With Linebrink & Jenks, Sox have a lethal punch
Tenth in a series
Editor's note: As the countdown continues toward the April 6 opener for White Sox, Daily Herald Sports Writer Scot Gregor will offer his analysis of each position on the team and the key issues facing the club this season.
Q. Who's the one guy in the bullpen the Sox absolutely need a big year from?
Gregor: Scott Linebrink.
When the ace setup man went down with a sore shoulder last July, the White Sox really felt the loss.
If Linebrink can stay healthy, he's almost automatic in the eighth inning, as is Bobby Jenks in the ninth. That's a lethal one-two punch, and it puts pressure on opposing teams to score runs early.
Q. Bobby Jenks has been nothing but solid since 2005, yet even his name was brought up in trade rumors over the winter. Are the Sox concerned about him for some reason?
Gregor: Jenks has had some issues with weight and elbow soreness, but he has been durable and dominating the past three-plus seasons.
As for the trade rumors, maybe 10 percent are true. The only way the Sox would have moved Jenks over the winter was for monetary reasons.
In his first year being arbitration eligible, Jenks got a huge bump in pay, from $550,000 to $5.6 million. But the 27-year old pitcher earned the raise, averaging 37 saves the past three seasons while compiling an 87.9 percent (117-for-133) success rate over his career.
Q. Octavio Dotel. What's the deal?
Gregor: After their disastrous 2007 season, the Sox were desperate for proven relief help. They hit the free-agent market and paid big money for Linebrink and Dotel. Linebrink looks like a good move, but the jury is adjourning on Dotel.
Signed to a two-year, $11 million contract before 2008, Dotel was 4-4 with a respectable 3.76 ERA. The 35-year-old right-hander tied for the AL lead among relief pitchers with 92 strikeouts and ranked seventh with 21 holds.
On the flip side, he allowed 12 home runs (fourth most among relievers) with a 5.11 ERA after the all-star break.
Dotel was much more effective in the sixth or seventh innings. But when Linebrink went down with a sore shoulder, Dotel was often used in the eighth and he never adjusted to that role.
Q. Should fans expect anything from the guys picked up in the Nick Swisher trade?
Gregor: Jeff Marquez has a chance to fill the fifth starter's spot, and the Sox think he could emerge as a better version of Jon Garland. We'll see.
Jhonny Nunez accompanied Marquez from the Yankees, and the White Sox have been raving about his power arm. The 23-year-old righty did have 82 strikeouts in 81 innings last season, but that was at Class A Potomac.
Q. Who is your pick to click as a bullpen surprise this year?
Gregor: Keep an eye on Jon Link, who was added to the 40-man roster after piling up a Southern League high 35 saves at Class AA Birmingham. Acquired from the Padres, Link is somewhat small (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) for a closer, but he's got a solid minor-league track record.