Knuckle Curve » scott_linebrink

White Sox Sign Dotel

Geoff Young — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:08:39 +0000

The Chicago White Sox have signed right-hander Octavio Dotel to a 2-year, $11 million deal. On the heels of their November signing of Scott Linebrink, the White Sox appear to have adopted the same strategy that worked so well for the Orioles last winter.

Like Linebrink, Dotel was a dominant reliever several years ago. Now he’s mostly just hurt. Here’s what Dotel has done recently:

Octavio Dotel, 2005 – 2007
IP	ERA	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	HR/9
Statistics are courtesy of David Pinto’s Day by Day Database.
56	5.14	9.16	5.46	10.29	1.29

You’ll notice in the caption that this is Dotel’s record for the past 3 years. Last season he worked 30 2/3 innings, which was the most he’d pitched since 2004. Dotel is 34 years old. Yep, better lock him up to a 2-year deal.

Meanwhile, the White Sox designated an intriguing arm for assignment in the process, right-hander David Aardsma. The latter hasn’t enjoyed much success at the big-league level but has good stuff, is young, and probably won’t cost a whole lot. Someone should give Aardsma a shot. For grins, here’s what he’s done over the past 3 years:

David Aardsma, 2005 – 2007
IP	ERA	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	HR/9
Statistics are courtesy of David Pinto’s Day by Day Database.
85.1	4.96	8.44	4.75	8.96	1.37

Huh, that looks kind of familiar…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Relievers and Long-Term Deals

Geoff Young — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:44:44 +0000

I’ve criticized the signings of J.C. Romero and Scott Linebrink this winter. Today at Hardball Times I attempt to answer the question of why teams keep overpaying these guys. Be sure also to check out Dave Studeman’s companion piece on the wisdom of long-term contracts.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

White Sox Sign Linebrink

Geoff Young — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:15:32 +0000

I’ll have more to say on the trend of overpaying relievers in another venue, but for now it’s enough to know that 4 years for $19 million is an insane amount to give a guy like Scott Linebrink, which is what the Chicago White Sox will be paying for the right-hander’s services.

I happen to be a big fan of Linebrink. I saw his California League debut with San Jose back in ‘97, when he fanned 10 Stockton batters over 6 innings. I’ve followed him closely since then and was ecstatic when the Padres picked him up off waivers from Houston in 2003. He had some good years in San Diego, and for a time, it looked like he might one day replace Trevor Hoffman as the team’s closer.

The main problem with Linebrink now is that most of his numbers are trending in the wrong direction. He’s still a valuable reliever because he’s durable and probably will give a team 70 innings or so of above-average work, but this is not the lights-out setup man we saw in ‘04 and ‘05. I guess nobody told the White Sox.

Post from: Knuckle Curve