SALE ISN’T CRAZY, JUST COMPETITIVE
White Sox ace’s passion to win fuels blowups
The world outside the walls of the Chicago White Sox clubhouse thinks of Chris Sale as a cross-pollination of Albert Belle, Bill “Spaceman” Lee and Manny Ramirez.
You know, a talented ballplayer who happens to be a lunatic.
One day he’s ripping up everyone’s uniforms hours before the start of a game. The next he’s screaming at his boss, threatening to boycott a spring training game. He even tried to take on the entire Kansas City Royals team in a fight, before being stopped by stadium security from entering the clubhouse.
It’s Chris Sale simply being Chris Sale.
Everyone admires that golden arm, passion and intensity but recoils in fear when that fiery temper goes full throttle.
Now, in front of a crowd Thursday at Wrigley Field, Sale will be put on full display against the Chicago Cubs, with dozens of scouts on hand to determine whether he’s the right man for their team.
It will be his first start since the White Sox suspended him for five games, costing him $250,000, for violating team rules, insubordination and destroying team equipment. He was fined an extra $12,700 for the cost of those 1976 throwback uniforms.
It also could be his last start in a White Sox uniform. The White Sox, for the first time in Sale’s spectacular career, have let teams know he’s available.
Sale, 14-3 with 3.18 ERA, understands these are his glory years. He is a five-time All-Star who has finished among the top six in American League Cy Young balloting in each of his first four full seasons.
Sale insists he wants to stay with the White Sox, but only if they plan to win.
This, you see, is the heart of Sale’s frustration, the one that boiled into temporary insanity, causing him to go all Edward Scissorhands on us.
“That’s the beauty of Chris; that’s what makes him so great,” center fielder Adam Eaton said. “When he’s adamant about something, it doesn’t matter what it is, he’s going to his grave with it.”
This had little to do with the 1976 throwback uniform, which was going to make Sale, 6-6, 180 pounds, look silly with his skinny body and flap against him on every pitch. It was all about winning. “I don’t want to speak for Chris, but there was definitely some built-in frustration there,” Eaton said. “I think if we were 25 games over .500 he wouldn’t have done that.”
The accolades and All-Star appearances are nice, but for Sale it’s all meaningless unless it translates into the postseason.
Sure, he knows he went too far when he slashed away at every uniform in sight. He shouldn’t have screamed and swore at White Sox President Kenny Williams in the spring training clubhouse after Adam LaRoche’s abrupt retirement. And, yeah, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to try storming into the Royals clubhouse.
It’s also why he’s the most admired and respected player in the White Sox clubhouse.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is how much he wants to win,” says White Sox second baseman Tyler Saladino, who was in the 2010 draft class with Sale. “His competitive side is through the roof. His fire, his desire, is respected tenfold in here. I can’t say enough about Chris Sale.”
It’s no coincidence the White Sox won their first four games after Sale’s suspension, entering Wednesday. It’s as if they don’t want to let the man down.
Sale, who has come to the clubhouse the last few days to work out, intends to address the news media Thursday after he pitches. He will apologize for his behavior, won’t apologize for his passion and at some point will have to sit down for a heart-to-heart talk with manager Robin Ventura.
Ventura insists he and Sale can coexist. They have had run-ins before and will have them again.
“You just can’t anticipate what’s going to happen,” Williams said. “You just have to let it play out.”
It starts Thursday, with Sale taking the mound.
“You can’t turn back the clock,” third baseman Todd Frazier said. “What happened, happened. I think he knows he made a mistake. But he’s going to be more fired up than ever to pitch for us.”
This time, wearing the regular White Sox road uniform.