July 2011 - Chicago White Sox Wiretap

Red Sox manager Terry Francona has stepped inbetween reliever Bobby Jenks and White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. Jenks and Guillen have feuded in the media this spring after the reliever left Chicago and signed with Boston as a free agent. "That's over," Francona said. "I spoke to Bobby, actually went back and forth with Ozzie, not speaking, but messages. I'm confident that will be over. "I don't care if they like each other, but Bobby is a Red Sox and we need to move on. I think [Guillen] understands that. "Just making sure it goes away. It doesn't need to happen."

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen responded to comments made by former closer and current Boston reliever Bobby Jenks on Saturday. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Jenks was critical of Chicago's front office. ?First of all, he can?t make any comments about last year because he was never in the clubhouse. He spent more time in his house than he was in the clubhouse,? Guillen jabbed. ?The only thing I can say is I feel bad for him because I think the way we treated this kid, just the White Sox, myself, our front office people ... we helped him a lot, on the field and off the field.? Guillen was just getting started. "It?s very sad because he should look at himself in the mirror and all the things he said in the paper to realize what he said. Like I said in January, if there was one player I ever managed, I do more stuff for him than anybody else on the field and off the field."

Bobby Jenks is very happy to no longer be a member of the White Sox. "A lot of the stuff with Ozzie [Guillen] and the front office gets old," Jenks told the Chicago Tribune of his former manager. "It has been a problem for a long time. It was a problem before last year. It was a problem before last year. ... It's going to be nice for me to see how things are done here." Jenks, 29, signed with the Red Sox as a free agent this offseason.

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau isn't talking to former teammate Jesse Crain, who left the team to sign with the White Sox this winter. Jesse Crain, who pitched for the Twins for the past seven seasons, said he still hasn't received a call or text of congratulations from Morneau after signing his new contract. "He never congratulated me; he's the one guy who didn't," Crain said. "Even [Michael] Cuddyer and [Denard] Span and all those guys, [Joe] Mauer, everybody did. But Morneau was the one guy who never did it." Crain and Morneau, both born in Canada, were good friends and had a solid relationship in the clubhouse.

White Sox general manager Ken Williams is standing by comments he made recently about the value of Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols. During a Monday interview with Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Williams said the possibility of Pujols earning $30 million per season would be bad for baseball. "All I'm interested in is the game," Williams said a day later. "We're just caretakers of this game, all of us: you guys, me, the players. We're caretakers of this game to the next generation. And then the next generation after that." He made it clear that his comments were not a jab at Pujols.

White Sox general manager Kenny Williams says that $30 million annually is too much to pay for first baseman Albert Pujols. "For the game's health as a whole, when we're talking about $30 million players, I think it's asinine," Williams said. "We have gotten to the point of no return. Something has to happen. And if it means the game being shut down for the sake of bringing sanity to it, to franchises that aren't going to stop the insanity, I'm all for it." Heading into last season, the Pirates and Padres had payrolls of $35 million and $38 million, respectively, for their entire rosters. "If [owner Jerry Reinsdorf] gave me $30 million right now, I'm not going to spend it on one guy. Sorry, White Sox fans," Williams said. "But I tell you what, I'm going to take that $30 million and I'm going to distribute it around. My team is going to be better as a whole than it is with one player who might get hurt. Then you're done. Sorry, that's just me. And that's no disrespect to a future Hall of Famer, first ballot, one of the greatest players in history."

Adam Dunn didn't swing a bat at all during the offseason. After Dunn took batting practice with the White Sox for the first time Saturday, a reporter asked him at what point during the offseason did he first pick up a bat to work on hitting. "Twenty minutes ago," Dunn deadpanned. "But this is not my first year to do that," Dunn said. "I've probably done it [that way] since '05 or '06. It just seems to work better for me."

Mark Buehrle said he has no regrets about saying he at times wished NFL quarterback Michael Vick had gotten hurt this past season as retribution for his involvement in dogfighting. "No, I said it," Buehrle said. "It's an old story. Again, we are not bringing drama inside and past history stuff. So, I said it, meant it. It's over, and we'll move on." Buehrle and his wife Jamie are huge advocates for animal rights, particularly with dogs. An avid hunter, Buehrle was asked the difference between dogfighting and the activity he enjoys. "Hunting is a sport," he said. "There are hunting stores out there. If that's illegal, shame on my dad and my grandpa and his grandpa. It's kind of been brought up throughout the history of America. The last time I knew dogfighting was a sport was never. Again, that's all we need to comment on that. We'll concentrate on baseball."

A former White Sox scouting executive pleaded guilty on Friday in an alleged kickback scheme targeting players from impoverished parts of Latin America hungry to play in the United States. David Wilder, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud as part of a plea agreement, telling a federal judge in Chicago, "I understand what I have done." Prosecutors said he and two others were supposed to pay signing bonuses matching each player's skills but instead fraudulently inflated the amounts and took the additional money for themselves. In a statement, the White Sox said they were pleased Wilder "will face responsibility for his crimes."

White Sox pitcher and animal rights activist Mark Buehrle told MLB.com recently that there were times this season he wished Eagles quarterback Michael Vick would get hurt on the field. In 2007, Vick was convicted of a felony related to a dogfighting ring and served 19 months in prison. "He had a great year and a great comeback, but there were times where we watched the game, and I know it's bad to say, but there were times where we hope he gets hurt," Buehrle said. "Everything you've done to these dogs, something bad needs to happen to these guys." At some point after the story was posted on MLB.com, the quotes were removed from the story. Buehrle and his wife Jamie, who have three dogs, are active in promoting canine rights.