OFFICIAL: Sox Sign Linebrink - 4 yrs, 19 mil

[RME JICO]

A reliable setup man was one of the Sox needs this offseason, and by all accounts Linebrink filled that need. The Sox may have overpaid if you just look at Linebrink's deal in a vacuum, but based on the other contracts being handed out, it seems like it is the market rate.

 

 

One of the biggest stats to note about Linebrink is with his amount of pitches.

 

For his career:

 

1-15 pitches - 1.78 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .248 BAA in 273 IP

16 or more - 5.52 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .289 BAA in 169 IP

 

He is a very solid reliever when he keeps his pitch count low, however, once he gets up there his stats balloon.

 

So it is entirely possible that Milwaukee did not use him correctly (in the setup role) which lead to undesirable results.

[max power]

A reliable setup man was one of the Sox needs this offseason, and by all accounts Linebrink filled that need. The Sox may have overpaid if you just look at Linebrink's deal in a vacuum, but based on the other contracts being handed out, it seems like it is the market rate.

One of the biggest stats to note about Linebrink is with his amount of pitches.

 

For his career:

 

1-15 pitches - 1.78 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .248 BAA in 273 IP

16 or more - 5.52 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .289 BAA in 169 IP

 

He is a very solid reliever when he keeps his pitch count low, however, once he gets up there his stats balloon.

 

So it is entirely possible that Milwaukee did not use him correctly (in the setup role) which lead to undesirable results.

You seem to be suggesting that if his pitch count is low, he will pitch better. I think its more that if he pitches better, his pitch count will be lower.

[Guest]

A reliable setup man was one of the Sox needs this offseason, and by all accounts Linebrink filled that need. The Sox may have overpaid if you just look at Linebrink's deal in a vacuum, but based on the other contracts being handed out, it seems like it is the market rate.

One of the biggest stats to note about Linebrink is with his amount of pitches.

 

For his career:

 

1-15 pitches - 1.78 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .248 BAA in 273 IP

16 or more - 5.52 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .289 BAA in 169 IP

 

He is a very solid reliever when he keeps his pitch count low, however, once he gets up there his stats balloon.

 

So it is entirely possible that Milwaukee did not use him correctly (in the setup role) which lead to undesirable results.

 

Yeah, will Ozzie use him correctly? Given how terrible Chicago's pen has been, I doubt it. I can easily see him pitching 16 or more pitches per outting. Hopefully, Ozzie sticks to his guns and only uses Linebrink in the 8th and NEVER pushes him more than 1 inning.

[3E8]

You seem to be suggesting that if his pitch count is low, he will pitch better. I think its more that if he pitches better, his pitch count will be lower.

Exactly. Outings where he has his good stuff he won't be walking people or giving up hits and he will tend to throw fewer pitches. I would expect to find the same discrepancy in ERA for all relievers.

[stretchstretch]

Yeah, he was bad for them, but Yost also had no clue when to put him in/pull him.

 

yeah, good thing Oz is a master of this!

[TheBigHurt]

Borowski sucks.

Anyways, I hope we sign Yabuta too.

 

With this organization, if you have to hope for something, most likely it won't happen

 

BTW, your sig made me cringe the first time I saw it.

[Punch and Judy Garland]

He should be better than the guys last year. I just think at this point that I better be DAMN sure about a guy before I lure him from the best pitchers park in the game in a weaker league and then put him in the Cell. Thats a worry

[southsideirish]

So what is going on with this? Is it official yet? What are the terms? If no, how long does it take to pass a physical? This is insane. Is this another Bruce Levine reporting hoax?

[NorthSideSox72]

So what is going on with this? Is it official yet? What are the terms? If no, how long does it take to pass a physical? This is insane. Is this another Bruce Levine reporting hoax?

It was on the whitesox.com site, which I think makes it 99.9% sure to NOT be a hoax.

 

[NCsoxfan]

As for Linebrink, beware of any reliever discarded by Padres GM Kevin Towers. There's no doubt that Linebrink benefited by pitching half his games at expansive Petco Park (18-4, 2.63 ERA in 130 career appearances there) and by pitching in the National League. Now he has to pitch against tougher lineups in the AL. Linebrink wasn't trending well, either: 3-5, 5.23 over his final 33 games.

 

From a Boston newspaper...

[Cerbaho-WG]

As for Linebrink, beware of any reliever discarded by Padres GM Kevin Towers. There's no doubt that Linebrink benefited by pitching half his games at expansive Petco Park (18-4, 2.63 ERA in 130 career appearances there) and by pitching in the National League. Now he has to pitch against tougher lineups in the AL. Linebrink wasn't trending well, either: 3-5, 5.23 over his final 33 games.

 

From a Boston newspaper...

 

See, this is stupid as s***. Look at Linebrink's road splits.

 

06 - 39 IP 35 H 11 BB 36 SO 3.92 ERA

05 - 41 IP 20 H 10 BB 38 SO 0.66 ERA

04 - 42 IP 26 H 14 BB 35 SO 1.93 ERA

03 - 45 IP 34 H 16 BB 39 SO 2.60 ERA

 

Anyone who trots out the spiel that Linebrink is good merely because of Petco is simply ignorant.

[greg775]

ou seem to be suggesting that if his pitch count is low, he will pitch better. I think its more that if he pitches better, his pitch count will be lower.

 

Great comment.

I tend to think there are too many stats in baseball.

My god. Just do the job.

[fathom]

Yabuta to sign a 2 yr, 6 mil dollar deal with the Royals

[kwolf68]

Linebrink is over-rated and over-paid. The reason he is now in Chicago is because he is one of KW's pets. Williams loves the guy. We are looking more and more like the San Francisco Giants-cum-Washington Redskins every day where we get older and older and worse and worse thanks to an owner/GM interested in collecting baseball cards and are thus building up quite a team for 2003.

Edited November 27, 2007 by kwolf68

[infohawk]

Anyone find it at least a little strange that the signing hasn't become official yet? I thought I read somewhere that the physical was likely to be scheduled for Monday. I know it's only Tuesday, but I guess I thought an announcement would have come by now.

[southsideirish71]

Anyone find it at least a little strange that the signing hasn't become official yet? I thought I read somewhere that the physical was likely to be scheduled for Monday. I know it's only Tuesday, but I guess I thought an announcement would have come by now.

 

Our 40 man is full, the longer we delay the official announcement the better. Maybe we can move someone from the 40 during the GM meetings.

[Balta1701]

Our 40 man is full, the longer we delay the official announcement the better. Maybe we can move someone from the 40 during the GM meetings.

The Rule 5 draft is in what, 2 weeks? That's the day that we need to have it full on. If we could "Have" Linebrink but also not have him at the same time by not finalizing the deal, that could basically give us a loophole.

[Punch and Judy Garland]

At least we never got his pet Russ Ortiz. He doesn't ALWAYS get his man thankfully. He did flirt with Andruw Jones once and it wouldn't stun me if KW wanted him all along. Then again, the Boras thing... Anyways-As far as getting out of a Linebrink deal with a loophole it would kill the credibility of the Sox with every player, agent, and club so he is going to be here like it or not

[CWSGuy406]

Yabuta to sign a 2 yr, 6 mil dollar deal with the Royals

 

What an embarrassment. I know these guys probably wanted a shot to close (Kabayashi -- sp -- included), but you're telling me an extra two-three million couldn't change that?

 

Sigh... we're close to being behind the f***ing Royals. That's depressing.

[DBAHO]

What an embarrassment. I know these guys probably wanted a shot to close (Kabayashi -- sp -- included), but you're telling me an extra two-three million couldn't change that?

 

Sigh... we're close to being behind the f***ing Royals. That's depressing.

Yep I'm disgusted by this as well.

 

2 years 6M, that's all Yabuta wanted?

 

I'm going to be very depressed if Yabuta and Kobayashi put up better ERA's than Linebrink (which I think when you look at the ballparks they'll be pitching in, the rate in which Linebrink gives up HR's and his decreasing K/9 rate) is a legiminate possibility.

[EvilJester99]

Any chance the Sox may be looking at Hiroki Kuroda?? I believe he is more of a starter but still is suppose to have one hell of an arm. I would bet no though.. too many teams interested in him.

Edited November 27, 2007 by EvilJester99

[DBAHO]

Any chance the Sox may be looking at Hiroki Kuroda?? I believe he is more of a starter but still is suppose to have one hell of an arm.

He's probably looking at getting 40/4 minimum this off-season, and some team in need of a SP such as the Mariners or Diamondbacks will probably give it to him.

 

We'd have to dump Contreras on someone and then sign him. If we could do that without paying any of Jose's deal, then I'd certainly look into it, because the salaries could almost be a wash, and you would probably be more likely of getting more production from Kuroda over the 3 seasons.

[Balta1701]

We'd have to dump Contreras on someone and then sign him. If we could do that without paying any of Jose's deal, then I'd certainly look into it, because the salaries could almost be a wash, and you would probably be more likely of getting more production from Kuroda over the 3 seasons.

Isn't that pretty much what the Yankees thought about Kei Igawa and his contract last offseason?

[DBAHO]

Isn't that pretty much what the Yankees thought about Kei Igawa and his contract last offseason?

Yeah probably, because as we saw with Igawa and Matsuzuka this season, the main problems they had weren't stuff wise, it was control.

 

I think Igawa can still be sucessful though, but he needs to get out of New York and onto a team such as the Padres.

 

Still if you had a choice b/w say Carlos Silva and Kuroda for the same contract, who would you go for. Silva's more of the sure thing, but Kuroda would have more potential obviously.

[Balta1701]

I think Igawa can still be sucessful though, but he needs to get out of New York and onto a team such as the Padres.

So, if we put a pitcher in the most pitcher friendly park in baseball, he might start having success. That's not a very high standard.