Sale On

 

Since joining the NL for the first time in 2024, Chris Sale has yet to finish a season with an ERA higher than 2.60. His Cy Young season in '24 had a 2.38 ERA. Through 11 2026 games, he has a 2.01 ERA. All of this on what the Red Sox assumed was borrowed time.

Not that it's been enjoyable as of late, but if you wanted to check how the returns for Sale are doing in Boston right now, well...Vaughn Grissom's not even in Boston. He's currently a utility guy in Anaheim. Meaning once again, the Red Sox traded a big piece for prospects that couldn't even stick around long enough to help them do anything. No wonder the fans want John Henry to sell. 

Though we all thought the Jack McDowell comparisons would do him in, Chris Sale has become one of the most reliable pitchers of the 'K-or-nothing' era of baseball. This year, Sale's on track to reach 2700 career strikeouts, and his career ERA still sits below 3. He's also on pace to crack 60 career WAR, and he recently notched his 150th career win. Obviously nobody can do what Nolan Ryan did and overthrow for 25 years anymore, but Sale has maintained so much success just by consistently whizzing past people. So far he has 80 Ks this year, and on a Braves team where the next-nearest strikeout artist is trying to stay healthy and the other two everyday guys are leverage/control guys who don't throw hard, it's positively refreshing. The 2025 Braves went in banking on the high-speed guy like Sale, and then Schwellenbach and Lopez got hurt, Sale missed a third of the season and it was up to Holmes and Elder to keep the lights on. Now that the approach has been altered and it's less geared around the overthrowing, Sale can just do what he does and there's plenty of fallbacks.

The failsafes are one of the reasons the Braves are still a league superpower. Last year they got cut with their pants down because they were unprepared for the majority of the pitching staff getting hurt. Now they have swing options. J.R. Ritchie gave it a go, and while it didn't work, he was able to swing out when Strider came back. Martin Perez went from an in-camp maybe to one of the most unexpected rotation weapons in Atlanta, with a 2.70 ERA and 40 Ks in 11 games, proving he truly is the Venezuelan counterpart to Charlie Morton. Mauricio Dubon was the replacement for Ha-Seong Kim at short, and Dubon's been so good even after Kim's return that the position continues to be his. The one thing they couldn't really predict was losing both Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy, meaning Chadwick Tromp is now the starting catching option for the Braves, and Sandy Leon is closing in on him. If this wasn't a really good Braves team with so many other great starring performances, it'd be worrying. But Baldwin'll be back soon, and it's not breaking the team.

There's so much depth to this team, and so many successful seasons, that another star performance from Chris Sale just feels like the cherry on top. I hope they keep at it, as they really could chase the Dodgers for the league championship this year.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy who was traded for Tommy Edman, who's honestly doing a much better job than he would have, and is still looking to win the trade with his new, rebuilding team.

The Wrong Team is Under .500

 

One of the things I do not like is when a team begins playing terribly and then midway through decides that they were actually good all along. Especially when said team had every opportunity to be good from the start. The Blue Jays and Cardinals did this all the time in the 2010s, and it would infuriate me to no end. Just pick a direction and stick with it. It's cool when an underdog does this, but when you're already on track for 100 wins and just lose 18 in April just to make it difficult, it's not cute.

That's why this whole Braves thing has been frustrating me. The Braves started the season by losing their first 7 games, and thanks to a scorching May are only now peaking their head above .500. They did this during a series against the Red Sox, an actual good team that's been actually good from the start, and has multiple good players outdoing expectations. Meanwhile, the Braves are still without like 4 or 5 great players and are getting very mediocre stuff from some of their biggest stars, and suddenly they're acting like they were doing this all along. If they were doing this with Acuna and Strider it'd be a different story, but they're doing this on the backs of people like Drake Baldwin, Nick Allen and Grant Holmes. This is verging on Astros levels of skeletal competition.

Like, look at Chris Sale. Chris Sale, after his unbelievable Cy Young season, battled worries that he'd blown his arm out again and would go back to his hurt self. That didn't happen. He did, however, have some very rough starts in April, and now he's gotten his ERA as low as 3.62. He's still a really tough pitcher, and he has 72 strikeouts through 10 starts, but the unstoppable quality of 2024 has lessened a bit. Now he's...a little closer to human, despite still being Chris Sale. And that's what a lot of these guys are, just a bit closer to human. Matt Olson has 9 homers but he's hitting .232. Spencer Schwellenbach had a killer start but has leveled his ERA to 3.31 with 3 losses. Raisel Iglesisas has 8 saves with a 5.89 ERA. Statistically, things are going well for this team, but it's happening in a way that doesn't require the team to actually be good. Like, the team's infrastructure and organization is so strong right now that something that would kill a worse team is only slightly inconveniencing the Braves.

And now you're hearing that Ronald Acuna's killing it in Gwinnett, and he might be back soon, in addition to Craig Kimbrel, who's progressing in the minors. Considering that the only above-replacement outfielder at the moment is Eli White, Acuna's return could not come at a better time. I don't know if it'll save the team though, or elevate them from a hanging-on club to a good one, but...anything to get the Braves out of this 'nominally good' stage they're currently in. If you're gonna compete, compete, don't do whatever the hell this is.

Coming Tonight: A guy who's never had a great start that couldn't be halted by something ridiculous and unfortunate. 

Cy Youngs: Immediate & Delayed

 

I'm gonna be honest, I had a Tiger and a Brave in the finals for the Cy Young at the beginning of the year, but it wasn't these two. I was thinking Spencer Strider was gonna win it for the Braves, and I was fully convinced that this would be the Casey Mize comeback season of the Gods. Seriously.

Which is to say that these two outweighing the odds and winning is a great outcome. Not predictable. Like if I'd have picked these in April, I'd have said like...Corbin Burnes and Tyler Glasnow. Much more exciting, honestly. 

What also makes this a cool Cy Young outcome is that these two were both kind of uneasy rolls of the dice going into the year. Skubal was always gonna be a rotation option, but it was gonna be a matter of how healthy he'd be, or if he'd need more IL time [like Mize and Manning did]. And then he went on an incredible run and kept it going throughout the season, and into the postseason. I think in terms of sheer dominance, Skubal was pretty unrivaled this year, as even his competitors [Burnes, Crochet, Lugo] had more human moments throughout the year. 

Meanwhile, Sale was an absolute flyer for the Braves, dealt by the Sox after several down years and some lost goodwill. The Braves gave up Vaughn Grissom just to see if Sale had anything left, and would play him from a low rotation rung for less damage. Then Strider got hurt, Fried got hurt, Elder struggled, and the savior, ultimately, was Chris frigging Sale. And with this opportunity, Sale did the one thing he never could do with Chicago or Boston...he outlasted the competition and was the best pitcher in the league.

Maybe it was just getting out of the AL, I dunno.

The one thing about the Sale win, at long last, was that it came at the expense of Zack Wheeler, another 'always a bridesmaid never a bride' Cy Young candidate. Once again, he was extremely good, and made it to 2nd in the voting, but...as always, there was just someone better. And to be honest, Chris Sale's peak years have been better than Zack Wheeler's. Sale, with this season, may have punched his ticket to the Hall of Fame, and I don't think Wheeler has the pre-28 numbers for that. So this was more fitting than anything, the one guy who beats Wheeler this time is the guy who got beaten, unceremoniously, too many times in the 2010s. 

Look, my own personal home-team gripes aside, these were the two best pitchers in baseball this year, and they deserve the gold. What's weird is that, as inevitable as these two were, compared to the MVPs they're unexpected wins. 

Re-Sale Value

 

It has become all too familiar to hear of a pitcher that wowed the league by throwing hard and striking everyone out that, after his peak, cannot for the life of him stay healthy. Just this season we've had Lucas Giolito potentially be out for the season with whatever screwed up his arm in the second half of 2023, Kodai Senga potentially missing a ton of time after pitching beautifully last year, and Carlos Rodon continuing to worry Yankee fans by not quite reaching his fastball velocity. Pitchers are blowing their arms out at an accelerated rate and everyone's acting like it's not a problem. It is. I don't think it's possible for a starting pitcher to have a 20 year career anymore because now it's more like a 15 year career with 4 of those years being injury-prone half seasons. 

And so here we are. Chris Sale has one year with the Braves to prove himself. At one point he was a surefire future Hall of Famer. Then in 2019 his arm got fatigued, he had a ton of arm surgeries and hasn't stayed healthy since. Does he have anything left?

I think about some of the other guys who've turned out like this. Corey Kluber famously struggled with injuries after his peak, and recently called it quits. Luis Severino had an excellent start but he's more careful than he's ever been now. James Paxton only showed up in Boston for a portion of his two year deal, but the stuff that appeared was excellent. And similarly, Sale's 2023 material was pretty solid, striking out 125 in 100 innings. But, ultimately, he got injured and was out in most of the second half. 

I find it very funny that Sale is using a Spring Training stint to prove he's got it, because that's exactly what he was up to last year. I saw him start a game last spring, he looked pretty damn good actually, could still strike people out. But we don't know at what point Sale's arm is gonna tell him to stop. He's actually looked even better this spring, proving that the Braves knew something in snatching him for some small pieces. 

People, at the time of the deal, called Sale a killswitch piece for the Braves, as he provided back rotation security behind Morton, Fried, Elder and Strider. But not only is Sale something of an injury liability, you have to think about Morton, who is 40, and Fried, who fought injuries through most of last season. And then you have to think about the next Chris Sale; Spencer Strider started 32 games last season, won 20 of them and struck out a league-leading 281. He will be 25 this season, and the hope is that he's able to replicate this without getting injured. But is this too much to ask, even for someone as talented as Strider? 

I mean, if nobody gets injured, this rotation could bring them to October. But that's a big if, especially in 2024-era MLB, where everyone has to throw hard. Hell, the Braves have already seen two organizational phenom pitchers, Michael Soroka and Ian Anderson, completely lose their footing due to throwing out their arms. And that's the plan they seem to be going with for this year, just have everybody keep throwing really hard and hope it works. There needs to be some sort of whistleblowing thing that proves to clubs that this isn't a sustainable practice, though I doubt that'd even happen.

For now, we just have to hope that Chris Sale can have a solid comeback season without getting injured yet again. Though if the uniforms stay this troublesome, maybe he'll want to miss time...

Uncustomed Heroes of 2023: Red Sox

 

What a weird year to be a Red Sox fan. It had the effect of both a transitional year and a big contract go-ahead year at the same time, and it felt like the two sensibilities were warring with each other. Two of the biggest contracted players on the team played little to no part in the overall outcome of the season, and it was left to a lot of young players to pick up the slack. Many of them actually did well, and will play into next season favorably. Others aren't there yet. 

Connor Wong may be the biggest revelation. The Sox were still looking for a permanent catching option after losing Christian Vazquez, and went in with the platoon of Reese McGuire and Jorge Alfaro, neither of which were any good defensively. Thankfully, Wong is a terrific defensive catcher, and had an 11 dWAR figure, winning the position easily. Despite only hitting .235 with 36 RBIs and 9 homers, Wong was 7th in WAR on the team.

2024 Prediction: Like Vazquez before him, he figures out the hitting end and keeps the starting position.

Triston Casas, like Jarren Duran, took a while to blossom in the MLB but broke big this year, and made 1st base her own. Duran hit 24 home runs, 2nd on the team, and 65 RBIs, 4th on the team. I saw Casas in Spring Training and even then he didn't look too comfortable, but he really came into his own during the second half, and that reassured Sox fans quite a bit going forward.

2024 Prediction: First 30-homer season, and closer to the heart of the lineup.

After four straight injury-plagued seasons, Chris Sale was prime for a comeback, and with the Sox putting a lot on him as one of the few veterans remaining in the rotation, Sale did his best to reignite the hype. I saw Sale start in March, and he looked alright, even if it's clearly not 2014 anymore. Sale was limited to 20 starts, but he did post his best numbers in years, with a 4.30 ERA and 125 Ks, as well as a 1.130 WHIP. Clearly his best stuff is still there, but his overthrowing in his first decade of play has made his arm a lot less trustworthy than it used to be.

2024 Prediction: Finishes that contract with a whimper rather than a roar.

Speaking of snakebitten contracts, Trevor Story's injury kept him out until August, meaning for the first time in about a decade, the Sox had no leads on a shortstop. Luckily, Story's return was timed with Enrique Hernandez's trade to LA, and Story got 43 games to make up for lost time. He only hit .203, yet his 10 steals were still the second-most on the team, and he still roped in 14 RBIs and 3 homers. 

2024 Prediction: Here, folks, finally, Boston will see peak Story. I just hope it's not too late.

And then in the last month of the season, the Sox brought up two interesting young rookies. Ceddanne Rafaela, an OF-2B type from Curacao, got up to some interesting contact business in Boston, hitting 20 hits in 28 games, with 5 RBIs and 2 homers. I'm seeing a potential utility role for Rafaela, but there is a chance he'll prove himself somewhere specific.

2024 Prediction: Really cool second half bench numbers.

Then the Sox brought up Wilyer Abreu, a high-prized outfield prospect, and Abreu got off to a wild start in the majors, hitting .316 with 14 RBIs in 28 games. Immediately, Abreu got Sox fans' attention, and could be a major piece of the action going forward if those numbers continue.

2024 Prediction: Will get a surprising amount of Rookie of the Year votes before he mellows into an Adolis Garcia-esque power career.

Coming Tomorrow- I have a lot of Cincinnati Reds left, guys..

Wind in our Sale

 On August 10th, the Red Sox were slowly dropping out of the playoff conversation. The Yankees were leading the wild card conversation, the A's were still holding relatively strong, and the Sox were running out of energy, waiting for Schwarber to come back, losing players to the COVID list, and trying their best to cultivate their insane start to the season. It wasn't looking good, and they needed one last piece to make them into a contender again.

On August 14th, Chris Sale came back from the IL. Since then, he has been in career form, with 5 wins, a 2.57 ERA and 39 Ks in 7 games. It's not that the Red Sox rotation was bad without him, as Eovaldi, Pivetta, Rodriguez and Houck were all doing pretty decent jobs, but it was clear that there was something missing. The Sox rotation thankfully had time to grow and mature since last year's debacle, but without Sale, they were only part of the way there. 

Since Sale's return, the Sox have ascended to the top of the wild card race, with a sizable lead over the Yankees, and all other competitors, and a good amount of playoff odds. I'm not saying it's the only correlation/causation, but it's definitely a big reason as to why they're still a contender right now. If Sale had missed the season this team might be worse off.

Because there's still a lot of people on this team who had huge starts and are still kind of petering off since the midpoint. J.D. Martinez is still gonna come out of here with 100 RBIs, but his numbers have fallen off, and he's only got 27 homers, compared to his near-lead at some point. Rafael Devers' high-contact peak has now leveled off at around .275. Pivetta and Rodriguez have bulked to 4 ERAs. Matt Barnes has 6 blown saves, and Adam Ottavino has been having to come in and close a lot more often. 

The once-shrouded flaws of this team have been revealed, and this team just has to work with them. I do still think this core of Bogaerts-Devers-Martinez-Verdugo is gonna be tough to match up to for AL opponents, but I also think that two of the three pitching matchups may not go the Sox' way, and the Sox that may show up to October may be the second-half team that's made all those mistakes. 

This team has won 7 straight, so maybe they will be a decent playoff contender. But...I still worry. Especially compared to the other teams in the race.

Coming Tomorrow- Perhaps the biggest pitching takeaway from the Phillies this year.

Spring Training Custom: Re-Sale Edition

Yeah, I clearly made this before he got shut down for a few weeks, but...here he is anyway. Still Chris Sale, exceptional pitcher, but...the Sox are gonna be without him for a bit.

Chris Sale had an unfortunate turn last year, having his first mediocre season since...okay, ever. No all-star nod, no Cy Young votes, some time on the IL, and just...a version of himself we're not used to. More human numbers, more mistakes, more runs. And now that he's getting himself ready for a comeback...he gets pneumonia for a few weeks, delays his start of spring training, and now won't be a definite for Opening Day. Which blows for the Sox, as they're without Betts and Price...and now Sale for a bit.

Sale is finally facing live batters again, and is working his way back up to normal levels of play, which helps. I do think this will be a normal season for him statistics-wise, and he'll do his usual bit of high-strikeout, low-ERA stuff, just with a slight setback.

Sale aside, this is going to look like a very different Sox team this year. Kevin Pillar's looking at a starting outfield position where Mookie Betts used to be. The rotation spots are still up in the air, and it might be some unknown like Chris Mazza, Ryan Weber or Kyle Hart being thrown in there instead of Porcello or Price. There's no Brock Holt, no Pedroia til much later this season, and Jose Peraza might be starting at 2nd this year. This is what we're up to two years after the parade in Boston.

Granted, this team could still be good, and there could be some surprise moments coming from players we don't expect, but...compared to what the Yankees, Rays, and honestly Blue Jays have coming up this year, the Red Sox don't have much. Just some downhill momentum that might get unloaded a bit more as we go on.

Coming Tomorrow- He's one of the best catchers in the leagues, and hopefully he gets to spend more than one more year in Philly.

Setting Sale for Third

So here's the good news with the Red Sox: They're 5 games over .500, they have three of the most statistically impressive players in baseball (Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers), and they just swept the Indians in order to keep them from staying in 1st place. They are the most successful spoiler in the AL, because they're still good enough to beat you, but not beat division rivals.

Bad news: yeah...they're...not good enough to touch not only the Rays and Yankees...but also the A's and Indians, who are 7.5 games ahead of them in the Wild Card race. So a year after winning it all, the Red Sox don't have the team to rush right back into the race, and unless there's a giant push in September, which I am praying doesn't happen, they'll be a non-factor in the playoffs.

Even worse: the once strong pitching staff has folded a bit. Now David Price is injured, Rick Porcello's lost his velocity, and Chris Sale is still having his most human year. Yes, I know, he's got 218 strikeouts, and that's awesome, but...he's got a 6-11 record and a 4.40 ERA, which are career lows for him. I'm hoping it's just a bad year for him, because prior to this he was among the best arms in the league, and I still want him to grab a Cy Young one of these days. But...the Sox' ace is struggling, and after a World Series win, no less.

And also, the bullpen's in tatters, there's like 3 options for closer, Andrew Cashner's already been moved to the bullpen, and it's ruining a great season for the Red Sox' lineup. Looking at everyone in that lineup, they're all doing insanely well, even Brock Holt who's filling in for Michael Chavis. It's almost universal growth from everybody, and...I wish it would have happened in a better season for them.

Look, if they seriously fix what's wrong with the pitching staff, their 2020 team could win it all again. It's insanely tangible. The Red Sox have probably had one of the most impressive decade runs of them all in the 2010s, winning two different rings with two different incarnations of the team. If they've dominated the last two decades, I imagine they'll equally dominate the next one.

Coming Tonight: Yep, wouldn't be shocked if he wins another Cy Young this year.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2017: Red Sox

Another year, another first round exit for the Boston Red Sox. The sad part is that this team is slowly getting better, and refining their strengths. No longer are they the 'playing for this year', ragtag team of bearded fellows from 2013, but they have a core of people that have been grown from the farm, and have been signed to build on their success. This is a team that's engineered for long-term success, and it's got to be frustrating that it hasn't happened yet.

Especially to people like Dustin Pedroia. Yes, the guy has been through two World Series-winning teams, but he probably expected it to be more consistent than just dropping everything and getting back a few years later. He had a down season this year, but hopefully will get back to more consistent offensive work.

Xander Bogaerts was also down a bit from his usual high-average work, putting in a decent enough year. I'm thinking he'll be back in full-force for 2018, and helping the team back up.

Last year's Cy Young winner, Rick Porcello, had an opposite-caliber season, racking up a ton of losses and sporting a bloated ERA, sinking to the middle of the rotation the more people like Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez grew in power.

Doug Fister was a mid-season pickup, saving him from doing subpar work in Anaheim and plugging him right into the rotation, where he quickly got back to familiar territory covering for injured rotation members. Next season he'll be trying to fix the Rangers' rotation.

After a great start in Queens, Addison Reed landed in Boston for the stretch, not exactly continuing his Mets numbers, but doing well enough to stay an important part of the bullpen.

If it weren't for a few bad starts in August, this guy would have FINALLY received his first Cy Young award. He was in career form this year, giving the Sox exactly what they traded for, and building on what could be a career-defining residency in Boston.

Coming Tomorrow- A team that is slowly building back some momentum, despite losing a ton of veterans and heroes.

ALDS': The Postseason Begins!

Chris Sale vs. Justin Verlander- formerly a division matchup for the books, currently a playoff matchup for the pantheon. I have an idea of how this is going to go, but neither team is going to go quietly, and I imagine we're gonna get some great baseball from this. All I'm saying is I don't think it will go all 5 games.

As for later tonight...

Sonny Gray's legend was born in the playoffs, and last year, Trevor Bauer's blood was all over the playoffs. I feel like I know which way tonight's gonna go, even if Bauer's been having a better season, but the series is probably going to go Cleveland's way if the Yankees don't rise to the occasion. They have an opportunity with Sonny Gray on the mound, but even the Twins got past Sevvy. They're going to need to work hard. And the Indians...they're going to need to work even harder to make sure this foregone conclusion works out.

Lots of fun to be had. Hopefully we'll have some results worth writing about.

What Happens When a Favorite Joins the Enemy

It didn't take Chris Sale a lot to become one of my favorite players.

He's around my height and build, and he throws fire. He was one of the best pitchers on the White Sox for a half-decade, he nearly won a Cy Young, and became one of the foremost strikeout artists in baseball. When I went to Comiskey, and around when I started my habit of nabbing a jersey-shirt from each of the stadiums I visited, I had to get a Chris Sale jersey. Nobody else made sense.

Well, this year, the exact thing I didn't want to happen to Chris Sale...happened to Chris Sale. Boston. Freaking Boston.

I'm not gonna hope that Sale doesn't have a great season- hell, that's the opposite of what I want. It's typical for Fenway to get the best of terrific left-handed arms, and I want Chris Sale to have an amazing season regardless of the different winds. I want him to outdo the cynics, even if we're probably looking at another case of 'would have been a Hall of Famer if he'd have stayed in Chicago'. I know it's a lot to hope for, but as someone who's rooted for Sale, it's valid.

I will say that a rotation starting with Porcello, Sale and Price will be pretty ferocious in the AL East, so much so that it's probably gonna be difficult for anyone else, especially the Yankees, to get a word in edgewise...THAT IS, if these three players are all healthy and hot this season. It's not a guarantee for the lefties (look at David Price's 2016), but it could happen.

I'm not exactly hoping for the Red Sox to go all the way, but I'm at least hoping Chris Sale can.

Coming Tomorrow- Someone who needs to make a comeback in 2017, or else me posting a custom of him in the first week is gonna seem rather foolish.

The Red Sox Just Won the Winter Meetings...Already

It's been a few years of this, but every single year one singular team will collect a number of new players at once, and everyone will exclaim that they're headed for the World Series, regardless of their actual state. It's been the Marlins, Blue Jays, Padres and Diamondbacks at several different times.

Today, the Red Sox got their turn...and this one's actually scaring me a bit.

Over the course of the day, they managed to add...

• Brewers reliever Tyler Thornburg, in exchange for third-baseman Travis Shaw, who'll be a big help as several aging members of the bullpen start to trickle out.
• Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland, in a contract, who'll be a defensive step up from Hanley Ramirez, and give a bit more flexibility for the DH position.
• and, most importantly, CHRIS SALE, from the White Sox, in exchange for Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech. Sale, paired with David Price and Rick Porcello, could be a huge part of a three-headed monster of pitchers.

Of course, there is the issue of Chris Sale's left-handedness being a hindrance as he enters Fenway Park, enemy of lefties everywhere. Sale's one of the best pitchers in the league, and I'm hoping he'll get something good out of this, but part of me is worried that, like Price, his numbers might dwindle a bit, and might not be as good as they'd be if he stuck in Chicago.

Still, all three moves combined add to a strong team basically fine-tuning itself, and preparing to be even stronger in 2017. Which...DOES NOT BODE WELL for anyone else in the division. First of all, it spells doom for Toronto, who...probably aren't going to be too impressive in 2017, Donaldson notwithstanding. Secondly, it spells doom for the Yankees, who were trying to make a comeback. Thirdly, it spells doom for the Orioles, who might not even be effective if the Sox are just gonna swat them around.

It also spells doom for the Rays, but...what the hell else is new?

Just like last season, with the Sox' additions of David Price and Craig Kimbrel, part of me's worried. The team's strong enough, but with only David Ortiz not coming back from last season, and now Pablo Sandoval looking to make a huge comeback...it's not looking good, as a Yankees fan.

Again, the good thing about these big Winter Meetings add-frenzies is that they never usually amount to immediate success...but this is the Red Sox. They've proven me wrong before. 

Custom Card of the Day: Sale Edition

When I was in Chicago, on the South Side, for a game, I wanted to get at least some form of merchandise. I knew offhand it wasn't gonna be a cap. So I wanted to get some form of jersey, or at least a t-shirt. I have enough Phils shirts at home that I needed some variety. So, naturally, I scoured the White Sox shop looking for one. When I got one at Wrigley, I was debating over Bryant and Rizzo (I ended up with Rizzo).

With the Sox, there was no debate. It was gonna be Chris Sale. I mean, for one thing, we're both tall, skinny guys. On the other hand, Chris Sale is freaking awesome.

He's had two or three straight seasons of being really good, and coming within a few votes of being the Cy Young winner (last year I thought he had it). He pitches some amazing strikes, and his stuff is just phenomenal. So much fun to watch.

I really hope he sticks with the Sox for a while, so fans have an excuse to go to games. Abreu-mania isn't gonna last forever, and Alexei Ramirez probably doesn't have much longer with the club. So...Sale's gotta stay.

Coming Tonight: That Red Sock I've been promising to post for so long.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2014: White Sox

Yep. Still finishing these up. Why? 2015 customs are coming up. Gotta clear the 2014 ones out before they do.

This was my second Abreu custom of 2014, because I selected a few huge stars of the year to have 2 customs, because why not. Abreu had a monster season in 2014, and all of Chicago is betting on him to have another huge one in 2015, especially given the fact that the Sox have gotten a few more contracts on the team.

Meanwhile, the other megahitter in Chicago had a less-than-stellar season. This custom is probably the best part of his season. I mean, it looks like a comic book cover. Viciedo is not sitting comfortably in...wherever the Blue Jays have Spring Training, waiting to squeeze his way onto the 40-man.

Alexei Ramirez, now that Paul Konerko is gone, is now the longest-standing member of the Chicago White Sox. And he got there after I started collecting. Man, it's tough wrapping my head around that one. Anyway, Ramirez is a consistently great shortstop, and will likely have another great season in 2015.

This guy was the real man of the hour in 2014, besides Abreu. If it wasn't for Corey Kluber, Chris Sale would have likely nabbed his first Cy Young award. And now it looks like he won't be ready in time for Opening Day, which is bad for the Sox, as they'll be forced to start Jeff Samardzija instead (which...isn't that bad).

Meanwhile in sophomore-land, Adam Eaton had a decent enough season away from Phoenix, settling into his role in the Chicago offense. He's not all the way there yet, but there's still hope.

Let me tell you, if I'd posted this in December like I was supposed to, this card would definitely would have made the top 5 on my Best Customs of the Year list, because it's that good. Just the smile on his face, contrasted with the helmets on the back of the wall. That is a great shot, and it's now a great custom.

Coming...Tomorrow, I hope: Finally I'll finish out these damn posts with the Yankees.

Custom Card of the Day: Sale Edition

I shelved this one for a month when Sale ended up on the DL, but now that he's back, and now that he's throwing fire again, I have an excuse to post this.

Chris Sale's claim to fame is being basically the only great pitcher on the White Sox, making him the equivalent of Felix Hernandez in Seattle before Iwakuma came along.

Chris Sale can be a consistent pitcher when he's really good, yet every season there's always the "Chris Sale Injury Break", which Chicago fans have come to expect, which basically halts most of the momentum, and the team loses sales, until Sale comes back (HAHA! A PUN!)

However, this year the momentum kept going in Chicago after Sale was sidelined, due to the exploits of one Jose Abreu, who is having a monster rookie season, and basically turning into Yoenis Cespedes for the deep-dish crowd. Plus, the team is hitting for the first time since the 2000's. People are doing their jobs. Konerko is having a nice final season.

So when Sale actually got back, he had more support than just a thin roster and a vacant pitching staff. He was the top pitcher for a good team. And that's all the support he needed.

Coming Tomorrow- One of the best hitters in baseball, coming out of Colorado.

Custom Card of the Day: Sale Edition

Oh, hey, a new custom. Haven't seen one of those in a while, eh? Craaazyy...

The White Sox have been awful this season. It's funny, a few months before the season started I predicted that they would be in the World Series. Huh. And now they're one of the worst teams in baseball. Man, I'm good.

(I'm not even mentioning the other team I predicted, because they're actually doing pretty well right now, and I don't wanna jinx it.)

Still, Chris Sale has been the one person on the White Sox that hasn't been terrible, which is nice. I mean, he gets hit a little bit, but he's had a pretty alright season, and he's becoming a consistent pitcher for a team in desperate need of one.

Coming Tomorrow- An outfielder for a great team that has sunk to third in the NL Central.

Custom Card of the Day: Sale Edition

 

This season, if remembered for anything, will be remembered as the Year of the Underdog Teams. Currently the Nationals, Pirates and White Sox are all in first place in their respective divisions. Keep in mind that all of them were near last the year before. All of these teams have fell on some dark days in past years, but this has been the season for all three. 

The White Sox in particular have surprised the league, with Adam Dunn as the star hitter, and Chris Sale as the star pitcher. Remember, this guy came up as a middle-reliever back in the Buehrle days. He's now possibly the best pitcher in the AL, and he's leading his team to great heights. 

He definitely earned the All Star nod, as did his rostermates Jake Peavy, Dunn, and Paul Konerko. It'll be interesting to see how he does tomorrow night.

Coming Tomorrow- Probably a card of the Home Run Derby Champion.