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No matter what color the socks may be, Chris Sale continues to turn heads with his dominance on the mound for Boston.
After being acquired in a 5-player deal with the Chicago White Sox back in December, Sale and his herky-jerky motion have looked like his past-self so far: Dominant.
Through 6 games with Boston, Sale is 2-2 with a 1.38 ERA. In those 45.2 innings pitched, he leads the league with 63 strikeouts. While he's walked only 8 batters, he has given up 2 home runs. Another stat that you fall in love with are his hits against, allowing only 26 so far this season.
While we have seen Sale be dominant on the south side of Chicago in the past, he seems to be on a different wavelength this season. Looking to make his stamp on one of the toughest divisions in baseball, he's passing the test with flying colors.
Since Sale became a full time starter in 2012, his ERA has never exceeded the 3.50 mark. It has gotten over 3.40 one time, back in 2015. He has exceeded the 200-inning mark three times, most recently last season (226.2 was the most of his career).
"Whatever, man. Not losing sleep tonight." -Chris Sale on throwing at Manny Machcado, per sportingnews.com
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Leading the league with 11.8 strikeouts per 9-innings back in 2015, he is currently on pace for 12.4 strikeouts throughout the 2017 season. He is also posting his lowest walk totals of his career, walking only 1.6 batters per 9-innings this season. While it has only been a month, and the sample size is small, it is essentially more of the same from Sale. The difference with him this year is if he can take that next step and become a Cy Young award winner. If he continues this pace, it is certainly in reach.
In a bigger market, the lights are always the brightest for athletes. Especially when you have played at a very high level in the past, people will look to see if you can continue it in your new home. We have seen in the past that things just don't get to Chris Sale. Whether he was blowing 98 MPH fastballs behind Manny Machado this season, or cutting up batters and uniforms last season because he just didn't like them (take that, authority!), the man is a stonewall.
With past figures such as Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling and Roger Clemens, they know their pitching up in Boston. And so far, the trade seems like a huge win for them. While Chicago wanted to get younger and control multiple pieces, Chris Sale may just be the missing piece to that Red Sox rotation to help bring another title to New England.
To think, visiting teams thought the only monster they had to deal with was in left field. Well every fifth day, it's 60 feet and 6 inches away from home plate. Only this monster is throwing straight heat, wicked curve balls, and buckling batters on a daily basis.
