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Comments
Uh, this may be a stupid question, but is Joe Cowley the same Joe Cowley who pitched a no-hitter for the White Sox in 1986 and then totally imploded the next year for the Phillies and never pitched again?
That Linebrink signing was horrendous. All the scouts were saying his stuff was done in SD before the Brewers traded him and he wasn't much better there. I'm now sure what KW is thinking at this point.
kenny is a dumbass. Jerry needs to fire this guy and get anyone that is not a complete moron.
No the Linebrink signing wasn't bad. He's had an ERA under 4 the last two years, and in a market where Jason Marquis gets 7 mil a year, 5 mil for Linebrink is acceptable. Everyone would blast Kenny if he didn't improve the bullpen, the Sox clear weakness last year, so he had to do something. All i know is Linebrink immediatly becomes the #2 arm in the pen, and that's a good thing. Bullpen help is hard to fine, and Scott Linebrink is about as dependable as you'll find.
And no JJ, two completely different Joe Cowleys.
Sorry, but I have to disagree with you...and so does Keith Law (ESPN), who was all over Linebrink when teams were trying to trade for him at the deadline last season.
So while Kenny Williams is correct to identify the White Sox's bullpen as a major flaw -- their 5.47 relief ERA was third-worst in the AL -- the odds are very good that he's not getting the help he thinks with Scott Linebrink, who agreed to a four-year, $19 million deal. Linebrink had a good three-and-a-half-year run, pitching very well in a great pitchers' park in the easier league, but that run ended in 2007. He posted his worst ERA in any full season in the majors, giving up twelve homers in 70 innings, a testament to the gradual decline in his stuff since that remarkable 2005 season. His fastball velocity is just average and is pretty straight, and he's moving to one of the better home run parks in baseball. To expect him to still be performing well one or two or three years from now is unrealistic, and there's a very good chance he won't live up to expectations in year one.
Here is the link with historical evidence for these signings:
I'm not paying his contract, and he's better than Mike McDougal. There was not too many other good releivers on the market- would you rather have Justin Spier (i believe he's available), so I like the Linebrink signing, even though as I said in the post, it's alot of money, probably more then he's worth.
Teams have shown the ability to build very good bullpens by signing players who fit specific needs or fill up certain statistical categories. CNNSI.com had a very good write up a few weeks ago about how the Padres had done this and had kept their bullpen extremely solid, while dealing with low salaries.
When it comes to the bullpen (minus the closer), there are more than one way to skin the cat.
Torri Hunter is a pussy and/or mercenary. I wish him only the worst.