Last week we had some fun writing about the Cubs’ fan convention. Well, technically, I had fun writing about it and, at least, 3 people had fun reading about it. Be that as it may, this week is SoxFest. A time for players and coaches to mingle with the great unwashed and relax over a frosty cold libation. Unlike the Cubs convention, SoxFest requires a parental warning. Not only around Ozzie. Cooper and Walker have been known to let fly with the occasional colorful colloquialism now and then. JOE COWLEY at the Sun Times was kind enough to edit out the various bleeps and bloops and tell us about the gathering.

On the eve of the annual SoxFest weekend, the say-anything Guillen addressed the perception of a cold war between him and closer Bobby Jenks, life without a true designated hitter, expected fan reaction during the next three days and outfielder Alex Rios electing to skip the weekend festivities.

And he even dropped an f-bomb here and there.

The topic that put Guillen on the defensive was the notion that the Sox still are missing something—specifically, a DH—even with veteran Jim Thome still out there in free agency.

‘’Some of the fans are excited about this team and the moves we made,’’ Guillen said. ‘’It is different for everyone. But everyone should be happy because I know I am. This is the first time I can remember where we are set at almost every position before camp even starts.

‘’In the past, we had to choose between, ‘Do we want this guy or that guy?’ I think [general manager] Kenny [Williams] and [assistant GM] Rick Hahn did a tremendous job. I don’t see why a fan can be upset, but that’s why they are fans.

‘’I will say this about our DH: Whoever is the DH will be in the [bleep]ing lineup.’’

As it stands right now, Mark Kotsay and Andruw Jones are the most logical candidates. But Guillen also will use Omar Vizquel, Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko in that spot, allowing him to play with the lineup to get certain matchups and get a player some rest without taking his bat out of the lineup.

Guillen said he’s Thome’s biggest fan, but life in the American League is changing.

‘’No one, except his wife, is a bigger fan of Jim Thome than me,’’ Guillen said. ‘’I will be grateful and pleased one day to say that I had an opportunity to manage this man, but this game is changing a little bit. It’s easy for a manager when you don’t have a true DH. I can move things around, give guys more playing time. That’s the way it’s going to be.

‘’Fans out there will be looking at this team a little different. They might be saying, ‘Hey, we’re missing something.’ I think we’re going in a different direction, but the right direction. Our team is going to create different things. That’s why things will look weird. People shouldn’t be worried about that. Thome, to me, is one of the best guys ever to wear the uniform, but DH is changing. Few teams will have a legit DH. Those days are going away.’’

The story that won’t go away is the idea that there are lingering hard feelings between Guillen and Jenks. Jenks didn’t like some of the comments made about his conditioning at the end of last season and told the Sun-Times in November: ‘’I felt I was the easy scapegoat because I had struggled in the end with some nagging injuries. This organization, just like most in this game, tell you, ‘Come in ... and tell us what’s on your mind.’ And when you do, they turn it around on you and make you feel bad. They’re playing on your own words. They want you to come in, be honest, and then they turn it around.’’

As others have noted, none of this would have happened had not Jenks made a point of explaining how he was in good shape in September as opposed to the rest of the season. My Aunt Bertha used to say “If you stand on a fence and tell people to hit you with a brick, someone will hit you with a brick.” My Aunt Bertha was a lot of fun. She also liked to put salt in her beer. Even so, I am sure that Jenks will be fine once he gets a few saves under his, now svelte, belt.

All this minor drama aside, the Sox seem pretty well stocked with pitching this year and have a lot of flexibility with the DH spot. Sadly Alex Rios did not attend SoxFest. Mostly because he is shy. All that means in the grand scheme of things is that he will be a lousy interview. There are more than enough people in the Sox organization who can cover that lack. As long as his swing is back, and Gregg Walker stated that it is, no one will really care about the rest.

CLICK HERE TO TIP A COLD ONE WITH US