GLENDALE, Ariz. - Scott Linebrink doesn't want to be put into a box.
The problem is his numbers over the past three seasons can be. First half? Solid. Second half? Disaster.
So as the veteran White Sox reliever dressed for his workout on Tuesday morning, he gave an explanation for why the last three years may have looked identical on the back of his baseball card, but were each different in why they happened.
"Two years ago, of course it was the injury,'' he said of his first season with the Sox. "The year before that, there was a trade [from San Diego to Milwaukee] in there, so there was a bit of a transition period in there. Last year, it was not getting strike one and kind of losing touch of my whole approach. I think there are things in there that we can look at and learn from and improve on, but I don't think there is one specific thing we can look at and say, 'This is why it's been tough for me in August and September the last couple of years.' ''
What Linebrink can't deny is that he hasn't been able to put an entire season together since 2007. Over the last three years he has a combined 2.29 ERA in the first half of the season, only to see his post All-Star ERA climb to 7.04 over that same time.
"I just have to keep my foot on the gas the entire season, stick with what keeps me successful, which is getting strike one and then being able to have several options instead of getting behind the count and having to throw fastball,'' Linebrink said. "The one thing I learned from last year is just to persevere through it all. All of those struggles I went through reminded me, 'Hey, this is a game that does not come easy.' You have to continue to focus on what you do best in order to make it.''