Chris Sale needs Tommy John Surgery

[jacksonianmarch]

Everyone on EEI is making a big deal of the 60 day IL placement, and I don’t get it. He’s not due back til June or later. Yesterday was the first day you could put someone on the 60 day and free up a 40 man slot. 60 days from yesterday is April 19 or so. He was never due back by then. This was a foregone conclusion

[notin]

Everyone on EEI is making a big deal of the 60 day IL placement, and I don’t get it. He’s not due back til June or later. Yesterday was the first day you could put someone on the 60 day and free up a 40 man slot. 60 days from yesterday is April 19 or so. He was never due back by then. This was a foregone conclusion

 

Do they think it means he’ll be back in 60 days? Are they aware that’s a minimum and not a set duration? Prince Fielder spent multiple consecutive seasons on the 60 day IL. All it means is Sale will be out long enough that the Sox need not hold his 40 man roster spot...

[jacksonianmarch]

Do they think it means he’ll be back in 60 days? Are they aware that’s a minimum and not a set duration? Prince Fielder spent multiple consecutive seasons on the 60 day IL. All it means is Sale will be out long enough that the Sox need not hold his 40 man roster spot...

 

Exactly. It actually shows their lack of baseball knowledge. A 60 day placement was guaranteed. It was entirely procedural.

[moonslav59]

Exactly. It actually shows their lack of baseball knowledge. A 60 day placement was guaranteed. It was entirely procedural.

 

Yup. No way Sale would have come back in just 60 days, even if he felt ready.

[TylerD]

Yup. No way Sale would have come back in just 60 days, even if he felt ready.

 

Our rotation I think will be solid anyway.

[mvp 78]

Everyone on EEI is making a big deal of the 60 day IL placement, and I don’t get it. He’s not due back til June or later. Yesterday was the first day you could put someone on the 60 day and free up a 40 man slot. 60 days from yesterday is April 19 or so. He was never due back by then. This was a foregone conclusion

 

Don't go to EEI expecting smart debate.

[notin]

Yup. No way Sale would have come back in just 60 days, even if he felt ready.

 

Exactly,. If a player tears his ligament on April 1, he gets put on the 60 day IL. That doesn't mean he will have surgery and be back on he mound on June 1st...

[moonslav59]

Our rotation I think will be solid anyway.

 

I like how our rotation is setting up. Sure, there are almost as many big question marks as slots in a rotation, but many other teams "ahead of us" have as many Q's as we do.

 

We start the season with...

 

ERod

Eovaldi

Richards

Pivetta

Perez

(Maybe Houck wins a slot or starts in AAA or as a long man in the pen, but he's there if one of the big Q's starts the season on the IL.)

 

The, there's Chris Sale (June? July? Early August?)

 

We have some promising starter depth beyond Houck with Whitlock, Seabold, Mata, Gossett and Weber.

 

When you look at who we started, last year, one could argue, when including returning pitchers from injury, our rotation improved the most in MLB- on paper.

 

34of our 60 games started,last year were started by pitchers who will get zero starts, this year!

 

7 Godley

6 Mazza

5 Weber

4 Brewer

3 Hart

2 Kickham, Triggs

1 Brasier, Brice, Osich, Hall, Lever

 

 

[jacksonianmarch]

You just said you like your rotation then put Nathan Eovaldi in the 2 spot. Don't lie. Your rotation is better than it was last year, but you basically had an expansion team's starting rotation last year. The 4-5 is gross. Richards and Eovaldi have a rotating reservation on the IL. Houck and Mata are the biggest shimmering hopes for the rotation long term, although I think Houck will be closing for you come end of year.

[Bellhorn04]

You just said you like your rotation then put Nathan Eovaldi in the 2 spot. Don't lie. Your rotation is better than it was last year, but you basically had an expansion team's starting rotation last year. The 4-5 is gross. Richards and Eovaldi have a rotating reservation on the IL.

 

100% trash talk.

[jacksonianmarch]

100% trash talk.

 

Maybe it is, but good luck invalidating it

[moonslav59]

You just said you like your rotation then put Nathan Eovaldi in the 2 spot. Don't lie. Your rotation is better than it was last year, but you basically had an expansion team's starting rotation last year. The 4-5 is gross. Richards and Eovaldi have a rotating reservation on the IL. Houck and Mata are the biggest shimmering hopes for the rotation long term, although I think Houck will be closing for you come end of year.

 

It's not just "better" than last year's "expansion rotation:" it is vastly better.

 

While it's easy to improve on "rock bottom," I can't see any MLB team that improved their rotation by more projected value than the Sox.

 

We basically replaced 3 of 5 starters with...

 

ERod

Sale

Richards

Pivetta

Houck

Seabold, Mata and others that look better than all the scrubs from 2020.

[Nick]

It's not just "better" than last year's "expansion rotation:" it is vastly better.

 

While it's easy to improve on "rock bottom," I can't see any MLB team that improved their rotation by more projected value than the Sox.

 

We basically replaced 3 of 5 starters with...

 

ERod

Sale

Richards

Pivetta

Houck

Seabold, Mata and others that look better than all the scrubs from 2020.

 

What was that rotation with NO ACE and each starter joked he was the ACE? I know fireman Bill was one of them. Kimmi's favorite.

[moonslav59]

What was that rotation with NO ACE and each starter joked he was the ACE? I know fireman Bill was one of them. Kimmi's favorite.

 

If you go by GS'd, 12 starts was 1/5 of 60 games. Here is how you could break up our rotation for 2020 by 12 starts each:

 

12 Perez (the "ace" by default)

9 Eovaldi (could have been called "the ace.") + 3 Houck

7 Godley + 5 Weber

6 Mazza + 4 Brewer + 2 Pivetta

5 Brewer+ 3 Hart, 2 Kickham, 2 Triggs, 1 Brasier, 1 Brice, 1 Osich, 1 Hall, 1 Lever

 

2019's

34 ERod

32 Porcello

25 Sale + 6 Cahsner

22 Price + 8 Velazquez

12 Eovaldi +7 Johnson, 5 Chacin, 3 Weber, 3 Lakins and 5 from scrubs

 

[notin]

You just said you like your rotation then put Nathan Eovaldi in the 2 spot. Don't lie. Your rotation is better than it was last year, but you basically had an expansion team's starting rotation last year. The 4-5 is gross. Richards and Eovaldi have a rotating reservation on the IL. Houck and Mata are the biggest shimmering hopes for the rotation long term, although I think Houck will be closing for you come end of year.

 

If only the Sox could acquire pitchers as durable as the Yankee rotation, which is Gerrit Cole plus 4 pitchers who averaged 11 IP last season.

 

Gerrit Cole is the only difference between the Sox rotation and the Yankees. Granted, it is a good difference to have. But then, I did not think the goal here was "better rotation than the Sox."..

[moonslav59]

If only the Sox could acquire pitchers as durable as the Yankee rotation, which is Gerrit Cole plus 4 pitchers who averaged 11 IP last season.

 

Gerrit Cole is the only difference between the Sox rotation and the Yankees. Granted, it is a good difference to have. But then, I did not think the goal here was "better rotation than the Sox."..

 

Only "better" than a rotation that is only "better" than an "expansion team's rotation."

[Bellhorn04]

Maybe it is, but good luck invalidating it

 

Seems to me the Yankees have a few health question marks in the rotation too.

 

We all know what the realities and risks are. No need to try to rub our noses in it like you did there with Richards and Eovaldi. That's ********.

[moonslav59]

Seems to me the Yankees have a few health question marks in the rotation too.

 

We all know what the realities and risks are. No need to try to rub our noses in it like you did there with Richards and Eovaldi. That's ********.

 

In some ways, they have more questions than ours has, but they also have more options, especially young ones.

[Bellhorn04]

Sale threw off a mound, lightly, for the first time since surgery.

[jacksonianmarch]

Sale threw off a mound, lightly, for the first time since surgery.

 

He seems to be behind. I wonder if the neck and covid issue set him back

[Thunder]

He seems to be behind. I wonder if the neck and covid issue set him back

 

Funny how your bias impacts your analysis. I think the more appropriate analysis would be "he is not being rushed back" rather than "he seems to be behind"

[mvp 78]

He seems to be behind. I wonder if the neck and covid issue set him back

 

If he doesn't pitch in games this year, I'm not bothered. As long as he's 100% ready for 2022, I'm good.

[Thunder]

If he doesn't pitch in games this year, I'm not bothered. As long as he's 100% ready for 2022, I'm good.

 

If we're not in contention by August (which seems less likely by the day, but still possible), I would want him to be shut down.

[Bellhorn04]

Personally I'd like to see him this year.

[kenmeister]

I'm expecting him to be 1995 Roger Clemens and have a .667 winning percentage when he comes back

[moonslav59]

Personally I'd like to see him this year.

 

I would, too, and if they think it would help his progress, they won't hold him back out of fear of injury. They will just limit his pitch count and tell him not to overdo it.

[harmony]

Funny how your bias impacts your analysis. I think the more appropriate analysis would be "he is not being rushed back" rather than "he seems to be behind"

Each side has a bias.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

tell him not to overdo it.

 

They could tell him, but Chris Sale only has one gear. Better they keep finding ways to delay.

 

This is why I've never counted on the idea of Sale as a midseason infusion to the rotation. The worst factor for a completely healthy comeback might be the '21 Sox in a pennant race... unless, maybe they give him the Whitlock treatment.

[Bellhorn04]

I'm confident that the team will look after him properly.

[bkzwhitestrican]

Here is a recent photo of Chris Sale, he seems to have put on a few pounds since last year