Bobby Jenks is ready for a fresh start with the Red Sox.
On Thursday, the 29-year-old reliever discussed how his Chicago White Sox experience was tainted by his relationship with manager Ozzie Guillen and the team’s front office, and how he was happy to leave.
Unsurprisingly, Guillen responded with a seven-minute rant in response on Saturday, according to the Chicago Tribune. Here are the highlights from the White Sox manager.
If Oney [Guillen, Ozzie’s son] said everything he knows about Bobby Jenks, it wouldn’t be a pretty thing.
I respect his wife. I respect his kids. I’m not even mad. I wish I was mad about it because I will rip his throat (out).
That’s sad because it’s coming from him. That surprises me. Everybody in this organization did a lot of great things for him. Did he pitch good for us? Yes, very, very good. But in the meanwhile, just worry about setting up some games over there. Just worry about Boston. Don’t worry about the White Sox.
Too bad that all the stuff we had between me and Kenny [Williams] interrupted his career because he did a lot of bad things last year. We lied for him, we protected him. I’m the first manager in the history of baseball to give a guy a week off to take care of his kids when his father-in-law was sick. It wasn’t even his wife, it even wasn’t a [family] member. But it was out of respect I have for his family. I sent him home because he had to babysit his kids because his father-in-law was sick. I don’t think any manager is doing that. But coming from him, I expect that.
We don’t miss him. You ask 30 guys in there. By the way, I was asking for his phone number to talk him to about it, and nobody had his phone number. None of his [former] teammates had his phone number. That you can tell what happened. But [criticism of] me, that’s fine. He wasn’t talking about the ballclub. He was talking about Ozzie and Kenny. I respect that.
Thank God he wasn’t talking about the club. If Bobby was talking about the club, I would have been everywhere on ESPN because I will rip his guts. But he was talking about me. I can take that. Just be careful of what you say about Oney because Oney will say stuff he’s not supposed to be saying. That’s just a warning for him just in case somebody don’t call him. Just stay away, and don’t name Oney for this because it will be pretty ugly.
He showed up once a week to pitch. We were loyal to him, played him. I was a very bad manager because I kept him as my closer when he couldn’t [close]. He’s got to look himself in the mirror. Too bad. I still love his kids and wife.
If that happened two years ago or last year, I can make a book about this kid. A book, not one page, I can make a book. And I feel bad for him. I feel sad he thinks that way about me. Very sad because he knows I can easily, easily kill this kid in the paper. He’s not going to win.
Jenks threw to hitters for the first time this spring on Saturday.
