Ailing Jenks gets cold shoulder from Williams

On Friday, Bobby Jenks said his first preference is coming back to the White Sox in 2011.

Eligible for salary arbitration in the off-season, Jenks would need the Sox to tender a contract, but that is highly unlikely.

Why? Here is what general manager Kenny Williams had to say about the injury-prone closer, who apparently pitched his last game in a White Sox uniform on Sept. 4 before developing ulnar neuritis.

"That's something we have to evaluate strongly because I've been disappointed on a number of levels," William said when asked if he wants Jenks back in 2011. "And there are certain things that ... I'm not going to talk about right now.

"What I will say is Bobby Jenks has been good for a long time here. He is one of the reasons we've got that (World Series) banner up here and a (20)08 division as well.

"Two years after winning the division in '08, I'm not going to criticize one of the guys that helped us get there. We'll just make the moves necessary for the continuity of the team and the success of the team."

This season, Jenks was 1-3 with a 4.44 ERA and 27 saves in 31 opportunities.

Swan song? In addition to Paul Konerko, catcher A.J. Pierzynski is headed for free agency and might have played his last game with the Sox on Sunday.

He'd like to return in 2011 for his seventh season on the South Side and play even longer than that with the White Sox.

"They have a great owner (Jerry Reinsdorf), someone that wants to win, and he's going to do everything he can to put the best people on the field," Pierzynski said. "They've shown that in the six years I've been here and the years before that when I was in Minnesota. Playing against this team, they did everything they possibly could to try to win every game.

"As a player, you look for that. They have good young pieces in place with the pitching staff and some good young players. It's an organization that has a chance to be good for a while."

On second thought: At a cost of $3.8 million, Manny Ramirez played in 24 games with the White Sox after being claimed off waivers from the Dodgers, batting .261 with 1 home run and 2 RBI.

"I think his presence helped others in the lineup, particularly the guys hitting in front of him," general manager Kenny Williams said. "And it was just a matter of him not having enough at-bats before getting over to us, and not getting that Manny Ramirez dangerous timing down. But I don't begrudge him; he worked hard.

"He helped a lot of the other guys. People don't realize that. If the criticism comes my way for going out and getting a guy to make an impact and it turns out he didn't make the impact everyone thought, I'll take that because we went out and tried to do what we do. We gave it a shot."