Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Linebrink can pitch, no doubt about it. He came into his own with the San Diego Padres in 2004 with a 2.14 earned-run average, and he improved the following year to a sparkling 1.83. He went on in 2006 to lead the NL in holds — the stat created to reward middle relievers for holding a lead — but his ERA almost doubled to 3.57. It rose again last year to 3.71, as he lost his job as setup man for closer Trevor Hoffman to Heath Bell in San Diego and was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers, who at that point outbid Williams and the Sox for his services by offering up three minor-league pitchers. He went on to lose three more games in Milwaukee, which is why perhaps the Brewers didn’t outbid Williams for him as a free agent.
I hope I’m wrong and Linebrink rebounds to his 2005 level, and he suggests the trade briefly caused him to lose focus last summer, but in the meantime I wouldn’t give up on even Mike MacDougal just yet. Williams wisely rejected getting in a bidding war for Torii Hunter, who while an excellent player will probably not be worth the $18 million a year he’ll be getting at the end of his new five-year contract with the Anaheim Angels. Yet just because the price was lower for Linebrink doesn’t mean the Sox won’t wind up regretting it even more at the end of the deal.
