Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale has had a rough season to this point and Saturday night just added another wrinkle to the nightmare that is his 2019.
What a year it’s been for Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox. A new contract, a new World Series ring, and a fresh season to defend the crown against the rest of the league. Quickly the train would come off the tracks though and the title defense would be derailed.
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We are now in mid-July and Chris Sale still hasn’t earned a victory at Fenway Park. This isn’t just a problem for Sale though as the Sox have an embarrassing 22-24 record at home. To put that into perspective, the Red Sox lost just 24 games at home in the entirety of last season. It hasn’t been the type of year Boston was hoping to have after the storybook season last year.
Sale is one of the best pitchers in the game today and has been for some time. But something is clearly off this season and nobody seems to know what it is. And if they do know they sure aren’t telling anyone. It feels similar to the postseason when Sale had the mysterious stomach issue that the Sox wouldn’t dive into exactly what it was.
Is Sale injured? Maybe, again if he is I’m sure we won’t hear about it until long after this season ends. I can’t believe that the Red Sox would give him such a large extension if he wasn’t at peak health. But something could’ve always happened once the ink dried on the paper. The Condor has 51IP at Fenway Park this season and carries an 0-3 record with a 4.76 ERA. His road record isn’t much better at 3-6 in 60.2IP and a 3.86 ERA.
Since Opening Day we’ve seen Sale show glimpses of his genius while also displaying vast moments of confusion. Time and time again the locations are missed and the runs have piled up. To his credit, Sale has taken full responsibility and ownership over his poor season. At what point though are they just words with no meaning?
"“I’m going out there every fifth day and getting my ass kicked,” Sale said. “What do you think? It’s not fun. I’m still working, still grinding and I’m not going to give up. It’s tough going out there every day being a liability for your team.”"
I appreciate Chris taking the responsibility for his performances this year but I need to see something from the lefty. At this point, the Red Sox can’t count on him as a reliable arm in the rotation. If Boston wants any chance at making a run to the postseason Sale is going to need to figure things out and figure them out fast.
"“In a way, I guess that’s a good thing that it’s all on me,” Sale said. “I’ve got to look within, dig deep and find a way to get out of it.”"
Some may look back at spring training and the plan by Alex Cora to hold off his starters until late in the preseason. The rotation all got off to a bad start to the season but Eduardo Rodriguez and David Price have been able to turn things around and become anchors of the pitching staff. Sale on the other hand still seems to be searching for his form as we approach August.
There’s plenty of season left and the curtain hasn’t quite come down on the Boston Red Sox. Chris Sale gets another chance at a Fenway Park victory on Thursday against the Jays. This very well could be the turning point for Chris. With a long stretch of the calendar being focused on the AL East going forward now’s the time to get hot for Sale.