White Sox F*** Up Again

First, Scott Linebrink. Now, Octavio Dotel. Here’s a list of things that are wrong with this signing (feel free to add anything I forget):

1. $5.5 million per year! Dotel is now the 3rd highest paid pitcher on the White Sox behind Mark Buehrle and Jose Contreras. Bobby Jenks, who pitched like 800 shutout innings in a row last year, makes less than $500,000 per year. To land a big contract as a relief pitcher, I guess you have to wait until you’re over-the-hill.
2. A two-year deal for a guy who cannot stay healthy for two years. I can’t wait for the White Sox to pay Dotel $5.5 million in 2009 while he rehabs his inevitable shoulder injury.
3. Maybe I’m missing something, but Dotel, who’s 34 now, has been pretty mediocre since 2004. Do White Sox execs have updated statistics incorporating the 2005-2007 seasons? If not, let’s get them those numbers. If so, I guess the White Sox expect some kind of Roger Clemens-non-steroid-induced-late-30’s resurgence.

Apropos to the White Sox, I read an article a few weeks ago (which I can’t find right now), opining that the White Sox are now one of the top AL teams. This is wrong. Their bullpen isn’t all that great, even if they get healthy years from Linebrink and Dotel. Their projected five starters — Buehrle, Vazquez, Contreras, Danks, and Floyd — are middle-of-the-road by AL standards. And, despite the additions of Orlando Cabrera and Nick Swisher, their offense is nowhere near the likes of the Red Sox, Tigers, and Yankees. Led by the inept Ozzie Guillen, I expect this team to be marginally better than last year, but not a playoff contender.