Cowley: Bobby Jenks Era Ends With The White Sox
It was obvious by the end of the 2010 season that the White Sox had grown tired of Bobby Jenks.
The feeling from the right-handed closer was mutual.
So on Thursday, it came as little surprise that the Robert Scott Jenks Era came to an end.
The club announced that they non-tendered the 2011 contracts of both Jenks and left-handed pitcher Erick Threets, ending what was a memorable ride for the 29-year-old one-time wild-child turned South Side cult figure after his 2005 heroics in the World Series Championship run.
"That's something we have to evaluate strongly, because I've been disappointed on a number of levels,'' general manager Ken Williams said of Jenks at the end of the regular season. "And there are certain things that I'm not going to talk about right now.''
The club's decision before the Thursday deadline did all the talking.
Jenks was coming off a season in which he battled injuries and went 1-1 with a career-high 4.44 ERA. He missed the final 27 games with ulnar neuritis in his right forearm. Originally claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels prior to the '05 season, Jenks was 14-18 with a 3.40 ERA, 334 strikeouts and 173 saves in six seasons with the Sox, which ranks second in franchise history.
On the Jenks side of things, he had grown tired of his conditioning and weight being made a spectacle each year, and when he temporarily lost his closer job this season, felt like he always had to prove himself.
The Sox also announced earlier in the day that they exercised the 2011 club option on the contract of Alexei Ramirez, avoiding arbitration with the Silver Slugger Award-winning shortstop.
"The Missile,'' as manager Ozzie Guillen calls him, had opted out of the final year of the deal he signed on January 22, 2008. He will now earn a base salary of $2.75 million in 2011.
