In his two seasons with the Sox, Linebrink has had but one good half.  He's 5-9 over the course of two seasons. Injuries and poor control have plagued him during his stay in Chicago and nothing we have seen this spring will change that concern.  Thus far, Linebrink is 0-1 with a 6.48 ERA in 9 relief appearances this spring.

Although Ozzie Guillen has told Linebrink that he is a big part of the Sox plans and Linebrink has acknowledged he needs to get better, you have to think the only thing separating Linebrink from a pink slip is the monster contract he signed prior to the 2009 season.  Linebrink is contracted to be employed by the Sox through 2011 and if they release him, they will have to eat his contract.  Eating contracts does not sit well with either GM Kenny Williams or The Chairman.  So, the Sox will continue to pin their hopes that Linebrink can return to his dominant form of 2005 when he was 8-1 for the Padres and one of the most dominant setup men in the game.

Of course, that was five years ago and all of us would like o be where we were five years ago.

The defintiion of insanity is to do the same exercise over and over again trying to achieve a different result.  With Greg Aquino in Charlotte, Linebrink's job may be in serious danger.  It's up to him to hold other teams in check in the sixth and seventh inning or else face a sure DFA.  How patient the Sox will be with him is unknown, but one thing is for sure.  A few early bad performances will definitely grease the skids.  Falling far behind in April is not something this limited offensive team can afford to do.