CHICAGO -- Now that he's settled in Chicago, new White Sox
reliever Scott Linebrink plans to rebound from a rough 2007.
Traded from San Diego to Milwaukee in late July, the
right-hander finished 5-6 overall with a 3.71 ERA -- his highest in
five years. Still, he got a $19 million, four-year contract from
the White Sox this week.
"It was a challenging season for me, not just on the field but
off," Linebrink said Thursday on a conference call. "We had the
birth of my daughter -- my first child -- right after the All-Star
break, and five days after I was traded.
"There was a four-week period that I really slumped and it was
when my wife was away. That was really when a lot of those
struggles came."
A steady setup man with the Padres from 2003-07, Linebrink had a
2.52 ERA before the All-Star break this season and a 2.31 ERA in
September. But between July 18 and Aug. 28, he allowed 14 earned
runs in 15 1-3 innings.
"If you look at the numbers at the end of August and September,
I rebounded and came back strong. My stuff was always there. It was
just mentally being in the game and getting outs despite all the
things going on at home," he said.
"It is very important to me to come back and have a good year.
That little dip did hurt me but it wasn't injury-related, it wasn't
mechanically related. It was a lot of things going on outside of
the game and it made me a stronger person."
The 31-year-old Linebrink is 30-16 with a 3.21 ERA during his
eight-year career.
One concern for him is home runs. He allowed a career-worst 12
this year and is going to homer-friendly U.S. Cellular Field after
spending 4½ years pitching for the Padres at cavernous PETCO Park.
"We traveled to places like Arizona, Colorado and Philadelphia
where you were susceptible to the long ball," Linebrink said.
"When I got to ballparks like that, I didn't do anything
different. I know long fly balls can hurt you, but when you change
your philosophy that's when you get in trouble."
Linebrink said other teams pursued him aggressively, but the
White Sox presented the most attractive offer. Chicago was looking
to upgrade its bullpen, especially setup relief -- one of its major
problems during a 72-90 season.