Crain signing necessarily long

12:28 AM CST on December 16, 2010

Jesse Crain is essentially a mail-order bride.
That's no knock on his pitching skills, but rather a reflection of his status of a non-elite reliever who just signed a three-year contract. The White Sox longed for immediate company; Crain needed long-term security. After a couple years, they'll be saddled with each other's flaws, and the only way out will cost them. That's generally how these things work. Or so I've heard.
But somehow, I'm not feeling the typical shame associated with it.
For one, when you have to rely on the free agent market to fill in the gaps, you're vulnerable to getting caught on the wrong side of the supply-demand scale. Once Joaquin Benoit signed his three-year deal with Detroit and other relievers held out for the same amount of security, it became clear the Sox were either going to have to pony up, or take a risk on a rebound candidate. The "all-in" nature of the White Sox offseason quickly eliminated the latter option.
Then there's this: Crain is 29 and coming off a career year, and he signed for three years, and I'm assuming $13 or $14 million. Scott Linebrink had settled into his decline phase by the end of the 2007 season at age 31 -- and the White Sox signed him for four years and $19 million.
Folks, we've seen awful signings. This ain't it.
It just ain't safe either, but that almost makes it better, because it means the Sox continue to carry out their offseason strategy. It's not an elegent plan. Plainly put, it's costly as hell and just as risky, but once you get past those two factors, it's totally legit.
As dumb as it might be to give a guy like Crain three years, it would be even less sensible if Kenny Williams and Jerry Reinsdorf chose to shower Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko and Edwin Jackson with cash, then had their sphincters tighten up when considering a guy who will make a much smaller dent on the payroll. The Sox spent way too much money to grin and bear a fatal but correctable flaw.
If the Sox are going to be fiscally irresponsible - some might say reckless - they may as well do everything in their power to make it pay off. At the very least, we should adopt the same mindset and enjoy the honeymoon. They're too far gone to turn back, and that could be the best news we've had all offseason. With Crain in the fold, it's so stupid it just might work.
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Crain the pitcher has a lot of promise. It's strange to talk about the potential of a six-year veteran, but Crain transformed rather dramatically last year, going from a fastball-slider guy to a slider-fastball guy:

2009: 61.7 percent fastballs, 22.8 percent sliders.
2010: 42.2 percent fastballs, 46.3 percent sliders.

The unprecedented pitch selection gave him unprecedented numbers, both encouraging (a career-high strikeout rate) and worrisome (career-low groundball rate), and it sparked his second-half surge in which he became the key to the Minnesota bullpen.
The White Sox and their fans saw how nasty that pitch can be on Sept. 14, when his slider-fueled strikeouts of Paul Konerko and Manny Ramirez with the bases loaded effectively dashed their playoff hopes. His slider ranked among the league's best at season's end.
That Crain hasn't always been around. With the Twins, he's shown a tendency to lure fans into a false sense of security, then falter painfully enough to not quite trust him fully.
So in that sense, he's basically a great replacement for J.J. Putz. And that's all the Sox need -- somebody to pitch well most of the time, and for a full season. Ever since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2007, he's only hit the DL once, and for the minimum amount of games.
If Crain meets expectations, he'll take pressure off Sergio Santos as he tries to adjust back, and will give the Sox time to properly evaluate Gregory Infante, the only "stuff" guy they have in their back pocket. This signing is expensive and a risk, but it fits a need perfectly.
And hey, if nothing else, the Sox won't have to face him anymore. Lifetime vs. Crain: