"We haven’t said one time, ‘September or October.’ Every time we use only November. That’s the goal. That’s the start, middle and end. We’re not playing for the next [start]. We’re playing for the whole thing. I think for me, personally, I like where we're heading with that." -Chris Sale on Friday, via ESPN
Oh my god yes. I like where we’re headed too, Chris. Right on of the heels of that unbelievable Hanley Ramirez quote about stepping on necks, we get this from Chris Sale. There’s a stirring in my pants. This Red Sox team is all in, and there’s no doubt about it. Now that Manager John is out the door and they feel like they’ve filled the gaping hole that David Ortiz left when he retired, the Sox are finally ready to play ball.
This wasn’t the only interesting thing that came out of this Scott Lauber article. Lauber also gave Red Sox fans an inside look into what efforts Sale and the Sox will be making to preserve his arm this year so that his performance doesn’t diminish during the final stretch of the season and into the playoffs. Sale is ridiculously competitive--he wants a swing and miss on every pitch. It’s awesome and one of the things that could put him in the Hall of Fame one day, but it hurts his longevity over the course of a grueling 162 game schedule. This fact was apparent last season, when his ERA spiked a full point after August 1st.
Sale acknowledged the narrative around his longevity, stating that “It was looking at what I’ve done in the past and seeing the result and saying, ‘All right, [I’ve been] doing the same thing over and over and getting the same result. Let’s try to do something different to try to get a different result.’”
To counteract this phenomenon, the Red Sox have been easing him into his normal pitching schedule this season.
Lauber wrote that “three weeks since pitchers and catchers reported to camp, the difference is plain. Sale has not yet pitched in a game, his work limited to bullpen sessions and live batting practice. His first start will come Sunday in a minor league scrimmage on a back field at the Fenway South complex, and it’s possible he won’t start a Grapefruit League game until March 14 against the Minnesota Twins.”
This is honestly pretty unprecedented; they’re basically treating Sale like he’s an injured player. I don’t hate it. I think it’s pretty obvious coming off last season that something needed to change in Sale’s approach, and this is a way for him to keep his aggressive, attacking mindset while hopefully keeping him fresh for the playoffs. My only concern is that Sale won’t be fully ready to go on Opening Day, leaving him incapable of going more than 6ish innings and potentially leading to tic-tac injuries.
I also think it’s a good sign in general that they’re being proactive. Sale implies in the article that he came to this conclusion during a meeting with his college coach, but you gotta think that Alex Cora had something to do with this. An old school, hardo manager like John Farrell probably would’ve stupidly forced him into pitching this spring when he wasn’t comfortable with it. This is one of the first real decisions we are seeing Cora make with the club and I think it’s a smart one.
(photo courtesy of Over the Monster)
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