Stopper

Stopper

My rooting interest in the White Sox stretches back to Joe Horlen down through the likes of Bart Johnson; Richard Dotson; and Jack McDowell.  At one time or another, they all looked to be that pitcher who comes along once in a generation, only to flame out.  They were the pretenders while Chris Sale may very well be the real thing.  Yes, my sentence structure there was influenced by superstition.  I don’t want anything to happen to the man.

Sale snapped a four-game losing streak for the Sox last night with a complete-game 2-1 win over the Astros to go 9-0 to start the season; it took Sale all of 107 pitches in a game that went 2:11.  Many if not most athletes go through their careers never adjusting.  They were mediocre or great as rookies, mediocre or great in their final season.  Not Sale.  He’s talked about choosing to be more efficient pitching so he could go deeper into games, e.g., last night’s complete game.  Last year’s strikeouts, each one requiring a three-pitch minimum, have given way to five- and six-pitch innings.  Sale also did strength training in the offseason, not to throw the ball harder but, again, to be more effective late into the season.  How often do you see players running on empty come September?

I cringe at talk about how “great” Sale is or isn’t.  That’s a question for when his career is winding down; fingers crossed, it’s barely started for someone who turned 27 in March.  Instead, White Sox players need to ask themselves how great they could be by making the kind of adjustments the ace of their pitching staff has.