Sox' Peavy says arm should feel strong

Jake Peavy's not making any predictions on his debut date with the White Sox.

But when the 28-year-old starting pitcher does return to the mound, his arm should be feeling stronger than most of his peers.

"The biggest thing is I may be fresh, where those other teams and other guys in September, you get 200 innings and you don't actually feel like a 12-year-old boy every time you take the mound that time of the year," Peavy said Friday. "So I should feel fresh and be ready to go."

Peavy was back at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday, unpacking his belongings and placing them in a locker between Mark Kotsay and Jim Thome. Kotsay and Peavy were teammates with the San Diego Padres for two seasons (2002-03).

Acquired in a July 31 trade from San Diego, Peavy has been on the disabled list since June 9 with a bad right ankle. He didn't even throw until Sunday, a 50-pitch session at U.S. Cellular Field.

In the long run, the extended inactivity should benefit Peavy and the Sox.

"I didn't throw or play catch when I was in the boot or the cast," Peavy said. "I even asked to do that. I asked to keep my arm in shape because that was one less thing to worry about.

"They said, 'We don't want you throwing with an altered motion because of risk of injury.' I certainly respected the Padres' decision and now that I'm throwing I don't feel or see anything different in my mechanics and hopefully that's a nonissue."

Peavy is scheduled to throw again before Saturday night's game against the Cleveland Indians - this time with hitters standing in - and he likely will start a minor-league rehab assignment Thursday.

"I think it's going to tell us where we're at," Peavy said of Saturday's throwing session. "Stand in and let it go. The third time on the mound should be a quite a bit better than your first two when you don't do something for six weeks.

"I don't care what it is and how good you are at it, you're going to be rusty. I certainly have been.

"Like I said, I'm progressing. My arm feels good and my ankle feels great. That's all you can ask for."

Jenks is back: Bobby Jenks' lengthy battle with kidney stones appeared to be over, and the White Sox' closer could pitch against the Indians on Saturday night.

Jenks has pitched just once since July 26, and manager Ozzie Guillen wants to ease him back into the game.

"I don't think we should use him in a closer situation," Guillen said. "He didn't throw for a little while. He might be a little rusty. We'll give me a few days to get back on track."

Jenks warmed up in the ninth inning Friday but didn't enter the game.

Keeping track: With his run-scoring single in the third inning Friday, Sox designated hitter Jim Thome tied Willie McCovey for 39th on the all-time list with 1,555 RBI.