Konerko will begin rehab soon

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CHICAGO - Paul Konerko is expected to begin his rehab assignment today with Triple-A Charlotte after spending much of this week vacillating on whether his strained left oblique was ready to play on again. Konerko, who has been on the White Sox's disabled list since June 17, will spend at least three games with the Knights. Charlotte hosts Durham for a two-game home series this weekend. After taking batting practice before Thursday night's game against Oakland, Konerko said the pain was still there, but that it wouldn't stop him from “doing what I want to do” in the batter's box. “Does my left side feel like my right side?” Konerko asked. “No. I can swing as hard as I want. I swung and missed a few times. “I hit some balls at the end, reached for some balls, took every swing I could take and still [felt] it a little bit.” Konerko added that he didn't want to return to the lineup until he was ready to play first base again. Nick Swisher, who the Sox have used mainly in center field, has filled the spot since Konerko's injury. The Sox called up DeWayne Wise from Charlotte to play center. And, with the way the Sox have been winning lately, playoff fever has settled in on the South Side. “It's good we're winning,” Konerko said. “My focus is solely on this team getting to the playoffs. That's it for me, so I'm glad we're playing and this weekend can go well for these guys. I just want to get back and help and get big hits in the second half.” Jenks improving Sox closer Bobby Jenks is not expecting to go on the disabled list, despite suffering from back pain on his left side that has relegated him to the bench since Sunday's win against the Cubs. “I wasn't too concerned about it because it wasn't [his] pitching arm,” Ozzie Guillen said. “If it was on the right side, we'd have to worry about it. ... Obviously, Bobby feels a lot better. Maybe one or two days and then he'll be fine.” Jenks said his back began bothering him last Saturday against the Cubs, but he aggravated it Sunday, he said, when he closed the final game of the Cubs-Sox series. “Everything physical is on hold right now,” Jenks said. “It's just a lot of treatment. “ ... It was last Saturday when I felt something in there pretty good, underneath the left scapula. Going out there Sunday, I shouldn't have been in that game. I should have pulled myself out in the bullpen. I tried to bulldog my way through an inning. It was the Cubs, big series, we were going for the sweep. It was a situation where by me going back out there, I made it worse.” Guillen said Scott Linebrink would be the closer until Jenks returns. Sweet home Chicago Former White Sox and A's designated hitter Frank Thomas was back at U. S. Cellular Field on Thursday for the opening game of the four-game series and told reporters that The Cell always would be home and that, despite being underrated entering the season, Thomas knew the Sox would be good this year. “This is where I learned everything,” Thomas said. “This will always be home. It's good to come back and see a lot of the same guys as when I was here. “ ... I knew this team would be really tough this year. When they got Swisher, I knew that was [a good move]. That guy used to give us fits when he was in Oakland (from 2004-07).” Thomas has been on the A's disabled list since May 28 with right quadriceps tendinitis. He said he expected to begin hitting again next week.