Keeping Tabs

Chris Sale pitched seven innings yesterday for his new team, the Red Sox.  Sale struck out 12 in seven innings on his way to a 6-3 win over Tampa.  For the season, Sale is 4-2 with a 2.15 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 58.2 innings; his walks and hits per inning pitched, or WHIP, stands at .77; that basically means the opposition can expect to get three-quarters of the way to first base every inning.  It was the seventh consecutive start in which Sale has struck out 10+ batters, one short of the major league record shared by Pedro Martinez and…Chris Sale.

Meanwhile, Yoan Moncada, the prize acquisition in the package of players Boston sent to the White Sox in exchange for Sale, went 0/5 in last night’s Charlotte Knights’ 4-2 win over the Louisville Bats.  Despite taking the collar, Moncada is batting .338 with 27 runs scored, 6 homeruns, 12 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.  If they wanted to, the Sox could call up Moncada later next week and maintain an extra year of control over him, like the Cubs did with Kris Bryant in 2015.

At the present rate, Sale will pitch himself into Cooperstown—whose hat would he wear, do you think?—while Moncada could go down as one of the greatest players in minor league history, all thanks to the questions that Sox GM Rick Hahn wants answered.  When my father got disgusted with things, he made this face, like he was in the presence of crap.  If Moncada stays in Charlotte much longer, I’m going to start practicing that look in the mirror.