Dye down, Jenks out

And the hits keep coming.
Bobby Jenks is done for the season after popping his calf muscle while stretching. Fittingly, his final appearance this season will be the one in which he allowed two homers for the only time in his career.
I’ll talk more about Jenks’ future after the season. There’s about two months in between the end of the season and the deadline to offer arbitration, so I’d like to save that material for when there’s nothing else going on.
However, I thought it was interesting that Scot Gregor eliminated Matt Thornton from closer consideration:

Don’t be surprised if Jenks is traded during the off-season, even though the Sox don’t have another closer ready to step in.
And no, Matt Thornton is not the guy, even though he throws 97 mph with ease.

It’s possible that Gregor means that Thornton isn’t the guy solely because he’s more valuable getting the game to the ninth.  I’m hoping he doesn’t mean that Thornton isn’t cut out for the closer role because he doesn’t have the intangibles, which is more what it sounds like.
Thornton has had a monster year while having the same leverage index as Jenks. He may not be pitching in the ninth inning, but he’s no stranger to high-pressure situations. In truth, there’s no way to know whether Thornton would crumble trying to record the 27th out because they haven’t tried him in that situation.
Keith Foulke, arguably the greatest reliever in recent White Sox history, didn’t save a game in the minor leagues. He only recorded one save in his first 54 appearances. Add in the fact that he didn’t throw in the high-90s, and what, exactly, told people that Foulke would be a terrific closer before he got a close games out with regularity?
If the Sox got a second lefty somewhere close to Thornton’s caliber, I’d have no reservations about letting him handle the ninth inning. But if Randy Williams is it, then Thornton should continue getting the high-leverage action in the seventh or eighth inning. There’s no point in having a great closer if he doesn’t get games to close.
In the meantime, let’s not pretend that the ninth inning is some kind of ghastly beast that can only be tamed by men who have that steely look in their eye. If the rest of the Sox bullpen is ever good enough, then Thornton’s good enough.
At least until he proves he isn’t.
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Jermaine Dye knows all too well what his future will or won’t bring:

“I’m not concerned about that,” Dye said about his fate now being all but sealed. “Whatever happens is going to happen. At this point you just want to try and get into a somewhat of a little bit of a groove before the season is over. Go into the offseason and see what happens.
“I’ve never struggled like this before, never had a whole half that has been nothing. Over the course of a career, I think that’s pretty good. The five years I’ve been here I’ve had five pretty good years, and it just so happened that I struggled here at the end, we were fighting to get into the playoffs, and it’s just the way it is.”

For one, I hope Ozzie Guillen will make sure Dye is in the lineup on Sept. 27. And if he is, I hope fans will give him the ovation he deserves in spite of his struggles.
Just to cover all bases, there is a chance Dye could be back next season, but I would think his falling off the cliff has to scare them away too much. He could work for a team like the Mariners, who are getting bottom-of-the-barrel production from both their left fielder and designated hitter and have plenty of defense otherwise. For the Sox, Dye is playing the exact brand of baseball they’re trying to distance themselves from.

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jimbo

I would not be surprised at all to see Jenks and Dotel back next year. I believe offering Dotel arbitration is a no brainer if it comes to that. If we can get a good return for Jenks in a deal, Dotel could close. Thorndog is too valuable in a set up role and should stay where he is at.
Our bullpen is not our largest concern for next year imo. We need to improve our outfield, hopefully with a left handed bat and figure out the DH.

knoxfire30

Scott Gregor doesnt know shit. Its not a lock Thornton would take over duites but he is definitely the lead canidate.
Offering Dotel arb, likely means he is back with a 1 year 6.5 mil deal or more. Thats a big chunk for a 6th or 7th inning guy.
I’m on the fence about Jenks being traded. He gets real tough sometimes in big situations, then he seems to be extremely hittable in his next outing. If he was thinner and held a runner on occassioanlly wouldnt he be a canidate to be a starter again. He use to be a starter, he throws 4 pitchers (2 too many), and he is “more concerned about location then velocity) which goes against everything I believe in for my closer. I want 100 mph, snap dragon curve ball jenks back, fuck 93 with movement, fuck your slider,cutter, your changeup and the other garbage.

striker

I kind of feel sorry for Dye, other than the fact that he’s a millionaire. The guy has really produced for us and at one point produced more than what he was being paid ($5mil?). I guess it evened out in the end. His struggles probably wouldn’t have been so noticable if it wasn’t for the fact that most the team has sucked to some degree so he is just one car on the suck train. I hope he gets a standing O on his last day too. He’s earned it.
RE: Jenks. I like what Billy Beane once said (maybe in Moneyball) about closers. How they are overrated since they only have to get 3 outs in a game. I think you could turn alot of pitchers into a closer. They don’t have to throw 100mph. Look at what Todd Jones and Doug Jones have done in their careers. Look at Ryan Franklin for the Cardinals. It’s a scary position to toy with but when you have a low bar to beat (Jenks in ’09) then now would be the time to try. Jenks is also one of our few trading chips and I love those trades 🙂

knoxfire30

Dye will get a standing O for sure. He has been a true professional, a clutch performer, and he is a world series mvp. Our fans are smart enough to realize this and will show him the respect he deserves.
Closing is a baseball oddity, you can go into a season and find a guy who is outstanding, you can go into a season without one and literally derail your teams chances because of it, you can pay an established guy and he can be worth it or worthless. Its just one of those things.
I do think a lot of guys could close, but that would mean taking them out of the rotation, and pitchers are always more valuable as starters then as reliever in my opinion.
The trade market will be explored for Bobby, I think they wont find a willing partner, then midway thru 2010 sox can decide to sell to a desperate team (there is always 1 or 2 out there at the deadline) or keep him because they are in contention.

JJ

If Thornton moves into the closer role, the Sox will have to sign a lefty to replace him. Or, if he doesn’t, the Sox will have to bring in somebody to close. With both those in mind, I would love to see the Sox make a play at Mike Gonzalez in the offseason. He has closing experience along with setup experience–both of which have been dominant. The only question is whether he could stay healthy.

knoxfire30

Anyone think Linebrink should be the 2nd lefty in the pen technically. I was shocked when I saw his splits.

stopdrop8

Jim, if we did trade bobby, do you think kenny would look to get prospects or a veteran? And how much value do you think he could bring back considering hes probably going to make 7-8 million

soxexile

I hope and expect that they’ll deal Jenks for prospects, or a young ready-for-the-bigs player like TCQ was when we acquired him. This team isn’t close enough to a championship to justify buying veterans. I think they’ll try to get cheaper and younger, remain respectable for 2010, and plan to go for it in 2011.
Of course, Kenny never does what I expect, so bank on something other than my predictions.

knoxfire30

This team has 4 very good starters and a above average 5th, if they got in the playoffs which in this division isnt that tough lining up Peavy, Buerhle, Floyd, Danks in a series vs whoever could still easily get it done. So I wouldnt say they are far off a world series possibility.

knoxfire30

DEAR GOD SOMEONE TELL ME THAT GREG WALKER WASNT EXTENDED THROUGH 2011 TODAY, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!