BillyWilliams

You could stand on the corner and hand out $5 bills and eventually someone will complain that you gave it to them face down instead of face up.

Too funny, he's been wrong more times than he has been right. I was spot on with the tin foil hat. It's comical to watch when he swears up and down that another poster is me, and YOTN could easily confirm that it's not. Sad little fool.

Why cut bait when he costs next to nothing?

As I stated, that's how things were, things are different moving forward with many teams receiving large swaths of cash from the new TV deals.

And you've come to this conclusion after having tea and crumpets with him? The bottom line is as much as we like to think we know something about the players on our favorite teams, the reality is we know very little about who they really are.

While that may have been true, with all the new mega TV deals more and more teams have the ability to hand out huge contracts. See Machado, Manny. As the great Bob Dylan once said, The Times They Are A-Changin'

Over the years I have watched slush puppy accuse at least a dozen or more different posters of being me. Too funny, dude probably walks around with a tin foil hat on.

Limiting sale's innings to save some bullets for later in the year would make sense to me. Telling him to pitch at 89mph to save his arm doesn't..........

I haven't checked, but has he rquired warmer weather in the past to reach his typical velo?

Not directed at you at all. You have never done anything to me and I like your contributions to the forum. It was meant just to poke fun at what has become a sort of sawx mantra. I think the whole dancing thing was ridiculous, but that's just my opinion. But since it bothers you I will kindly remove it.

It's your buddy bellhop that starts the drama.

So based on what you have seen from a pretty much fully healthy red sox team that is 1-5 they are the best team in baseball and are a lock to win the WS. But what you have seen from an injury ravaged Yankee team that is currently 2-3 they are a lock to miss the playoffs. Got it, thanks for playing.

And you're an *******, but I don't see what that exactly has to do with baseball.

I would certainly be concerned if I just signed a pitcher who is now 30yrs and had a shoulder issue last season to a massive extension and he comes out throwing 89 mph. He may just be experiencing a dead arm...... or maybe not.

Another quality baseball related post by bellhop.....

Some do some don't.........

I think most posters here can glean what they want from the article.......

Agreed, I think the notion that he's saving himself for later in the season is preposterous.

It certainly adds information that may provide a spark for further conversation.

Deep.........

Can we please start at least 3 more sale threads?

So, what are your thoughts on sales velocity, or should I say lack thereof?

Which are pertinent when discussing PED use in baseball. Unlike a personal attack, which is in no way baseball related.

And bellhop with another useless non baseball contribution to the board.......

Chris Sale’s velocity, Red Sox offense concerning in another shutout loss By JASON MASTRODONATO OAKLAND, Calif. — The Chris Sale on the mound Tuesday at the Oakland Coliseum looked nothing like the pitcher the Red Sox have become used to seeing in his two-plus years in Boston. In a start that was both impressive and concerning, Sale threw six innings of one-run ball despite having a fastball that was stuck in the high-80s. He all but ditched his heater and began pitching almost exclusively with his slider and changeup during the middle innings and still found a way to make it work. But the start did more to create new questions than answer old ones, and it didn’t end well for the Sox, who couldn’t touch A’s starter Mike Fiers in a 1-0 loss. Perhaps surprisingly, manager Alex Cora was upbeat after his team dropped to 1-5 on the year. “Honestly, after tonight, I feel better,” Cora said. “It was a game. One nothing, we had a chance. We competed. It’s not that we haven’t been competing but most of the games we were out of it right away.” A rally looked possible when Xander Bogaerts smoked one high off the 388-foot mark on the center field wall in the ninth inning off closer Blake Treinen, but he tried turning a double into a triple, and A’s outfielder Ramón Laureano threw him out with a perfect throw for the second time in as many nights. After taking a 7-0 loss to the A’s on Monday, the Sox have now been shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since 2015. But Sale’s outing will be the topic of conversation in Boston on Wednesday. Sale faced only four batters in a scoreless first inning, but his fastballs were clocked at the following velocity: 88, 88, 88, 88, 91, 89, 89, 90 and 91 mph. One of those was a belt-high fastball that Matt Chapman smoked out of the stadium for the game’s only run. Sale hit 94 mph multiple times in the first inning of his Opening Day start then slowly tailed off slowly. “I saw 92 mph in the fifth or sixth inning,” Cora said. “I mean, he pitched. I try to stay away from the velocity thing. Sometimes you get caught up in it and it’s like, is he going to be alright? But he gave us six. It was different, but he gave us six.” The velocity never jumped up Tuesday, and Sale almost ditched the fastball altogether. He finished with just 25 four-seamers averaging 89.1 mph, the lowest velocity of any of his 289 career major league appearances. Not once did he generate a swing-and-miss on his fastball. Catcher Christian Vazquez started calling a heavy dose of off-speed pitches instead. “The name of the game isn’t velocity,” Sale said. “It’s giving your team a chance to win. No matter what you’re featuring that day, you’ve got to get as deep into the game as you can and leave your team a chance to win when you’re out of there.” How unusual is that for him? He was averaging 97 mph midseason last year, touching 101 mph, only to average just 90 mph in his final start of the year against the Orioles after shoulder issues ruined his season. It’s not completely out of the ordinary for a pitcher to have dead arm this time of year, especially considering Sale made only two spring training starts. “I’m still just trying to find it,” he said. “Still working on some things with my mechanics and trying to find my space out there. Just trying to get comfortable and find the groove. That’s half the battle with a pitcher, especially a starting pitcher is finding a groove and getting comfortable.” Last year, Sale made four spring starts, averaged 93-94 mph in his first three regular-season starts, then averaged 96 in his fifth start of the year and maintained his velocity until the shoulder inflammation became a problem. “You guys want him to pitch the whole year or do you want him to go out and throw 100 mph right now and not be there for his team?” pitching coach Dana LeVangie said. “He’s building. He had a long year last year. He’s building up to be the guy he wants to be. He started last year similar, but we’re getting to that point, but just not right now.” There was a time in 2013 that Sale had a similar case of missing velocity. That year, he averaged 91-93 mph first four starts with the White Sox then sat at 94-97 mph the rest of the way. It could be nothing. It could be all part of the Red Sox’ plan. They’ve been saying that it’s better to get Sale throwing 98 mph in October than in April. And he was more than capable of getting outs with his slider and changeup on Tuesday night. But there was a moment in the second inning when Cora was seen having a conversation with trainer Brad Pearson in the dugout as Sale continued to throw 88 mph fastballs. That he finished with only one strikeout — tying a career low — also was strange. But the concern in the clubhouse was non-existent. “Zero. Zero concern. Not at all,” LeVangie said. “He dialed it up when he wanted to. It’s there. But he knows how important he is to his team. He can pitch, regardless of the velocity.​” At 1-5, the Red Sox have begun their title defense with unsettling form. https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/04/03/chris-sales-velocity-concerning-in-red-sox-shutout-loss-to-as/