BOSTON – The verbal sparring between Bobby Jenks and the White Sox appears to be over.
Now with the Boston Red Sox, Jenks came off the disabled list Tuesday and took time to address the offseason feud that started when he was critical of manager Ozzie Guillen. Not long after that, Guillen’s middle son Oney ripped Jenks in a series of posts on Twitter.
“Yeah, it’s water under the bridge for me,” Jenks said. “I’m here with the Red Sox now and as much I enjoyed the time over there in Chicago my focus is on this organization and this team now.
So were there any regrets over what was said?
“Sure I regret it,” Jenks said. “I spent a lot of time there and it was a lot of good years.”
Among the criticisms from Jenks was a comment that he was happy to now be playing for Terry Francona, a manager who knows how to run a bullpen.
Guillen said he was never mad at Jenks, even when the sparring through media outlets was at its height.
“If I was mad, I’d let him know right away I was mad,” Guillen said. “I was more sad than anything else, because we treated him very well here. I think his teammates treated him well, so did we. Like I said, I treat him the same way I treat all my players. Maybe [it was] a little different because he was a different kind of guy. He was a kid in a big man’s body.
“I love Bobby. I love his family. I love Cuma [Jenks’ daughter] and I still remember his kid’s name. That means I haven’t forgot those people. Like I said, they were a great family and Bobby was good for us.”
As for having his bullpen management skills questioned, Guillen wasn’t worried about that either.
“What he said, he might be right. Why not?” Guillen said. “I never said I was a great manager. I never said I handled my bullpen the best [in baseball].
“But one thing I said, I give him the best shot ever to make the money and play in the big leagues. I was the one who give it to him. And when I give it to him, he grabbed it and did a tremendous job for us, and I’m very glad he stayed in this game because I know Bobby more than a lot of people here. I’m glad he took this [time] to mature in this game to grow up as a man, a family man.”