Guillen To Yank Jenks

By Benjy Lipsman in News on May 10, 2010 4:40PM

While Cubs "ace" Carlos Zambrano lost his job in the rotation, on the South Side the former All-Star who might face demotion is closer Bobby Jenks. Jenks gave up four ninth inning runs on Sunday, turning a two run lead into a 9-7 loss to the Blue Jays. This came close on the heels of his Friday night outing, where the Jays took a ninth inning lead on a John Buck homer before winning in 12 innings.

Given his ineffectiveness of late and an ERA pushing 7.00 on the season, manager Ozzie Guillen's seen enough for a while:

Maybe the next couple of days we use somebody different. That way we can see if Bobby can get regrouped and come back to his form. Obviously, he is not throwing the ball well. The good thing is we have options, and we will see what happens the next few days.

At the top of the list is Matt Thornton. who's got a 2.35 ERA and has struck out 25 batters in 15 innings of work. J.J. Putz might also be called up on, as he recorded 91 saves while the Mariners' closer from 2006 - 2008. Will any demotion to a set-up role be temporary for Jenks? That probably depends on whether anybody else can find success to be less elusive.