Sale's ring of deception
Lefty claims last start went belly-up with pierced navel
Red Sox ace Chris Sale offered an unusual explanation for the stomach illness that caused him to miss a Game 5 start against the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series. “I had irritation from a belly-button ring, just constantly taking it in and out, causing irritation and got a rash down there,” Sale said with a straight face yesterday at Fenway Park. “Had to take care of that. Doctors and nurses over at (Massachusetts General Hospital) were awesome. Things happen, you handle them and keep moving forward.” It’s likely Sale was joking. Most reporters and an official Red Sox spokesman thought so, but Sale never laughed or smiled and continued answering questions with a straight face for the duration of his interview. Manager Alex Cora said earlier this week that Sale spent more than 24 hours at MGH overnight last Saturday into Sunday. Cora offered no explanation for how Sale got sick. Sale chose not to clarify what actually held him out of action. “Just had a stomach thing,” he said. “It’s not fun. It’s definitely not fun watching your team. Got to do what you got to do, though. It happened, we dealt with it and we’re here now. We keep rolling.” Cora said Sale lost a bit of weight and was too weak to start. How much weight did he lose? “I don’t know, I didn’t look at all,” Sale said. “I feel fine though, back to normal, should be ready to go.” Sale said he threw a bullpen session yesterday in preparation for his start in Game 1 of the World Series Tuesday at Fenway Park. “Yeah I’ll get a couple more throwing days in,” he said. “Our team played great. Gives everyone around here a couple extra days rest. These guys are grinding hard. We get to go through a few workouts, get our feet under us and get ready to go.” Sale hasn’t pitched since Game 1 of the ALCS on Oct. 13, when he went four innings and allowed two runs on one hit and four walks. He has a career 1.67 ERA in 30 games when starting with extra rest. “It’ll be awesome,” Sale said. “I’m excited for it. It’s a dream. When you’re a kid this is the series you dream about.”
Wright wants in on Series
Knuckleballer Steven Wright is hoping to be an option for the World Series roster. Wright originally was on the roster for the Division Series, but was a scratch after Game 1 when he suffered a setback with his surgically repaired left knee during pregame exercises. Wright said he only took three days off to deal with the pain but has been throwing ever since. “My arm and body feels really good, just a matter of can my knee withstand the pressure of throwing off a mound consistently?” he said. Cora said the Sox need to see Wright “go through a few tests” before they make a decision. Wright threw about 10 pitches off the mound yesterday and will throw a live bullpen session against hitters today at Fenway Park to see how his knee reacts. “When I got taken off the roster, I was in a lot of pain,” he said. “Now it’s just uncomfortable. It’s at the point where it’s hard because the significance of what we’re dealing with, with the playoffs and the World Series, we just don’t know. We don’t know how it’s going to react. “I have to make a humble self evaluation because it comes down to, I do want to pitch, but if there’s any uncertainty it’s not worth it for the team to try to pitch through something and have it start acting up again.”
Nunez available for Game 1
Eduardo Nunez (ankle, hamstring, knee) went through a full workout on the field and is good to go for the World Series, Cora said. “He was actually good for Game 5 (of the ALCS),” Cora said. Rafael Devers was 5-for-13 with a homer and six RBI in the ALCS while Nunez was 1-for-5. “We’ll play the best third baseman that we feel is going to give us the best chance that night,” Cora said. “We’ll keep it at that.”
New routine for Price?
David Price was so good in Game 5 of the ALCS after warming up in Game 4 that Cora joked the Sox will consider having him warm up again the night before he pitches in the World Series. “That was the best stuff he’s shown the whole season,” Cora said. “The changeup played like a splitfinger fastball. He throwed some four-seamers in, two-seamers, and you saw the swings. We’ll make sure he throws a bullpen before his next start, you know? Probably the same day at midnight and pitch him and see what happens. But he was amazing, he was amazing.”
Inside info?
The Sox were awaiting the Game 7 results from the National League Championship Series late last night to see who they’ll play, the Dodgers or Brewers. Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers was the Dodgers’ assistant hitting coach last year and could have inside info. “He was there for a while,” Cora said. “It’s not that it’s going to make a huge difference but we’re going to have a pretty good idea how to attack them.”