL (CBS) - For reliever Bobby Jenks, 2011 will be all about getting used to his new role.
What that role may be is still up in the air.
"I don't know," the burley right-hander said from the Red Sox spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida. "I'm just going to take the ball whenever they give it to me."
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Jenks served as closer for the Chicago White Sox the last five seasons, notching 167 saves in that span. He saved 81 games in his first two seasons on the job, but did not hit the 30 saves mark either of the last two. Injuries caused Jenks to miss the final month of 2010, and shaky performances made Chicago lose confidence in the 29-year-old.
Now he joins a Red Sox bullpen that should be one of the best in baseball. Along with Dan Wheeler and Daniel Bard (who Jenks said throws "effortless cheese"), Jenks will serve as a bridge to closer Jonathan Papelbon. It is a new role for the two-time All Star, but change is something he is used to.
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Jenks came up as a starter, but made his way to the bullpen after elbow surgery in 2004. He burst onto the scene when the White Sox won the World Series in 2005, and was on the hill when Chicago clinched their first World Series title since 1919.
Now instead of closing, Jenks will be called upon for late inning relief. Although he intends to use the same intensity he did in the ninth, the emotion may be a little different without being responsible for the final three outs of the game.
Bobby Jenks Talks About Adapting To His New Role in 2011
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"It's something that I'm going to have to deal with at the time," Jenks said. "I can't anticipate what type of feelings or emotions I have at the time, I just need to get myself mentally prepared for any occasion. I don't know if I am the eighth inning guy, if I'm the seventh, sixth inning guy. Whenever they need me to get the ball, I need to be ready then."
