White Sox manager says son crossed the line on Twitter

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has always supported his middle son Oney’s right to express his opinion on Twitter, even though it’s often been harsh and frequently critical of general manager Kenny Williams.

But right after Christmas, when Oney tweeted about former closer Bobby Jenks once crying in the manager’s office, Ozzie was not happy.

In a casual chat with beat writers Thursday at U.S. Cellular Field in advance of this weekend’s SoxFest at the Palmer House Hilton, Guillen spoke for the first time about Oney’s public airing of a very private matter.

“Yes, he did,” Guillen said when asked if Oney crossed the line. “When Oney tweeted that … the only thing I was upset about was when he tweeted about clubhouse stuff. He grew up in baseball and he knows the clubhouse stuff, whatever happens in there …

“In the past, our clubhouse was a temple. Now you can do what you want to do and people find out what happened in the clubhouse. That’s not the first time it happened.”

After Oney apparently called Jenks in an attempt to clear the air, Ozzie talked to his son.

“(Oney) was sad and he was upset,” Guillen said. “I was happy because I was on the boat and he called me and said he talked to Bobby. I don’t know if it’s the truth or not. I don’t know if he said that to make me feel better or they talked.

“I don’t know. That’s the only thing I regret, what he said about Bobby crying in the clubhouse.”

While he was directly linked to having a private matter aired in public, Guillen doesn’t believe it’s going to cause future players to avoid signing with the White Sox.

“I see some (bleep) writing stuff about me, about players don’t want to play for me,” Guillen said. “Well, here it is. We got (Paul) Konerko and A.J. (Pierzynski) back. Those guys can make a lot of money somewhere else. That’s an easy way for PK to say, ‘I’m leaving and not dealing with this anymore.’

“Well, they are back with us. That shows you the kind of (people) and organization we have.”

After being nontendered by the White Sox and signing a two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, Jenks basically said Guillen doesn’t know how to handle a bullpen.

While he took a much higher road than his son Oney, Guillen was caught off guard by Jenks’ critical comments.

“I was sad,” Guillen said. “I wasn’t surprised because you’re the manager and a lot of people have opinions. I said I was sad because I gave Bobby every opportunity, on and off the field.

“In my heart, in my brains, I guarantee you we treated Bobby better than any of the hundreds of players I’ve had. And I only have to worry about two people saying that about how I handle the bullpen — Jerry Reinsdorf and Kenny Williams.”