June 13, 2014: No Sale

With the Sox back at .500 and within 2.5 games of the division leading Tigers, they had a chance for the sweep.  They looked to their ace Chris Sale, as he matched up with Scherzer, the ace of Detroit.  The result was a Detroit win that put the Sox right back in the middle of the crowded AL Central.  You really can’t blame this one on Sale…

Chris Sale is the horse.  I mentioned in previous blogs that he was one of my fantasy baseball pitchers, so I know his stats well.  I know them well enough to have traded him this week in a fantasy baseball blockbuster.  Winning 7 out of 8 weeks is not enough, as I’m always trying to prepare for the future.  So why trade Sale?  No, it’s not because of the Uncle Rico mustache he’s grown, but I’m worried, that’s why.  I’m worried that he will not make it through the season healthy.  Again, he is the Sox horse, and with the Sox flirting with .500 the whole season, and possibly flirting with a wild card birth, and with the bullpen performance, he will be leaned on heavily.  Too heavily.  I don’t have faith in Ventura as a manager of his staff.  Well that’s where Cooper comes in, right?  Yeah, I still think they burn the kid out.

Let’s flashback to the game before he went on the DL this year.  This was back on April 17th at home against the Red Sox.  A pitcher’s duel ensued between Sale and Lester.  Both pitchers finally gave up 1 run each in the 6th inning.  As the pitch count escalated, Sale was left in there.  I mean, it’s a 1-1 ballgame vs Boston at home, you can’t take him out.  Well, he reached 127 pitches through 7 before he was finally pulled.  The bullpen gave up 2 in the 9th for the loss.  Chris Sale goes on the DL.

Let’s flashback to this past weekend vs the Angels.  He was absolutely cruising through 7 innings, and although his pitch count wasn’t too high (yet), with a 5-0 lead, was there a need to press it?  Well, everybody eventually gets touched.  Sale gave up 5 runs to the first 5 batters he faced in the 8th, reached 115 pitches, and watched the bullpen lose the game right after he was taken out.  Let’s keep in mind that this kid has already been on the DL.

Let’s look at tonight.  He gives up a HR in the 5th by Victor Martinez (one of my fantasy players), and that’s it.  Trailing 1-0, playing against the 1st place team, looking for a sweep, you can’t take him out, right?  Right.  116 pitches later, after 7 innings of giving up only 1 run and recording 10 Ks, he was pulled.  The bullpen promptly gave up 2 in the 8th, and 1 in the 9th.  4-0 final.
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Point is, he is going to throw a lot of pitches MOST of the time.  What’s wrong with that?  Well, back in the day, nothing… who cared right?  Well, I remember 2 young superstar pitchers for the Cubs that both threw a tremendous amount of innings/pitches in the playoff year of 2003.  They were never the same.  With all these pitchers going out with Tommy John surgery the past couple years, you have to worry.  You look at Sale’s unorthodox delivery, which makes him nearly unhittable to left handed batters, and you have to cringe.  I really hope he doesn’t get hurt, because when healthy, he is one of baseball’s best.  I feel like it’s just bound to happen.

I feel like Sale can throw a no-hitter any game… he’s that good.  However, I also feel like he’s one long outing away from being back on the DL.  How long will THIS stint be?  Will he end up with the season ending surgery that so many young pitchers are getting?

Maybe I’m wrong.  I hope for the White Sox nation I’m wrong.  I hope he stays healthy, and continues to deal.  I just got that feeling.  That’s why he is no longer on my fantasy roster.  That’s why I pulled the trigger and traded one of the best pitchers in baseball.  I predict another DL stint coming, and this one may be season ending.  I can’t predict the future, I just call it as I see it.